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Matt & Treva’s Gorgeous Wedding Photos

Matt and Treva’s gorgeous wedding album is in it’s final stages of being book-bound, and I wanted to share with you their photos and album design.

They were married at the Draper LDS Temple on a beautiful summer day. Mixing the right right style of master lighting techniques with the hot summer sun, and we have a deep blue sky, clear faces, vivid colors, and crisp images all day long.

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These two are so great together. The inner romantic in me really comes out at weddings, and I love seeing couples in love, and posing them to create inspiring and romantic images that they will love for years to come. But these two were naturally very loving with each other as you can see in these photos.

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I can’t wait to deliver their finished products. I believe strongly in putting in the time and effort to create actual physical albums for clients. And not just any album either, but my award winning album that will be an heirloom for years to come. And while that’s getting finished, here is a slideshow of their wedding album design. Each slide is a double-page spread in their album. Their wedding was at the Draper LDS Temple in Utah, with their wedding dinner at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village in Midvale Utah.

If you’re getting married, give me a call and let’s talk about your dream portrait. I’d love to create some wonderful wedding announcements, bridal portraits, and a gorgeous wedding album for you. My phone is 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

Lindsey’s Wedding Album at the Salt Lake Temple

I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to get this on my blog, but I’ve been excited to do so because the final album is so gorgeous. I even shot a video so that you all could see it properly, page by page. And this video leads off the last video in my last blog post where I talk about what’s different about by wedding albums and photographic approach. So here’s Lindsey’s album.

I posted about this wedding briefly when I first shot it, sharing a sneak peek, but wanted you to see the entire album. These guys look so good together, and Lindsey’s dress is quite stunning on her, as you can see from these album page design spreads.

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This wedding was on a very hot day, over 100º at the Salt Lake Temple. Most photographers today can’t shoot in direct or hot sunlight without getting white skies or dark eyes. But compare that common look to these images with the right lighting approach, it made for very dramatic skies and punchy colors and the couple always looks amazing. But they are a great looking couple and had great chemistry that day.
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And I love these twilight images too, just as the sun was setting. Wow!BryCox_Lindsays_SLTWedding04

If you are getting married and want the best possible romantic and beautifully lit photographs possible, give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s talk more about your dream day.

Until next time, America.

Jessica’s Cold Wind Photo Shoot

I recently spoke for Adobe at the two big national photographic conventions, PPA in Nashville and WPPI in Vegas. The week leading up to the second convention I photographed Jessica, and used her shoot as my demo for the crowd in Vegas to teach workflow and retouching. It worked great because it was a fun photoshoot that involved some problem solving.

We had a batch of warm weather and planned something outside, but it turned out to be a very cold day in Utah instead. And because of time constraints, our first choice for a location shoot fell through and we instead met at a parking lot between us where there was no “traditionally great” place to shoot. But we set out to find something that would hide the brown, dead, winter look of Utah, and also possibly block some of the heavy and cold winter wind of the day. And with some creativity and lighting skills, I know that any background can work.

Jessica spotted this awesome bright red double-decker bus and we set up. The wind was cold and pretty heavy, I believe hitting 20 mph that day. But the wind was blocked on this far side and the sky was on a great angle from the sun to really go blue when mixed with some lighting techniques that would also knock down the harshness of the sun.

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Jessica is great in front of the camera. She’s relaxed, she moves well, and she responds perfectly to direction. I love the emotion and action between these images in this trio above. The deep colors, her hair blowing, her laugh – it all really makes this set incredibly interesting.

We also did some work on the side of the bus to put the sun behind us, but the wind was a lot stronger here so we didn’t last long. But here is one of my favorites with her hair blowing in the wind. And with the warm beautiful colors, you’d never know it was freezing cold. However, between setups, she was bundled up in coats. She was a good sport.

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We didn’t have much time left, so I thought of finishing up inside somewhere warmer. There was a nearby hotel where a friend used to be night manager, and so we walked over and asked to use their lobby for a few minutes. This is Jessica as we were walking in, wearing my down parka backwards on top of her own layers.

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We took about 20 minutes or so in the hotel’s lobby, and got a great variety of amazing images. There is a lot of expression and changes of mood in these images, and notice too how the lighting changes from shot to shot to constantly highlight her cheekbones as she moves. There were so many fun images and every one shows a different side of Jessica and I couldn’t cut any out. In fact I thought they worked great as a series so I used them all and created this square collage.

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Though my program for Adobe was on retouching techniques, the big secret is to of course do everything with lighting so that no retouching or adjustments are required. And then when you retouch, it should be subtle so that everything looks natural. That’s what really makes women look great.

But as a side note, none of the images in these collages have had any retouching or adjustments. And yet her eyes pop, her skin glows (and isn’t gray or muddy), the angles of light and the color balance are all right on so she looks great and the background colors pop – and add to that Jessica’s graceful movements and her fun personality and we have one killer shoot.

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This colors of the couch and wall worked great with her outfit so I made a trio (above) and felt this one long shot below was really interesting and captivating, so I used it as the basis for a painting.

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And here is the final painting.
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And on the way out of the lobby was a big leaf mural. I shot a few closing images by it and did some texture work to the background.BryCox_Jessica_05

Well there you go, one great shoot created on a very cold and windy day while finding new and unique places to shoot.

If you were a photographer who attended my speaking event then you can see how the collages and and other ideas all came together. If you’re a model or a high school senior and want fantastic images, now is the time to book. And if you’re a bride and want to look great no matter where your wedding is located or what the weather is like, give me a call. 801-728-3317. I know just how to make women look great, so call me and let’s talk about your dream portrait.

And until next time, America.

Jolie’s Wedding Sneak Peek at Timpanogas LDS Temple

Jolie’s wedding images are so pretty, I wanted to share a few right now before the album design is done. In fact, these first two images have no retouching or photoshop work outside of adding my custom edges and signing the corners. The deep blue sky and vivid colors were all done with lighting, and I love how great these look already, before I even start to work.

These two were a hoot to photograph and their personalities were great. I love how they are looking at each other in these two images. They got married on a hot and beautiful day, which meant I could really pull in a blue sky with some dramatic lighting, and I like framing them with the architecture of the temple. They are the main focus, but the design behind makes for a great overall piece.

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And here is a gorgeous image of the two of them from the far corner of the temple grounds, something with some timeless appeal but still really fun.Cox_JHales-W-1027

This infrared black and white of the Timpanogas LDS temple, will probably be how I start out the album. I shot it for the opening page, but we’ll see how the actual design comes out when I’m all done with itCox_JHales-W-1004

Well if you’re getting married, I’d love to meet with you. Give me a call at 801-728-3317. I am a Utah based photographer and I work all over Utah and the US.

If you want more info on how I shoot weddings, here’s some details and examples for you.

And until next time, America.