In parts one and two of this series, I talk about how my photographer friend from California, Suzette Allen and her husband are touring the United States in their Bubble Trailer to teach and train photographers. And I share the evening shoot we did when they came through Utah, and now I’m excited to share with you the fun early morning shoot we did the next morning here on the Utah Salt Flats.
The next morning, we got up for an early sunrise shoot. Suzette and her husband interviewed me as the sun was rising behind us. Here’s that video…
And here’s a selfie video showing the gorgeous sky.
But before the sun came up, we started shooting photographs and my beautiful friend Addie was our model. The early morning sky was deep blue with just a touch of pink on the horizon. Using my Profoto studio lights to both sculpt Addie and also capture the true colors in the distance, I started photographing with the blue sky as our background.
While we were doing our photoshoot, Suzette and the Chopstick Guys were off shooting video.
With just a few studio lights on location, we were able to create some beautiful images with vivid colors. I really loved this early morning light. As the sun started to peak over the horizon, the colors around us went from deep blue to soft pastels. These colors worked perfectly with Addie’s outfit.
As Suzette photographed Addie with her Bubble Trailer, the warm colors of the sun started to peak over the salty horizon and hit the clouds. The golden clouds and warm light was a magical time.
The rising sun brought a cool desert wind which I found exhilarating and fun creatively. And as you can see, we all were having a lot of fun in this beautiful and creative environment. Here’s Suzette rockin’ her Lumix camera, with her husband Jon having fun behind.
When Suzette had her images, I photographed Addie again, but this time using the sun as my main light. The wind and golden warm light were gorgeous. I love all these gorgeous colors together, and Addie did such a great job on this shoot. And she was a lot of fun too. We were laughing a lot.
I had to keep stopping to soak in the view around me. And that made me want to create some long panoramas as well. I loved how the warmth of the rising sun on east side of the horizon mixed with the deep blues of the other end.
I also created some panoramas showing my Nissan Rogue and Profoto studio flashes on the salty desert floor, because it looked like a commercial ad. (Hey Nissan and/or Profoto, if you need commercial photography work, check out BryCoxPro.com.)
And of course with such a beautiful sunrise and mountain range, we had to do a quick selfie together, firing the camera with a remote in one hand.
And here we are having more fun, dancing in the wind and sunrise.
Then mixing in studio lights with the sunrise, I wanted to capture the golden sky behind Addie. I wanted to shoot into the sun, and for that I needed some serious lighting power. I love how these turned out!
With the cold wind finally making Addie cold, she went to warm up in the vehicle. And I took a moment to create a selfie showing my studio light and sunrise behind me.
Fall has now hit us here in Utah. It’s time to create some beautiful location photographs of your family and kids. If you’d like something in the fall leaves or on an exotic location like the Salt Flats, and you want that some awesome lighting that makes you pop in that location, give me a call at 801-728-3317. Let’s create some iconic and legacy portraits for the walls of your home.
Also, if you’re a photographer looking to up your game and get more training to really understand lighting better, check out my online and in-person courses at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com.