Maybe you saw Makenna’s sneak peek a bit ago, and here is her entire senior portrait album. It’s always hard narrowing these fun shoots down to 20 pages, but the idea is to design a book that shows a lot of variety, personality, locations, outfits, while at the same time making sure that the design is simple and clean, and that every double-page spread works well as a mini story. For instance, this double-page design is based on the same color scheme, but shows a close-up and a mid-length in both serious and smiling.
These books are so cool and I’m really excited about hers in particular that I decided to make a short video to show it off. So take a look at Makenna’s awesome album in this video.
Being a Utah-based photographer, you’ll notice in in my photographs that our state makes for a great backdrop. Makenna has beautiful mountains behind her ball field and my studio gardens are lush and full of trees and rock paths making it a great option if you want outdoor and/or indoor portraits without any travel fees.
So if you’re a senior or you know a senior, now is the time to beat the back-to-school rush and get some amazing portraits. The weather is awesome, the studio gardens are in bloom, and while it’s still summer you can pick an appointment at a time of day that works, not just after school.
Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s create something wonderful that captures your personality in a beautiful way.
I love photographing families and creating unique pieces of art for them, and my painting line is definitely unique. Starting with a photo for reference, this painting is created from scratch with no computer filters or quick effects. They are stunning to look at in person, but are hard to describe online, so I created this animation showing some of the steps of how this painting came together over time. It starts out very rough and abstract, and slowly comes together. When I finish the piece, I like to leave a lot of the rough, abstract brush strokes around the edges and throughout the background. It gives it a very etherial look, and makes it hard to mistake it for a photograph. However the faces are always very detailed.
Here’s the final painting.
These paintings are available in a variety of sizes starting at 20 inches, and are perfect for outdoor fall family portraits. Right now is my fall family portrait special. All the details are on the past blog post, but here’s a link. It’s a great time to get in for a shoot while the weather is great, and before the Christmas rush.
And aside from shooting for a painting, together we’ll create some great images of your family during the shoot. I have great options for outdoor portraits at my studio, but this image was created on location at a spot near this family’s home. This family was so nice and fun to work with. The weather was actually very hot during this session, and for most photographers that would mean bright, washed out skies and blotchy sun marks on the skin which means most photographers would probably make the image black and white to hide their problems. But light is my specialty, and I set up some powerful and direct lighting to bring add dimension the family, while at the same time darkening the sky. The result is a beautiful family with warm, beautiful skin tones, lots of spacial dimension, a gorgeous sky with dramatic clouds, and a field full of warm vivid colors.
After the family portrait, I like to focus on the kids. These kids were very smart and funny. I was amazed at the advanced subjects they were studying in school. And I really like the real and natural expressions in each of these images.
Being a Utah based photographer, we have so many options for outdoor locations, especially in the fall. So whether you want a family painting, photographic portrait, or want to shoot inside the studio or outdoors, I know you’ll love what I create for you. Fall is here and it’s a great time to get in. Beat the rush and call me today for the best dates and availability: 801-728-3317
I had the privilege of photographing Tashina for her bridal portraits. She is having an out-of-town wedding, so having great bridals were extra important and special to her. Because of that we did a split session, creating images both in the studio and on location to create a variety of looks for her.
Here is one of her wall prints from her collection, created at one of my favorite locations.
And here is another from that same area. Notice the lighting and shadows on her, complimenting her and creating real depth, the simple and confident pose, the dramatic colors of the vegetation, and the soft gray-blue sky.
Lighting should never be haphazard, and images should never seem flat. Instead, lighting should be specific and used to create depth. Between that and the right expression, an emotion should be created so that you should feel like you can step into the image. It should draw you in.
And that’s true even if an image is candid or in motion. I love her smile in this one as she runs through the field.
Back at the studio, we created this trio of her in her birdcage veil, black and white with a vintage style of lighting as tight head shots.
Then we created some stunning images on my fashion gray background.
I used a custom fashion light set-up for a high contrast look, and completed that set of images as a trio.
And we also shot on one of my favorite brown backgrounds for a nice warm look which also was used to highlight her fun boots.
It was really great working with Tashina and I wish her and her new husband well.
If you would like some bridal portraits and would like them to be out-of-this world, give me a call. 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something amazing for you.
I’m so excited about these images and can’t wait for you all to see them! This is an outdoor commercial shoot that I did for Katherine Nelson. You may recognize Katherine as the actress that played Emma in the LDS Church film, “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.” That movie plays daily at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and she was also in the movie “Emma Smith: My Story.”
Katherine is also an accomplished singer/songwriter, winning all sorts of awards for both her solo work as well the work she’s done with various groups like the Nashville Tribute Band and Kenneth Cope.
For this project, she had a specific need and concept, so I chose one of my secret locations that matched what she wanted to create.
I set up all sorts of lighting equipment imaginable to take control of the scene. Lighting this scene was difficult, but it needed to be specific and controlled in order to create images that pop, while still being real and natural. The results are phenomenal! I was especially excited that a storm had gone through earlier, giving us great storm clouds to work with. I love a sky with drama!
Katherine is a fantastic model and a joy to be around. I find her easy to photograph, easy to direct, and she really had great expression. She even did her own styling and created her own clothing, accoutrements and flag for the shoot. It all worked together so well. I flipped out when I initially saw her and the details of her outfit. It was all so perfect. I especially love her red skirt against the green grass.
We really had a fun time at this shoot. Looking back over it, two of our initial favorites were the image above and below. I love the sun shining through the clouds in the photograph above, and in the image below, the flag blowing against the awesome storm clouds with a little bit of blue peaking through, really makes this sing!
And this next portrait below is one of my all-time favorites from the entire shoot. I love the stance, the directional lighting on Katherine, and the color harmony with the dominant blue sky. The clouds have wispy pink highlights painted by the sun that has now set. This image is at twilight, and has such depth! I actually put this up on my website’s main splash page today, cropped square.
We were having so much fun that even after the sun set completely, I continued to shoot and create in the dark, using all artificial light. However I did it in such a way that it looks like real sunlight. The scene in these next images was actually dark to the eye at the time, but with the right techniques the scene glows and feels like sunset.
Then to end the shoot, I finished up with some close-ups, again with all artificial light because the sun had set at this point. The idea was to create a fake sunset but with the control of darkness, and these images are some of my favorites! (That’s one of my lights as a fake sun in the image below because it’s actually dark outside.)
You really need to see the entire shoot, but there’s not room enough on the blog, so I created a slideshow set to music. Start it up and enjoy.
It seems funny, but anytime I post a shoot like this, I get a lot of emails and phone calls asking where my images were taken. When I suggest that they hire me and I’ll photograph them there, some will admit that they just want to go to the same spot with a cheaper photographer – as if my locations are what yield great results. This is of course untrue.
Being in a great location with the right gear and a beautiful model certainly doesn’t hurt, but the real key to creating great photographs (whether it be outdoors, in sunlight, at twilight, sunset, or even after the sun has gone down) is specific control of lighting. And lighting people specifically and artistically is my unique skill.
I sometimes point to my list of awards and credentials, not to brag, but to show that when you hire ME, you’ll get something completely unique and personal, you’ll get phenomenal photography.
No matter who you are, I will make you look great, real, and natural, and generations from now people will still love your portraits and appreciate your purchase.
Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment. I’m sure it’s time for a new family portrait, and high school seniors are getting ready to graduate. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.
