light

Tashina’s Wonderful Bridal Portraits (On Location & Studio)

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

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.

Until next time, America.

Jacqui’s Wedding on a Private Beach in Corpus Christi, Texas

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

I have finished Jacqui’s amazing wedding album design, and it is up on my main website. Here’s a sneak preview.

Her wedding was on a private beach on the Gulf of Mexico, outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. Here she is getting ready in her room at a nearby resort.

Later in the album, she arrives with her father at the beach location. All of these are 2-page spreads from the album design.

After the ceremony, we created some incredible images of the couple alone on the beach. It is incredibly difficult to light people on a beach in direct sunlight, but when it is done right, the results look like this, crystal clear images, deep colors, great skin-tones, and a gorgeous sky that isn’t too light or too dark. On top of that, I love the great expressions and the realness of the emotion in these images.

A change of position to catch the warmth of the sunset behind, and we created this dipping diptic.

Later during the reception, I stole the couple to go out on the dock and get some more images of them alone. Simple and Romantic portraits of a couple that are emotional and scenic are a huge part of making one of my custom wedding albums amazing and fun to look through.

If you’d like to see the entire book, from beginning to end, it’s up at my website, BryCox.com. Go to Portfolio > Weddings > Wedding Albums, and it should be the first one.

Beach weddings may seem easy, but they are very difficult, especially there. I lived in the South for a few years during my Mormon Mission, but I never remember humidity like on this beach. Even at 11:00 pm at night, I checked the weather on my phone and it showed, 85% humidity and 85 degrees. The humidity and hot weather worked havoc on my gear, the sun is very direct and changes constantly, and the lighting conditions change wildly from inside, outside, daylight, sunset, and evening.

Nevertheless, it’s my job to get amazing images no matter what, and I’m so happy with this wedding.

If you’d like to get something amazing made up for your or your family for Christmas, or if you’d like me to create some magical images of you at your wedding, give me a call at 801-728-3317.

Until next time, America.

Shooting Model & Seniors in Washington (Evergreen Workshop part II)

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

Usually I only get to post the images I create. At this event, one of the photographers in attendance, Joanne Murray took a number of images of me working and was kind enough to provided them to me. I really appreciate that and am posting them here so that you can see another view of this workshop.

Having so many out-of-town jobs in a row, I was sporting a trip beard.

If you compare these images of me working to the previous post of finished portraits, you can see how I created the images. this one below was one that I featured on the last post. I wanted a unique angle and balanced on the tip of the bench, then held my light out at the right angle with one hand and photographed her with the other hand.

Here we are after dinner, setting up for the night shoot.

Here’s me using a reflector to help control the natural light.

You should see the image I created here too in the previous post. what you can barely see here is that the flash I’m using is off to the side. I don’t like using just pure natural light, as it is never coming in at the correct direction that I need it. I always need to correct it somewhat to get a spectacular image.

And finally, Joanne was kind enough to be my ride and escort from Seattle to Port Townsend. We had a long and lovely drive that included a ferry ride. Here is one of her images of me on the ferry.

If you’re looking to attend one of my photographic workshops, please check out my workshop site, at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com. There are new events being announced all the time. I hope to see you at one soon.

Until next time, America! 🙂

 

Shooting Model & Seniors in Washington (Evergreen Workshop part I)

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

I taught a weeklong photographic workshop called ‘Evergreen’ outside of Seattle in a small town called Port Townsend. Here are some of the images from that event.

Usually as I travel and move, I create images — it’s like a part of my brain that doesn’t turn off. I see abstract shapes in everything around me.

For a while now, I’ve created some of these images on my iPhone because it makes it extra fun. You see, the iPhone in its simplicity, doesn’t have any exposure controls, so so I have to think around its limitations. That particular method of thought makes me think differently and I tend to create different images than I normally would.

While teaching, I demonstrate various types of equipment and techniques. All of these image were created in front of the group, from the initial creation, to the workflow and the final retouching.

We also used a minimal amount of equipment, staying as mobile as possible, and used backgrounds and locations right there within walking distance. When I’m shooting at a workshop, I specifically like to focus on teaching three things:

1) Make the most of what you’ve got. For instance, instead of wondering if there’s a better place nearby, instead ask yourself how you can make a particular area work as a cool background?

2) We don’t want just good images, we want to create fantastic images that have punch and emotion.

3) We want all the work to be done in camera so that we don’t have to fix anything later. The images should be perfectly exposed, have the perfect color balance, have a strong emotion and believable expression, and be lit with control from the right angles. That way anything we do to the image later will be for fun instead of to fix it.

Most of these images have very little work done to them, and what work was done was done quickly in front of the class using special techniques and some of my specific products. In fact, using these techniques it seems that it actually takes more time to pick favorites than it does to finish them up.

So these girls told us that a lot of local photographers use the area for senior shoots, so we really wanted to create unique images, find cool nooks, and use the area in new ways.

I think you can tell that the shoot was a lot of fun for everyone.

Hopefully you can see that we really created a lot of variety, and used all sorts of areas to our advantage. We wanted to create a lot of different looks as quickly as possible, and make something wonderful from each spot.

That night after dinner, we invited the girls to come meet us in town for some night shooting. Instead of the normal dark or flat images that are typical at night, instead I showed how to create depth and how to get perfect exposures while working with various off-camera flashes.

The challenge here was to show that no situation is difficult when we really understand light. Below, is a mulit-light setup using a streetlight for interest. I angled her so that the wind was working with her hair, and I really like how these turned out.

And finally we took our model Lane, out on the pier, looking out towards the water. The first image is a photograph, and the second is a painting that I created from another photograph in the series.

If you’re looking to attend one ofmy photographic workshops, please check out my workshop site, at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com. There are new ones being announced all the time. I hope to see you at one soon.

Until next time, America! 🙂

4 New Awards at the IPPA State Convention

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

I just won 4 more awards this week at the Intermountain Professional Photographers Association yearly convention. This was the image that won all four awards, the light I photographed when I was stuck in Maine. I just mentioned it actually in my last blog post. It’s titled, “Isle of Light.”

The awards it won were a Kodak Gallery Award (that makes 7 of these for me know), the ASP State Elite Award (called the Best of the Best, my 2nd one), 1st Place Master’s division, and Master’s Court of Honor.

The level of competition is very difficult in the Masters, because the skill levels are all so high. I like competing though, because I like knowing that I can continue to create great images year after year and am always doing better.

I am always trying to raise the level of quality that I offer my clients each year, and to do a better and better job.  As expectations and competition rise, I hope that clients see these awards as a sign that my quality and commitment to great images also rises each year.

Well now my print case has been shipped off to regionals and I’m anxious to see how they do. I’ll keep you all posted.

Until next time, America.

Stranded in Maine and Photographing the Nubble Lighthouse

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

On my way home from New Hampshire, I had trouble with my out-going flight at the Boston Airport and got stranded for the night. They said I needed to fly out the next morning so I took the extra free time to rent a car and drive up to the Cape Neddick or “Nubble” lighthouse. I love lighthouses and this one was new to me. I arrived by late afternoon went up to scout out the place for later. While there I immediately created a panorama, then came back later at twilight, then the next morning at sunrise as I drove off to the airport.

This first one was when I first arrived. I really loved the blue sky, green grass, and the beautiful waves and color of the water. Having a bit of a trip beard, I did a self portrait of myself as well.

I then left the lighthouse to find some food and get a place to stay for the night, but I returned at twilight to create this image below – my favorite from the trip.

Then the next morning I got up at around 4:30 am to get the sun rising in the distance. I shot it a few different ways, first with nice sharp edges…

…and then with soft blurry edges. I really like them both for different reasons.

As I was heading back to my car I created this image of a bench with my same soft lens.

Here’s the place where I stayed the night. I talked to a local who recommended it. They had small one-room cottages in the woods that were quiet and perfect. They also had a very tiny and amazing ice cream shop across the street as well located in the town’s old post office.

My cottage was elevated and up a short hill. It made for a very quiet and quaint night. I wish I had more time to stay there. The place and the entire town was just cool, calm and relaxing with a very fun main street. There were plenty of things to do at night just walking around. Next time I’m out that way, I’ll be sure to go find my way to this fun town.

After leaving the east coast I immediately went to the west coast and found more lighthouses. I’ll post about them in upcoming blog entries.

Well, until next time, America. 🙂