mountains

Jannette’s Snowy Mountain Wedding Engagement Portraits

Living near the Utah mountains, this couple wanted a snowy mountain look for their engagements. We were able to find some snow left to shoot these gorgeous wedding engagements at Log Haven up Millcreek Canyon, which is where their wedding will be later this summer too.

Here’s a video showing how beautifully their order of wall portraits and album turned out, best viewed in full screen.

And here are some of their images. We started on the deck of Log Haven because their clothes and colors worked so well with the deep, rich colors of the building.

 

We then ventured out into the snow to photograph against the waterfall and other snowy backgrounds. I love this tall image of the waterfall, and these two hugging and talking to each other.

Along the river we created this portrait, which became one of their framed wall pieces.  

Then a change of clothes and a change of scenery, looking out across this lake with a deep blue sky in the background. This long panorama of these two leaning together is killer in the album, taking up two page spreads for dramatic emphasis.

And this beautiful close-up was the other framed wall portrait, as you can see in the video above. 

Finally, some ending shots surrounded by the deep dark colors of the forest’s trees. These two look great together and I’m excited to be a part of their wedding coming up later this summer. 

If you’re getting married, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something gorgeous like this for you.

And until next time, America.

Windy Winter Mountain Shoot with Nicholette in Utah

The wind was bitter cold as we hiked up through the snow to a small overlook in our nearby Utah canyon. The climb was slippery and full of tall new powder that went well past my knees and nearly to my waist at one point. Once at the top, the wind was stronger and even more frigid so we worked fast, also because we needed to beat the setting sun. The entire shoot was maybe 20 minutes long before we headed back down the mountain, yet in that short amount of time we got some great photographs. Here are some of my favorites.

Utilizing some specialized lighting techniques, I punched up background with more blue tones to enhance the cold feeling, while simultaneously adding warm light to the model. It makes her stand out dramatically, while also creating a visual separation between her and the background. And with her beautifully dramatic features, I used a more sharp, commercial/fashion style of lighting too to really enhance her cheekbones and eye shape. I love how these all turned out.

For this one, I also created an animation with slow motion snow that falls around her. Notice that the snow falls around her, some in front, most in back.


I love the changing direction, the wind, and how great these all look. This time of night worked beautifully for this deep-blue look. And the final images are captivating.

If you’re in need of a great set of images, either for work or commercial use, or for your own personal needs – give me a call. 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something amazing for you, outdoors in the Utah snow or here in the studio. It’s a great time to create some wonderful photographs.

And until next time, America.

Custom Family Painted Portraits and Family Groups for Janet

Spring is officially here and it’s time for family portraits. But sometimes people want something different, unique, something that they can feature in their home as an art piece and be proud of. For those clients, I offer custom painted portraits, painted from the family groups I create during your session.

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I have photographed Janet’s extended family before, but this time they wanted something different. So while they were on vacation in Utah, I drove up the mountains and met up with them and photographed each family in some tall grass near their vacation property. I shot a variety of options with the families looking at the camera, and some of them interacting with each other that I could use to create paintings. Here are some of those finished paintings. They look amazing up close when they’re finished on canvas.

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And here are some of the other groupings, starting with the biggest extended family group, and then each family separately. I love the diversity of location options in Utah. With a little bit of scouting and some custom lighting, I was able to make this location work right outside their vacation home. By me coming to them, I was able to integrate a location into their images that meant something to them, plus it saved them vacation time so that they could quickly get back to their time together.
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And of course I love to focus in on children and do just some individuals. Rather than show every child’s individual portrait, here are some from just one family. BryCoxStudio_Janet_Family_Outdoors_Paintings_008 BryCoxStudio_Janet_Family_Outdoors_Paintings_009 BryCoxStudio_Janet_Family_Outdoors_Paintings_010 BryCoxStudio_Janet_Family_Outdoors_Paintings_011

And for every single shoot I do – whether it’s in my studio, outside in my Utah studio gardens, or off on location as this shoot was – I really hope that my clients see the quality and value that I offer. I work to mix into every single image a combination of emotional impact and fantastic lighting. I want both, real expressions that draw you in mixed with all the technical details nailed.

I know it’s time for YOUR updated family portrait. Give me a call and let’s get it scheduled. 801-728-3317

And until next time, America.

Pat’s Updated Fall Family Portraits

One of my favorite things about being a photographer is being able to work with some of the same families again and again. It is fulfilling creating a custom wall portrait that I know they will look at and love for years to come. It’s just another reason why it was great to hear from Pat wanting a new and updated grouping. The last time I photographed her family was in 2003.

It’s amazing how fast time flies and how much children change and grow, and it was really neat to see the original portraits in Pat’s home when I delivered her new and updated wall portrait. Notice how little the parents have changed over the years, but how much the children have grown. Some have gotten married and there are even some little grandkids too.

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And below are the kids alone. What I think is interesting, besides how much everyone has changed, is how I analyzed the group of kids both 11 years ago and today. In both cases I looked at the kids and saw a line, and grouped them boy/girl/boy/girl. In fact they are all in the exact same order with the exemption of swapping two girls. And we even did a slim-line crop again too. I love that.

Being a Utah photographer means having lots of locations to to use as backdrops. For the new portraits, we shot up in the canyons and for the original portraits 11 years ago, we photographed in my outdoor studio gardens.

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During the new shoot, we also created smaller family groups that we finished as squares. That way they could all be framed and hung in a grouping on the wall together.

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It’s amazing how a photograph can stop time, and I love that the value of a photograph only grows over the years. If it’s time for a new and updated family portrait, there’s no better time. I can get things finished for Christmas for you and even get some cards done quickly too.

Give me a call, 801-728-3317 and check out my main portfolio website too at BryCox.com.

Until next time, America.

Bry Cox Portrait Paintings from Photographs

Fall weather means family portraits — and also Bry Cox’s family portrait paintings.

When I photograph your family, I can also create a very unique piece of art — a painting. These are actually painted stroke by stroke using the original photograph as a reference so that everything is in proportion. You can save by doing this too as part of the fall special going on now.

Here is a short video of me talking specifically about these paintings…

Remember, my fall special is going on now. All the details are here. Give me a call and let’s create something amazing for you.

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Below are some paintings I’ve created for people. These are each finished as a stretched canvas in a variety of sizes, ready for hanging. I am based in Utah and have both an outdoor shooting area here at the studio location, but I also know of great places to go in the canyons and nearby mountains. For example, these first few are on location throughout Utah.

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These next few paintings were shot in the studio gardens.

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This next one was created at the client’s home.

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While these last three were painted from images I created in the studio.

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And here is a painting created from a studio portrait for a high school senior session.© BryCox.com, Bry Cox

And last week on my blog, I shared a family’s painting as a time-lapse animation of it being created. Here is that time-lapse again.

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Give me a call at 801-728-3317, and let’s set up your fall appointment and create a fall family painting as well. And check out my main website to view more of my portfolio at BryCox.com.

And until next time, America.

Outdoor Snow Portraits of Lowe Family

Christmas is a great time for creating family portraits because it’s one of the rare times that families are all together. For lots of reasons, snow is really difficult to shoot in, but when done right it makes a great backdrop and can set a mood of warmth and love.

Here is the Lowe family that I photographed during their vacation outside their cabin in the Utah mountains, one of the rare times they were all together because they are a family of traveling world-class musicians (9Lowes.com).

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Being a family of performers, they are also very fun with each other and somehow the idea of a crazy photo came up, so we created this one as well.

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If your family is going to be together for the holidays and you would like me to come create an updated family portrait, then give me a call, 801-728-3317. It could be outside or even inside your home. Call me and we can talk about options.

And until next time, America.

 

Scouting Scenic Locations for Adobe Event

Sometime soon I’d like to do a workshop for people who want to photograph scenics in Utah. In thinking about this, I thought I’d post some images I created while exploring and scouting locations for Adobe’s event that I posted about  previously. While exploring, I shot some really fun scenics and wanted to post them here. They really get me excited for warmer weather and for doing a workshop sometime soon here in the beautiful state of Utah.

Cox_Heber_121_Pano Cox_Heber-139-panoWhile I was driving, the time of day was perfect, the sun was setting and these meadows and aspens really glowed with the low angled light. Plus it was fire season, so there was a lot of smoke in the air which added to the dramatic look of the setting sun.

Cox_Heber-150-pano Cox_Heber-152 Cox_Heber-157This black and white was particularly fun and probably one of my favorites from the day. I’d really like to make this up large and have it in my home.

Cox_Heber-160-4And this last image shows a real teepee off in the distance, used by a rancher. The warm smokey air in this image really makes it for me.

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It’s amazing the kind of scenery we have here in Utah and it was a fun adventure looking for routes and places to visit. Again, I hope to workshop here in Utah sometime soon, specifically on travel photography and scenics. If you’re interested in coming, let me know.

And until next time, America.

Ryan Shupe’s Outdoor Family Portraits

Warm weather is coming and people are calling and thinking about outdoor family portraits. And though I can photograph families inside at any time of year, the subject of talking about families made me want to post family portraits that I didn’t get a change to post during the crazy Christmas rush.

Today’s posting is Ryan Shupe’s family. We did this grouping in the mountains near his home. With any outdoor group portrait, I pack in and set up a lot of gear and lighting equipment so that each subject is lit perfectly.

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There is a push caused by new photographers to use “natural” light, but what that really means is haphazard lighting without any control. The truth is that controlled lighting should look natural, help create depth, and make people look amazing.

So after the standing group, I did a close sitting grouping. I always like to do a few different groupings of families so that people have choices. They really loved this close, black and white one.

Cox_RShupe-F-177And of course, some cute pics of the children. I was able to get all the children looking at me and smiling except the tiny baby. But she still looks cute and the overall image has a lot of personality.

 

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Then we did some images of just the boys. And though I had other options from this grouping, their favorite was the one with the smallest boy laughing and falling down.

Cox_RShupe-F-274And one of just the girls…

 

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Then just the little boys…Cox_RShupe-F-248

 

…and just the little girls. I got a great smile on the baby in this image.

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And then some individual of each child. These are great for wall groupings or album pages. You’ll notice a lot of personality in each child’s portraits and looking back on these in years to come will make them even more valuable.

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Family portraits are always a joy to create, and I’m always honored to be able to create them. I feel they are really invaluable in years to come and that’s it’s important that they are done just right.

Give me a call to set up your appointment. 801-728-3317

Until next time, America.

 

 

Big Yellow Moon on the Rise

The other night the moon was supposed to be extra big and bright (news story) which won’t happen again for two more decades. I set out to a secluded place near my home and set up my camera on a tripod to wait for the moon rise. It was a fun and cold night. I had just got back from Texas and was used to the warm weather, and the cool spring night here in Utah made for a fun adventure.

I started out shooting the sunset, as there was about a 15 minute difference from when the sun would set and the moon would rise. I shot for HDR which means you shoot a couple exposures to capture the shadow and highlight details and then sandwich the images together in one image, but ended up just using single exposures as my final images as I feel they look much more natural and esthetically pleasing. Here’s a pano looking west to the sunset.

During twilight, I created some long 30 second exposures of the ground and scenery around me. I really love the next two images and the blue in them.

I especially love the direction of light and the high horizon in this one below.

I was using an iPhone app which pointed to where the moon would rise. I waited for it to peak above the clouds and began to shoot. I really like this image. Everything is so blue.

I pulled back for another image, showing more foreground. I could have digitally enhanced and lightened the grass and foreground, but I prefer it like it is, feeling dark and cool like night.

I zoomed in to capture the moon, but by now it was climbing fast.

The higher moon gave me a bit more light to work with, and I took one more with a lot of foreground and a high horizon, hyper-focal focusing to get as much in sharp detail as possible, especially for such a long exposure.

I really like how these turned out, but nevertheless it was just fun to be outside and enjoying the cool night, looking at the moon. I also created a few images on my iPhone just for fun. Here’s when I first arrived…

My camera and the moon while creating the last image above…

Some weeds against the night sky. I shot this while walking back to my vehicle…

And one more of weeds that I sent from my iPhone to my iPad using PhotoStream, then edited on my iPad to create a pseudo painting. I really like the colors in this a lot.

Well, that was my Big Moon Adventure. If you love photography like I do, and you understand the value of a great image that can stand the test of time, then give me a call. Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment for your family portrait. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.