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President Nelson Invites Families to Hang Portraits on Their Walls

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

We’ve been asked by church leaders to hang family portraits on our walls, and I agree. I have long believed in the strong but subtle messages that come from viewing portraits on our walls daily, particularly when those images show families and relationships happy and together.

In this video I share my thoughts on family wall portraits vs TV size and placement (and the messages both send), and also how self-esteem is different from self-worth.

I’d love to create something amazing for your family. Give me a call at 801-728-3317. It’s the perfect time of year to photograph your family, and get a beautiful piece finished for Christmas.

Recently, President Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints asked church members to decorate their homes with portraits of their families and loved ones. Here’s the quote:

I invite the members of the Church to place on the walls of their homes pictures of their family, pictures of their grandparents, pictures as a couple, pictures of their children, and pictures of the temple. These all symbolize God’s eternal plan. It’s all about the family.

And here’s a link to the story:
http://www.ldsliving.com/President-Nelson-Invites-Latter-day-Saints-to-Hang-5-Things-on-the-Walls-of-Their-Homes/s/88680

Summer Family & Missionary Portraits

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

Families are always changing and now is the best time to update your family portrait. It’s warm weather in Utah, the studio gardens are in full bloom, and it’s the perfect time for outdoor family portraits.

This young man was leaving on an LDS mission and would be gone for two years. So we mixed a mission portrait session with a family session, and the results are a gorgeous and emotional art piece for the wall that his family can enjoy while he’s gone. See finished image and album in this video.

I like using locations that have a personal meaning to my clients. In this case, their yard was gorgeous and lush with trees. So by mixing in some custom lighting to make everyone look great and also enhance the deep lush colors, we had a number of beautiful angles from which to shoot.

And I like to create a number of family portrait options from each shoot. Some are better larger on the wall, others are better smaller on a desk. And others will just have a certain emotional punch to it, where the client just connects with it and loves it.

For this shoot, we started in casual clothes for portraits with and without the grandparents.

Then dressy for some other options.

Of course I create options of just the children individually too. Here are some of my favorites of each child.

Here’s a missionary themed image using a nearby wheat field.

This image with the flags shows the countries where this young man will serve his mission for the next two years.

And closing with some gorgeous images of just parents together.

It’s the perfect time to get some new updated family portraits. Families are always in flux and sometimes we put off our much needed portrait for the so-called “perfect” time (like when this child is married, or when that baby comes, or when I feel better about how I look). But there’s always another change right around the corner. I’m a national Master Photographer and know just how to make you look fantastic in your portrait right now.

Take advantage of this gorgeous Utah weather. Let’s talk about meaningful locations for your portraits, and if you need, I have wonderful grounds right here at the studio for both outdoor and indoor options.

Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s talk about your new family artwork.

And until next time, America.

Healey’s Family of 40

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

It is always important to get family portraits, and right now is especially an important time for the Healey family, and I feel really honored that they hired me to create the portraits for their entire family.

Overall, their entire group was about 40 people, including married children and grandkids. We set up in their family yard during a wind storm and rainy week, and miraculously found a dead spot from the weather. Their yard made for a fantastic backgound and the images all loom wonderful.

I’m excited to post them today, even though the web just can’t do them justice. This first image is now a beautiful canvas hanging over their fireplace.

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I love this large grouping. Everyone is positioned comfortably and realistically, the entire shape is balanced and keeps your eye moving, the expressions on everyone are real and happy, the background has depth and texture but is dark enough that it isn’t distracting, and lighting on everyone though difficult, looks amazing.

Big groups are more difficult to do right than you’d think, but they are very satisfying. I really love how this portrait turned out.  It has to be my new favorite.

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With every large family group, I also like to do smaller groups. Above is the original children gathered around their folks, and below is each individual family.Cox_JHealey-F-125

Each family is grouped and lit a little differently depending on the family, but the overall look of each group matches in case people want to create a wall grouping and hang these portraits near each other.Cox_JHealey-F-134

Each family has their own personality and every child looks great. I really love photographing families and especially love getting little kids to all look cute and smile. It’s more than just doing some tricks to get a smile, but rather work to get each child to show their personality in both the pose and their expression. These little boys below look perfect. I especially love the tough pose of the boy standing and leaning into his mother.

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When people are positioned right, lit right, and they have a real and believable expression, the result is a portrait that is fun to look at, and yet classic and timeless.

Cox_JHealey-F-171These little girls below were so funny and wiggly, I was surprised to get any images with all of their feet down on the ground. They were so giddy and were laughing so hard at everything I did, that it was cracking me up too.

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And finally, here is the couple that started this big group. I really liked this image of the two of them.

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Again, it was a real pleasure to work with everyone in this family. I loved all of the groupings and families, and love how everything turned out. I always feel it an honor to create and capture memories for people, but especially for this family. I really love these images and hope that they all do to.

Until next time, America.

Prete Family Portraits

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

This week I finished and delivered this beautiful canvas wall print to the Prete family. It’s always hard to get families together, and in this case their youngest son had just returned from serving a Mormon mission. It was the perfect chance to get everyone together.

We did these in the studio, and created a few options. This first image was the favorite for the wall canvas.

Cox_Prete-F-115---36in-CanvasIt’s always nice to have some options when it comes to family groupings, and this one below was perfect for smaller table sized prints.

Cox_Prete-F-108---8x10During the shoot I like to do smaller groups, and in this case created a trio collage of their married children and single son. I really like the colors and the natural triangle shape or arc created by the faces.

Cox_Prete-8x20-ooo-AnnaMarieAnd of course a beautiful couple portrait of the parents. I really liked this cut square and printed in a bright and warm black & white.

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Photographing this family was a real honor for me as I’d known them for many years. It’s always fun for me to create family portraits for people, and this particular project was really fulfilling.

I’m sure your family is constantly changing, and perhaps because of that you’re putting off getting a family portrait. But remember that’s exactly why right now is the perfect time to come in and get a new and updated family portrait. If you are at all unsure, then please see my guarantee.

Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s talk about current promotions, clothing and locations, and let’s set up a time to create something amazing for your home and for future generations to enjoy.

Until next time, America.