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

by BryCox (Admin)Bridal Portraits, Bry Cox Photography BlogPosted on No Comments

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

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Wedding Day, AlbumsPosted on 3 Comments

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.

Bry Cox, Featured Article in Texas Professional Photographer Magazine, Oct-Nov 2012

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Photography Workshops, PublishedPosted on No Comments

Are you a professional photographer in Texas? Check your current copy of Texas Professional Photographer Magazine for an article I wrote, called “Preparedness & Optimism – Dealing with Uncertain Times Ahead.”

Here’s what the cover looks like…

…And here is my article.

For more articles and info for photographers, see my workshop site at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com and come see me speak in Texas for an entire week in April 2013. Details are on my workshop site.

Until next time, America.

My 2012 Gift for YOU, A New Christmas CD!

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Commercial & HeadshotsPosted on One Comment

Every year at this time, I design, layout, and print about 20,000 Christmas audio CDs for a client and friend, James Conlee.  I always make sure that I get some copies for myself that I can give to all my current clients and friends.  This year’s album is especially beautiful and I’m excited for you all to see and hear it.

With every order between now and Christmas, you’ll get your own copy (while supplies last).

This produced every year by one of my best friends, James Conlee who produces and oversees the entire album.  In fact it is a joint project of friends in many ways because the cover painting is by another friend of ours, James Christensen (a famous painter with Greenwich Workshops).

This year, his painting used for the cover is “Cecelia,” which is incredibly colorful and beautiful. I love the different uses of various types of brush strokes, the various hues, and the beauty of the entire piece, though James Christensen’s paintings are always incredibly captivating. His artwork really makes this CD artwork wonderful.

I had a hard time cropping his image for a square cover, as the entire painting is so wonderful. I did however, use some tricks with the type over the painting to make it blend in more and seem more like gold leaf embedded into the canvas.

It’s a little known fact that I design all of the CDs that James Conlee produces, and I think that this is the 13th CD I’ve designed for him. The music for this particular project was recorded with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and with The Madeleine Choir of Salt Lake City.

So for all my holiday clients that are ordering this time of year, whether you get a large collection of various wall portraits or even just reorder one small 8×10 print, I am giving you a FREE 2012 Christmas CD!  The cover painting is phenomenal, the music is phenomenal, and the whole production is worth owning! In fact, if you’re a current client and don’t have anything to order right now, still call me and stop by and I’ll make sure you get a copy as well.

We are getting close to Christmas as far as appointments go, so if you’d like some fantastic images of yourself or your family, now’s the time to get in the studio.  Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to set thing up.  And remember, I’ll include a Christmas CD with your order.

And feel free to check out my main website at BryCox.com, and until next time, America.

Catelin’s Fall Wedding at the Salt Lake Temple

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Wedding Day, AlbumsPosted on No Comments

Last November, I photographed Catelin’s wedding in the beautiful fall colors. While updating my main website, I posted it to display the entire album.

It was a freezing, cold day, yet the images look warm and inviting. Here are some of the double-page spreads from the book. Each graphic folds down the middle in the actual album.

I loved the drama in the sky and the love these two had for each other. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful album.

This couple is really stunning together, and I love the various poses and use of color throughout the book.

As the night drew on, the sunset was surreal and magical.

The great thing about seeing an entire wedding album, is that you get to see how I work all day long. You get to see how great the couple looks and how spectacular the lighting is all throughout the day and into the night. You get to see that I don’t work by hoping to get lucky images, but rather I work to create well-crafted pieces of art created in all lighting environments – through daylight, twilight, nighttime, inside and out.

To see the entire album, visit my main site, BryCox.com. Then go to Portfolio > Wedding > Wedding Albums. Catelin’s album should be the first one to show right now, the “Salt Lake Temple and JSMB in the Fall.”

Now is a great time to get fall portraits. I still have a bit more time with leaves on the ground here at the studio garden location. Give me a call at 801-728-3317.

Until next time, America.

A Sneak Peak at Sophie’s Fall Wedding Portraits at the Draper Temple

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Wedding Day, AlbumsPosted on No Comments

The other day I photographed Sophie’s wedding. I had originally posted her bridals on her wedding day, and I thought it’d be fun to post a few images from her wedding day as a sneak peak.

The weather was amazing, the sun was shining, the canyon wasn’t too windy, and the fall colors looked so inviting, that I took the couple off to do a few fall portraits.

And here is one of them at the Draper temple, after the ceremony. Having such a bright and sunny day meant that I had to be extra careful and precise in how I lit this image. I really wanted a nice and vivid blue sky and I love how this final image looks. The leading lines all work so well, their expressions are great, they both look happy, relaxed, and the image is just inviting.

As soon as I finish their album and design, I’ll post it here as well.

So, until next time, America. 😉

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

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Photography WorkshopsPosted on No Comments

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)

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Photography Workshops, Senior/Grads, WomenPosted on No Comments

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! 🙂

Sophie’s Bridal Portraits for Her Wedding Today

by BryCox (Admin)Bridal Portraits, Bry Cox Photography BlogPosted on No Comments

Today is Sophie’s wedding and I’m actually out shooting it. But I thought it’d be a good day to post her wonderful bridal portraits, created on-location at the Salt Lake City Capitol Building.

I really liked Sophie’s style and personality, and we had fun creating a number of images outside, taking advantage of the beautiful sky and clouds. These were some of her and her mom’s favorites. This top image shows one side of her personality, mixed with the tall and dynamic pillars around her.

Below is an epic full length, that’s just dramatic!

We did a series of black & white detail images and with those, I created this trio series.

Then on our way inside, we created another fun series by the door.

Once inside we focused on some fun yet, telling images with dramatic lighting, like this image of Sophie sitting, showing of her cute yellow shoes.

And being a dancer, we had to create something stunning with her point shoes. This was my favorite, her up on her toes, with a perfect expression, while being perfectly framed and lit to create drama and direct attention.

Then on the way out we stopped to take advantage of the beautiful sunset light, first with a close up black and white,…

…and then with these two final close-ups showing the details of her ring and necklace.

Congratulations, Sophie! I wish you a wonderful life and know you’ll have a great wedding. We’ll really create some great images!

Until next time, America.

Bry Cox Interviewed and Featured in Professional Photographer Magazine, October 2012 Issue

by BryCox (Admin)Awards, Bry Cox Photography Blog, PublishedPosted on No Comments

I was interviewed by Professional Photographer Magazine, a publication that goes out to all professional photographers throughout the US as well as other parts of the world as well. That interview is now out in the current October 2012 issue.

This is the cover (image is not by me), and below are some screen shots of my article where all the images are mine.

The article is humorously titled, “The Anti-Specialist” because where most photographers need to focus on one niche or another to succeed, my particular specialty has been to focus on exquisite lighting and emotion. I mix technical proficiency with a unique style of creativity to develop images that tell a story of the person being photographed, and hopefully makes the viewer feel like they know the person. It’s a uncommon approach that allows me to photograph a mix of genres well, like families, children, weddings, and even celebrities and VIPs.

For the opening spread, the magazine chose my images of Linda Rondstadt and Olympic Gold-Medalist, Rulon Gardner.

The last image used, is of 90 year old sax player, Joe McQueen. Interestingly, this is the second time this magazine has asked to use this image. I can see why as it really is one of my favorite portraits. It shows dramatically what exquisite lighting and emotion can do to make an image unique and inviting.

I really appreciate and feel honored to have been interviewed for the magazine, and I love the direction they took with the article. I hope other professional photographers find it interesting and helpful.

Well, until next time, America. 🙂

New Regional Awards Announced, Including High Print Case and a National Photographer of the Year Award to Come!

by BryCox (Admin)Awards, Bry Cox Photography BlogPosted on No Comments

After my state competition earlier this month, my images went on to District Regionals where I won the High Print Case for all of Utah (usually called “Photographer of the Year” at the state level), “4 for 4” meaning that all 4 prints scored so well that I’ll receive a national Photographer of the Year award in 2013, and finally my lighthouse image, “Isle of Light” won a a special “Distinguished” award and was my highest scoring print.

This is the 2nd time I’ve won the High Print Case for Utah at Regionals (SWPPA), and the 4th time I’ll have won the Photographer of the Year award on the national level. I’ll have to wait until next summer to find out what rank I’ll be, Diamond, Gold, Silver, or Bronze. So I’ve won two Bronze and one Silver.

Earlier this month I won four more awards at the state level: another 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.

I’ll let you know how this print case does at nationals in the summer of 2013.

Until next time, America!

Lighthouses of the Seattle Washington Area, Part 2

by BryCox (Admin)Art Images, Bry Cox Photography Blog, Photography WorkshopsPosted on No Comments

Part 2 of my trip was spent in a little coastal town called Port Townsend. I was at Fort Warden which had it’s own lighthouse about a mile down the beach. I made it my goal to get some amazing shot of it, and I woke up most mornings that I was there around 4:30 am in order to walk down the beach, set up, and wait for sunrise. On this particular morning the sky was so socked in that I never got a sunrise, so I did a self portrait before going back and getting a quick nap before work.

Even though there wasn’t a directional sunrise, I still really liked the look of the Port Wilson lighthouse in the foggy mist. I photographed it various ways each morning.

One morning I also photographed this ship wreck on my walk back. I really liked the detail in this image, and split-toned the final piece so that the white would really stand out.

Each walk back was quiet and serene. Sometime there would be a sailboat out in the water, anchored for the night, and other times there would be a few fisherman out in row boats. On one occasion I ran into someone on a morning walk, but other than that I never saw anyone else on these early mornings.

On my last morning, I caught the sunrise. Once I could see the sun peaking, I set up in a different spot than in other mornings, and began to work trying to capture all the detail, watching for the sun rays to come shining in the image.

Once the sun peaked, all the little rocks on the sand lit up. It was really exciting to finally see the warm directional light and get something different than the other mornings.

I had to hurry and get different angles quickly, as the sun really travels fast. I really liked this one below, with the grass blowing in the morning breeze.

And here’s one last one from set up from the far side, with me very low in the grass. I wanted one with the sun lighting up the lighthouse with the warm morning light without any sun flares.

So which images are your favorites? All of these have such different looks and different feelings, it’s hard to pick a favorite but I’m curious what you all like.

In my next blog entries I’ll talk about some of the work I did while I was out there, but before I got to that, I wanted to first show you some of these images that I created during my free time. I really like to find lighthouses and photograph them. They’re beautiful and inspiring, and a real challenge to photograph in interesting ways. I hope you enjoyed looking at these.

Until next time, America. 🙂