Colton, Little Red-Haired Toddler

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, MaternityPosted on No Comments

It was so fun having this little red-haired toddler in the studio. Colton is adorable and full of personality, so he really glowed in his photographs. I had a hard time picking my favorites, because he had so many fun expressions and cute images to choose from.

We did a series of studio portraits for him, both high-key and low-key. He’s a wiggly little boy, so I opted for some big, soft studio lighting. And knowing we’d want a wall trio, I looked for a series of three that told a story – similar enough that they’d look great together, but different enough in expressions that your eye keeps going through all the images, again and again.

Here are those three images separately, so you can see his blue eyes and expressions even better. Each of these would work well too as small individual prints too.

For his high-key images, I used a little white chair on a white studio background. He did a good job of sitting still and making faces at me. And I love his little chubby feet in this series.

Colton has such big, blue eyes, and they’re full of expression. He looked so cute and inquisitive in this one. I’m obviously being silly and playing with him, and he’s watching me with interest, trying to figure out what I’m doing.

As colder weather approaches, people are needing portraits for upcoming Christmas gifts. But kids don’t have great expressions when it’s cold so avoiding the frigid weather and stepping into my studio means we’ll have lots of wonderful and emotional images to choose from. And for Christmas gifts, we can make up small prints, cards and even ornaments – all perfectly printed.

If you need some new portraits of your kids, contact me and let’s set something up.

And until next time, America.

Featured on KSL-TV: Bry Cox Creating Portraits of Foster Kids

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, PublishedPosted on No Comments

For many years I’ve been photographing foster kids for Raise the Future. The images are used to help the kids get adopted because a great portrait done right (with perfect lighting and expression) portrays a child in their best light. This helps prospective parents really see into the heart of a child before they meet him or her.

These images are also used in the Heart Gallery – an event where larger wall portraits are unveiled at the Utah State Capitol to each of the children. The children are also given a smaller size to keep at home until they’re adopted – at which point the family is gifted the larger wall portrait.

This year I photographed a number of kids for Raise the Future, and KSL-TV was there to do a story about it. We set up a photography day at Red Butte Gardens, had catered food and a lot of fun. And we created some amazing photographs.

Here’s a portion of the KSL-TV article:

A Portrait of the True Self

Certified Master Photographer Bry Cox has donated his time and talent to capturing these portraits for nearly a decade. His goal goes beyond capturing a smile.

“I want a real smile. I want that glisten in their eye,” Cox said. “I find out what makes them tick — what they love, what excites them — and then I photograph that.”

Raise the Future creates a memorable experience for the kids, with makeup artists and hair stylists ensuring they feel seen and celebrated. For many, the portraits taken during this event may be the only professional photos they’ve ever had.

More than Just a Photo

“For a lot of these kids, it’s the best portrait they’ve ever had,” Cox said. “They cherish it. They look at it and they’re so excited to have an image of themselves that they love.”

Cox describes portraits as “a mirror — the best version of you.” His hope is that each child sees something inspiring in their image.

Here’s just a sample of some of the portraits I created that day. I’m excited how beautiful each of these images turned out. Each young person glows and shows personality. It’s incredibly fulfilling to create these portraits.

You can watch the video and read the entire story on KSL-TV’s website. And if you need some great new portraits, contact me and let’s create something amazing for you.

And until next time, America.

Little 3 Year Old Lyla’s Portraits

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, MaternityPosted on No Comments

This week I did some portraits of this little cutie in my studio. She’s just turned 3 years old, and is so full of personality. Her name is Lyla, and some of my favorite images are on the dark painted canvas background with some soft, close-up portrait lighting.

She’s got her lipstick on, her hair done up, and has big eyes and big expressions. I quite like this thoughtful, serious portrait of her.

Here she is smiling and glowing after a little laugh. I love getting kids to really smile genuinely, without the fake smiles. And she really sparkles in this one.

These three images are great displayed together as trio wall collage, as they’re both similar enough and also different enough to tell a story about Lyla.

I also did a series of quick expressions with her too, and seeing them in a series like this just makes me laugh.

Of course we mixed in some full length and close ups of her too.

I’ve got even more great portraits from this fun session, but I just had to share a few of these early favorites, as they’re just so cute!

If you’ve got some kids that are growing up fast, now’s the perfect time to capture who they are and what they look like. Great portraits are so powerful and meaningful later in life.

And with indoor studio portraits, I can use master lighting techniques to make your child glow.

Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s plan some beautiful new images of your kids.

And until next time, America.

7 Month Old Baby Megan

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, MaternityPosted on No Comments

I love photographing little kids and capturing their personality artistically. Often after I photograph a wedding, the new couple will have kids and continue to come in for portraits of their new babies over the years. It’s really neat photographing families and seeing them grow over the years.

And with little babies, because they change so fast, my favorite way to photograph them is to create an album of them growing up. I start with a newborn shoot, then continual shoots for the first year so that by one year old, I have a series of beautiful images to design an album. The design is a beautiful collection of art that shows personality. I know these albums will be cherished for decades.

Little Megan is one of these babies I’ve been able to see grow, and photograph all along her journey. I have to share her 7 month old shoot because I’ve been enamored by how cute and adorable she is.

Megan came in with wavy, wispy hair, cute round cheeks, and a big smile. We set her up in the studio with high-key, white on white. The above portrait with her propped up on her arms, is one of my favorites of the shoot. Her expression is perfect.

As you can see, she had a great time wiggling around, smiling, and pulling faces at me.

I did a series of her sitting in my white chair too, and these various expressions worked really well together as a series. Aside from capturing her personality, you can see her little feet and toes,

I love creating beautiful portraits of little babies and kids. If you have a child and would love beautiful portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. It’s the perfect time to come into the warm studio where I can use perfect studio lighting to capture their personality. Let’s create something magical that you can enjoy for decades to come.

And until next time, America.

Heather’s Studio Family Portrait

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, FamilyPosted on No Comments

For Christmas last year, I delivered this gorgeous family portrait to Heather and her family. Before delivery, I made this video showing the various finished pieces.

I love creating family portraits for clients, and I think delivering and hanging these finished art pieces in their homes is my favorite part of the process. I love seeing everything come together and the client’s expressions and happiness with their new art pieces on the wall.

Studio family portraits work really well if you want a clean and contemporary look, and it’s an especially nice option during cold or bad weather. A warm studio full of custom lighting gear means a worry free environment for clients, regardless of the rain or snow outside. With a large changing room, bathroom, and big mirrors, you can fix hair, and even change outfits for different looks and options. The studio makes everything easy, especially if you have little kids.

This family portrait was extra special. Heather has five children of various ages and sizes. The older kids get, the harder it is to get everyone together. We wanted to take advantage of the time together and create something beautiful for her wall.

With some color and clothes consultations over the phone, Heather found some beautiful outfits for everyone that showed both variety, but also worked together artistically and cohesively. The resulting portrait is absolutely beautiful.

Our favorite for the fireplace mantle was this image above with everyone standing. It has a long and tall feel that matches the space where it’ll hang, but it also shows all the kids and their individual heights and sizes at this point in life.

The closer image below was chosen as a smaller portrait to go elsewhere in the home. I love the triangle design and the lovingness of all the kids, leaning in together.

We also did some various groupings as well, like these of Heather and her boys and girls alone as close ups, as well as the girls and boys alone standing.

These kids were so adorable and great in front of the camera. I love creating individual portraits of kids. These can be displayed together as sets in a wall collage, and then later each portrait can move into each child’s room.

We finished up the session with this gorgeous image of Heather.

If you’re looking to update your family portraits, give me call. It’s a great time for studio portraits and I make the entire process easy. My number is 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

Anna’s Winter Outdoor Family Portraits

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, FamilyPosted on No Comments

It’s winter here in Utah, and that means it’s cold and the trees are bare. My clients needed a new and updated portrait and wanted it outdoors. Showing bare trees in the background would have been the wrong look, so we used a location right here near my studio. It has lots of wide open space, and mixed with my studio lighting on location, everything turned out perfectly.

Here’s a video showing the finished and framed images before delivery.

With families, I like creating and offering a few variations. One particular image may move you the most, and that’s the best one for the wall art. Other groupings can always be ordered smaller for other parts of the home. This fist image was the favorite as the larger image for the wall, while the second was ordered for a smaller spot in the home.

When the kids and everyone smile and look great in every image, it’s often hard to choose a favorite. The colors, textures, spacing, depth, and overall feel of this first image made it stand out as the overall favorite.

With every family portrait, I love creating individual portraits as well. These can be finished in a number of ways, depending on need. For this family, we choose similar images of each child to be finished as square standouts. They look gorgeous!

Standouts are shown better in the video above, and can be displayed as sets in either a straight line trio, or in diagonals, or in other configurations. Here’s one idea for the three girls in a trio.

The first is of the youngest girl. She’s so cute and adorable, with the flower in her hair, hands on her knees, and smiling so perfectly.

Second, the middle girl sitting so beautifully. I love the light coming in from behind, lighting up their hair and the beautiful colors all working together.

And the oldest, looking mature and smiling beautifully with her long hair.

Of course we did a stand out of the three girls together too, as well as one of the parents alone.

As you can see, this family has changed a lot over the last few years. I think the parents look about the same, but the kids have really grown. Kids grow so fast, and it’s important and inspiring to have new and update family artwork on the walls.

Years ago, I also created this painted portrait of the girls walking. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown since.

I love delivering finished images to clients and seeing the portraits hanging in their homes.

I know it’s time to update your family portrait. I make it quick and easy, and I’ll help design it so it’s something you absolutely love! Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s create something beautiful for you.

And until next time, America.

Baby Ricky’s First Album

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, MaternityPosted on No Comments

I love photographing little babies, especially over the course of a year as they grow and change so dramatically. I recently finished this beautiful album for Ricky and his family, showcasing him growing from 1 week old to 1 year.

You have to see his entire album, so I shot this video showing every page. You can play this in full screen and HD for more details.

For Ricky, we did shoots at 1 week old, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year old. It’s amazing to see how much he changes in those short periods of time.

For his 1 week old shoot, we produced this wall collage for his home, with images specifically to show the attention to his tiny details: his little hands, feet, toes, and cute little body.

Over time you can see his face and expressions grow. And his big eyes and long eyelashes are so adorable.

Here’s just a few pages from the album. I love this pose with him hanging out with his arms in front.

And this little surprised look was a winner again and again. We kept coming back to it during the order and laughing.

I thought it was great in the album contrasted next to Ricky with a big grin.

Ricky in his red pajamas kept me laughing. He was just fun and adorable, and he kept rolling around having a great time. He was so full of energy and smiles that day.

And near the end of the album at 1 year old, Ricky is standing and giving me all sorts of cute expressions.

These images with their soft, beautiful lighting, clean retouching, and overall just show the expressiveness and joy of being a new baby. These works of art are preserved in this gorgeous album for the family to enjoy for many years to come, as well as becoming an heirloom over time.

I love seeing families grow and love producing these works of art for my clients. And if you’d like some beautiful images of your baby, give me a call, 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something like this for you.

And until next time, America.

Fall Family Portrait Delivery and Install

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, FamilyPosted on No Comments

I just delivered this gorgeous fall family portrait. It was created right here at in my studio gardens at the end of fall. My client was out of town for Christmas, but now that they’re back, it’s delivery day! This video shows how beautiful everything looks.

I love taking care of all the finishing touches for clients. That means taking the artwork and details past the shoot, and all the way through to the end. There’s a lot of work involved in making something perfect, but attention to detail at every step is crucial, including the individualized retouching, custom printing, surface coating, mounting, framing, delivery to the client, and wall installation.

I love the overall balance and grouping of the family, and how great all the kids’ expressions look. This really looks inspiring and beautiful on the client’s wall.

During a family session, it’s a great time to do smaller family groups too. Everyone can order their own portraits, plus they’re great too for smaller wall groupings and Christmas cards too.

Look at how cute all these kids are together. I photographed them about a year ago and it’s amazing how much they changed in that time. (I share those below.)

Sometimes we can end a family portrait session with just grandkids with the grandparents.

About a year ago I photographed just these four kids alone. Look how much they’ve changed and grown in just a year. It just shows how important it is to get portraits of family and kids regularly. Because they change and grow so fast, it’s wonderful to have professional portraits and wall art throughout their life. 

And during that shoot we also did individuals of each child too. These are great in wall groupings or in a child’s bedroom.

I love creating custom wall galleries and family artwork for your home. And I know it’s time for some updated family portraits for your family. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s create some wonderful wall portrait art for your home.

And until next time, America.

Two Siblings Get Adopted, Featured KSL News, & Get New Family Portraits

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These two siblings get adopted, featured on KSL News, and get new family portraits — all on the same day!

Photographing families and relationships is probably the most important thing I do. I love that we can capture in a single art piece, the feelings of love and deep relationships. And this portrait shoot is extra special because it’s of a new family because two siblings were adopted.

But initially, this brother and sister were in the state foster care system and needed to be adopted. I photograph a number of children each year for the state that are in foster care. It helps them to have great professional portraits that are beautifully lit to show prospective parents, rather than the basic iPhone snapshots that would otherwise be taken by social workers.

That’s when I first met these two, and here’s the image I did of them when they came into my studio. Being brother and sister, I wanted too show the love and affection they have for each other, and how the big sister looks out for her younger brother.

Soon after, the local news station KSL News, featured them on ‘Wednesday’s Child.’ In that interview, the older sister’s leg wiggles nervously and she admits that they may never get adopted.

(Here’s a link to that story and the video of its broadcast.)

Then sometime later I got a call saying these two siblings were going to be adopted. I was invited to the courthouse to photograph the event and do some new family portraits. From those images, I created this gorgeous family album. And this young lady made be a beautiful handmade gift in return. It’s very thoughtful and you can see it near the end of this video.

Here are some of the portraits from the album shown in the video above.

On the evening of the adoption, we had coincidently the big yearly gala for the Utah Adoption Exchange’s Heart Gallery. It’s where the new portraits taken of foster children throughout the year are displayed and revealed to the children. Each portrait is framed and hung on easels around the Utah State Capitol’s rotunda, and the kids get to eat refreshments and see all the photographs.

Again, KSL News was there along with these two newly adopted siblings to showcase their story.

(Here’s a link to that story and it’s news clip below.)

Here are some stills from the broadcast showing my portraits on the monitor behind the news anchors.

Throughout the story, they showed a number of my portraits.

But the heart of the story was this new family.

And there’s a quick glimpse of my profile, as I sit waiting to present my portrait to the family.

It was a great evening and event, and a wonderful time to see families come together, and how portraits are meaningful in that process.

If you’d like some wonderful, updated family or children’s portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something inspiring for you.

And until next time, America.

Travis’s Fall Family Portrait Canvas and Standouts

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, FamilyPosted on No Comments

At the end of fall, I photographed Travis and his beautiful family here in my outdoor studio gardens located right outside my Utah studio. Then later for Christmas I had everything finished and delivered their final order. The morning of the delivery, I made this video showing how gorgeous their finished products looked.

It was great seeing Travis and his beautiful family again. His children are adorable and are growing so fast. I always like to photograph a few options for the large family group, and this was our favorite of everyone. Here at my Utah studio we can do either in-studio images or we can step out into the studio gardens and do outdoor portraits too. For this shoot we choose to shoot outside and take advantage of the last of the good fall weather. And having everyone sitting together on the ground close, was our favorite grouping of the entire family. Hopefully you see how beautiful this looks in the video above.

We also took time to photograph each child and then made up square standout portraits of each one. Doesn’t this little girl make you smile? She’s so cute with her long hair, crossed knees, and feminine pose? The rock stairway was the perfect spot for her individual portrait.

And each child has a perfect and genuine smile, each custom lit, each looking fantastic. These looked beautiful as finished, glazed, square wall pieces.

And to close the shoot, we did one wall portrait of all the kids together in one photograph. There’s a lot of personality in this image. And it’s a piece that they can all look back on for years to come and remember when they were all this age.

It’s always a wonderful thing to update your family portrait. And I know you probably need an updated portrait. We can mix it with larger family groups, or alone with your immediate family, then taking time with your children.

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

And until next time, America.

Cute Little 2-Year-Old Twins

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, MaternityPosted on No Comments

I had the joy of photographing these cute little 2-year old twins for their birthday portraits. They were so fun and expressive, that they had me laughing the entire time.

Before shooting outside, we started off in the studio on a clean white, to show off their fun, colorful, number-2 shirts. I have things that I do to get little kids to relax and open up with me, giving me great expressions. Right from the beginning, this little boy opened up and saw me as his buddy. But the little girl was a bit more apprehensive. She brought her favorite monkey, and held on to him for the first part of the shoot and started off with some cute scowls.

Before long though, they were both doing great and we got some wonderful smiles from both of them.

One of the games I play is to “get their toes.” In this photo, she’s poking her feet out to show me her toes because she wants me to get them again. It’s a good sign and shows she’s happy, open, and having a good time.

Then a change of clothes and a wonderful, somber expression from both of them. I love these outfits, and love how each one is standing. Their body language is perfect.

But then their moods swapped. She was happy and open, but he started to crash and cry. For comfort, he’s holding a toy car in one hand, and food in the other. And this little girl is calm with her monkey.

And then back to some fun expressions out of both of them again.

But when he started to lose it again, calling his aunt on the phone helped him settle down. And I love her expression, watching her brother.

Sitting down in the chair, she comforts him with an arm around him.

Using these favorites from the studio white, I designed up this 9-up portrait collage, ready for the wall in their home. It’ll be finished and framed, setting these images off.

Then stepping outside into my studio gardens for a change of scenery, we got this wonderful little kiss! They’re each turned perfectly so you can see both of them, neither one covering up the other. And I love their bare feet.

We also did some individual portraits of each of them. Here, she poses against a tree with her head cocked as the wind blows her dress.

And he stands in a nice, squared-off masculine pose, watching what I’m doing, a little worried and ready to be done.

These three images worked really well in this wall trio design.

Little kids grow so fast, and memories seem to be as fleeting as time. I love being able to create wonderful heirloom portraits like these, and I hope their family loves these, and that these adorable children will love them too when their older and can look back on their 2nd birthday together.

I love how these turned out and had a wonderful time with these two beautiful kids.

Summer is leaving us and the window for outdoor portraits is closing. Now is a great time to bring your family or children in for some family portraits. Right here I can do indoor studio and outdoor portraits in the same place, or I can travel to special locations too. Give me a call at 801-728-3317, and let’s create something beautiful for you and your home.

And until next time, America.

Merry Christmas, Santa Pictures of My Nephew’s Kindergarten Class

by BryCox (Admin)Bry Cox Photography Blog, Children, Babies, Maternity, ThoughtsPosted on No Comments

Earlier this week my little nephew had a Christmas party in his kindergarten class. My sister was in charge of it and arranged for her husband to be dressed as Santa, and to show up during the games to read a story. She also arranged for me to be there with a full photo studio set up in the hallway, so we could do individual portraits of each child with Santa.

I created a custom layout of golden snowflakes along with the teacher’s name and year at the bottom, and we got some beautiful prints made up to present to each child the next day. It was a total hit. It was a fun way to donate some time and talent to make some kids happy.

During the party, the teacher would bring one child at a time into the hallway. Then they would each have a small but endearing conversation with Santa and then get their portrait done. In fact, kids from other classes got word that Santa was in the building, and many little faces continued to peak out from classrooms all down the hallway.

For privacy reasons, I can’t post the pictures of the cute little faces I photographed, but they were each adorable and the images turned out great.

So being Christmas Eve, I will share this one image I did of just my sister and her husband before I packed up all my gear.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing holiday. And I hope you all can spend time with family and loved ones.

And until next time, America.