BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – RYAN’S EDITORIAL PORTRAIT

Ryan is the unofficial future mayor of downtown Billings so of course he needs a badass portrait for the Time cover story they’ll eventually run on him! Well maybe not, but he still needs an awesome portrait fit for a magazine editorial. Thankfully he knows a guy! Thanks for the sitting Ryan!

People are asking me about these editorial portraits, and they’re asking if people in Billings Montana really want or need a portrait that looks like something out of Vanity Fair. Why wouldn’t they?! Who wouldn’t want a portrait like these? If you’re going to have a portrait made, why not strive to match the best talent in the world, right here in Billings? I think we can do it. I’m putting in the time and honing my skills and so are my teammates, like Sydney Ross, a top level hair and makeup artist that’s as good as anyone you’ll find New York or LA. Together my team and I are out to prove that badass, modern and stylish portraits aren’t only reserved for people that live in the major markets, you can get them right here in downtown Billings Montana. For bookings please visit our new headshot and portrait website here: www.pbheadshots.com.

Tips for photographers: These portraits are inspired by all of the studying I’ve been doing thanks to my mentor, legendary photojournalist Kenneth Jarecke (who is on instagram now as @kenneth.jarecke). The three influences that inspired these portraits are Marco Grob first and foremost with the flagging and key light technique used, and Dan Winters and Gregory Heisler with the use of on axis fill light from a ring light, or something similar. For the headshot, the key light is a large silver bounce umbrella only about two feet away from Ryan’s head to the camera right. This key light is flagged with black foam core to create the shadow on Ryan’s left ear (camera right). Flagging the key light side of the face is a very cool technique that I learned from studying Marco Grob and Dan Winters and for me, it opens up broad lighting patterns where I’d otherwise prefer short lighting if it weren’t for the flag. The on axis fill is a silver beauty dish about a foot higher than the camera and you can see the central catchlight in the eye. For more drama I set the fill light pretty low, two or three stops less power than the key light. I don’t use a light meter (although I just got one). I eyeball my histogram and test each light individually. Behind Ryan camera left there is an 8 foot silver reflector for a subtle kicker light on the right side of his face (camera left). Behind Ryan and camera right is a strip box and 8 foot silver reflector to replicate a similar amount of kicker light on the left side of his face (camera right).

The full body portrait is inspired by Annie Leibovitz, both in the lighting and in the use of my hand painted background and floor.  Annie often uses big soft lights, such as the Photek Softlighter. In this case I simply added a white diffusion sock over my large silver umbrella. I still used a big piece of black foam core to flag the key light, but I opened up the angle a bit so it’s not as side on as in the headshot. The shadow from the flag is not as prominent because the light is so soft, but the main thing I like about using the flag in this way is that it keeps the catchlight from spilling out of the pupil and into the white of the eye, which is a common problem when side lighting in the way that Annie and these other guys do (Mark Seliger for instance). Out of frame camera left is a wall of black foam core to eat up the key light and keep the shadows dark. Lastly, the same silver beauty dish about a foot above camera the camera for the on axis fill I’ve been loving so much thanks to Greg Heisler and Dan Winters.

HOW TO GET A BADASS HEADSHOT IN BILLINGS MONTANA! TIP 3: GO HORIZONTAL AND CROP THE HEAD!

I cannot stress enough how important a great looking headshot is these days. There is simply no getting around the fact that most potential customers will get a first impression of you online before meeting you in person. To make the most of those first impressions you need the best looking headshot you can get, which will help your potential customers make a human connection with you, even through a computer or phone. If you think about it, your headshot will be used a lot, and not just in marketing. You can use it for your profile photo on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and on your website. You can even use a headshot on your business cards and in your email signature to make a human connection every chance you get. Because it’s so important to have an awesome headshot I’m giving everyone my best headshot tips, so everyone knows how to get the best headshot they can get, whether they book with us at Paul Bellinger Photography, or with someone else. If you’re new to the blog, you might want to check out Tip #1 here first, and follow the links to Tips 2 and 3. Tip #3 is below.

Tip 3: Go horizontal and crop the head! This is a great tip because almost anyone can do this right now without even having to get a new headshot, just crop the one you have and tell your photographer to shoot horizontal next time. If you’ve looked around on this blog, or on my website you’ll see I only show horizontal headshots when it comes to professional business headshots, and they’re all cropped very tightly into the head. Why have we gone for the horizontal head crop? The main reason is because today’s devices are almost all horizontal, with widescreens being the new standard on computers, TVs, and mobile devices. As a result, most web developers and social networks display horizontal images more prominently than vertical images, with more real estate devoted to horizontal images. So if you have a horizontal headshot you increase the chances people will see it, and people are more likely to take note of it and make a human connection if they do, because you’ll be utilizing as much space as possible. But why the tight head crop? For the same reason we want your headshot to appear as big as possible, we also crop off the top of the heads and most of the body, so more real estate is devoted to what we really want people to see: your eyes! Cropping the head is necessary to make the eyes as big as possible in the photo and we don’t want to waste unnecessary space on the background above the head. It’s all about the eyes! The look in a person’s eyes is what tells the whole story about who they are, and that’s why looking into someone’s eyes is such an important human connection. By giving as much real estate as possible to your eyes, your chances of making a human connection will dramatically increase. That’s also why we want to keep headshots cropped very tightly around the head, and not include much of the body at all. Vertical headshots and portraits tend to include far too much of the body, making the eyes too small to make a human connection with the eyes. Take a look at your current profile pics, if you can’t see your eyes very clearly then you need to crop it tighter!

For these reasons, the horizontal head cropped headshot is very popular right now, it’s the biggest trend in headshots in the major photography markets in New York City and Los Angeles. So naturally people are associating a horizontal headshot with being very modern, while the vertical headshot is starting to look more traditional and maybe even old-fashioned. Cropping into heads is also very common, it’s very popular in magazines, especially fashion magazines. Just look at any magazine rack and you’ll see head crops everywhere. Again the head crop is thought to be very modern and in fashion. Just as an FYI, I always include the whole head during my sessions and deliver cropped and uncropped versions, just in case anyone needs the top of their head for something! If you didn’t read it already, check out Tip #2 here! 

Tips for photographers: This is my favorite setup for headshots. I’ve written about the lighting setup here, so you’ll have to read about it there. But I want to mention here that I generally prefer some type of beauty lighting setup for headshots, which means a lot of soft light that is flattering for all skin types. To get the light as soft as possible you bring the lights as close to the subjects face as possible. Bringing the lights close has the added benefit of creating very fast falloff, which slims the face and creates dimension, ensuring that your portraits are flattering but don’t ever look flat. For the most part, all you need is one light with the biggest soft light modifier you can get (a big white umbrella is nice and cheap), and a reflector or two, which is what you use for “clamshell lighting,” the traditional standard for beauty lighting (Google it!). For people that want to look at little more badass, I like to adjust the ratios of my lights to create directionality and shadows, but I’ll leave that tip for another day.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – A PORTRAIT IS PRICELESS

In my view, portraits like this are priceless. This is my Dad, and this portrait lays everything to bare about who he is at this time in his life. It’s an iconic image for me and my family, and I was blessed to make it. Photography is truly a blessing and I am very thankful it is my profession. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to get to where I am today without the help of many, and my family most importantly. For all of those people I am grateful every day.

If you’d like to book a portrait session or a creative marketing consultation with me please contact me through my website www.portraits.paulbellinger.com.

About this photo: I made this portrait before a documentary film screening my Dad and I attended in downtown Billings. My Dad has been a willing subject as my portraiture has evolved over the last few years. He was one of the first subjects in my VIP series here. For this portrait, having only 15-30 minutes to set up and shoot, I decided to draw inspiration from one of my favorite legendary photographers, David Bailey, who is known for shooting very quickly. He is also known for using a white background and no fuss lighting. It was a very refreshing way to shoot, keeping things simple and getting a great result.

Tips for photographers: This is a very simple one light lighting technique that actually requires two lights. I think of it as a one light technique because there is only one light on the subject, a 22 inch silver beauty dish with white diffusion sock over it. The light is about three or less feet away from the subject and a foot or two higher than the subject’s head camera right. I’ve complicated matters slightly by adding a black flag in between the light and the subject, to block some of the light hitting his left ear (camera right). The flag is a piece of black foam core clamped to a light stand. The second light is on the background to make it a bright white, and some of that light is reflecting back onto the subject, creating a rim light you can see on his right ear (camera left).

BILLINGS MONTANA PHOTOGRAPHER – DOWNTOWN BILLINGS FROM THE LOWER RIMS

Every now and then I see a sunset breaking and run up the hill in time to make a few pictures. When I do, my favorite subject is downtown Billings. It looks so cozy and quaint from this distance. You can’t tell if the buildings are empty or not. You can’t see how dirty or clean it is, or how many homeless people there are. Billings is more than just a pretty city on the banks of the Yellowstone, but sometimes it’s nice to remember that we are blessed with geography if nothing else. My wife and I live very close to the rims and we love to explore the “no mans land” on the Eastern side of the rims with our dogs. Billings has so much to offer, we are fortunate to make this place our home.

Paul Bellinger photography is a full service portrait studio in downtown Billings Montana. We specialize in wedding and portrait photography, please visit www.paulbellinger.com for weddings, and www.portraits.paulbellinger.com for portraits and commercial photography.

Tips for photographers: This was one of those, “Wow it’s going to be a great sunset,” grab your camera and run kind of shoots. I didn’t bring a tripod, a sign I was more interested in the adventure of hiking on the rugged cliffs behind my house than I was in making serious pictures. But I guess when you’re a professional photographer every photo is serious. This image is a composite of four exposures, blended into a panorama in photoshop. This is a crop from an even wider view. I made the exposures with a Sony A7ii and Zeiss Loxia 35mm.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – OUR BOY SALA IS ALL GROWN UP!

He’s all grown up but Sala is still injury prone! He runs around the backyard like crazy, patrolling our fence line. He loves being outside and goes out for about 6 hours a day. He’s in great shape from so much exercise, but he’s constantly running into things and getting cuts and scrapes. He broke off his dew claw a few days before this portrait and we were on the way to have the bandage removed at the vet’s office when I thought it would be a fitting time to make his portrait. It’s fitting because being injured and playing though injury is a major part of his character. We found this crazy pup in the Piney Woods outside of Nacogdoches TX and he’s grown into a strapping young man! We’re happy we found him and adopted him, he brings a lot of joy to our family, even if his name does technically mean “Moron” in Hindi.

Beautiful, timeless studio portraits are a specialty of mine. I’ve put in countless hours of study and practice to truly understand the art of portraiture and I am constantly pushing to get better and evolve. When you book a portrait sitting with me you aren’t just getting me for the few hours that we’re together, you’re getting everything that I’ve put into my craft, culminating with my best performance to date, at your sitting. Let me put my passion into your next portrait, visit www.portraits.paulbellinger.com for more information.

Tips for photographers: Well there is a lot of different lighting going on here. The first two portraits are a 3 light setup, with the key light a large soft box in front of and above my pup. You can see the catchlight in the top of the eyes. The bottom catchlight is created by a silver reflector on the floor in front of Sala. The other two lights are two kickers from the back on both left and right sides to create some edge lighting around Sala and help his dark fur separate from the black background. Both of the kicker lights are bare strobes with the standard 7-inch silver reflector on them, and are about two feet higher than Sala’s head, which is probably too high but the stands were at their lowest and I was too lazy to switch out for smaller stands. We had a vet appointment to make after all.

The third portrait is lit with a window to the camera right of Sala and few feet behind him. There is also a silver reflector camera left to reflect some window light back on to Sala’s face. The catchlight you see in his eye is the window. The fourth portrait is lit from behind with the window that has a piece of white diffusion fabric over it. Just behind me on both sides of the camera are two 8 foot high white reflectors as well as the small silver reflector camera right. It’s amazing how much you can do with a window!

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – FASHION TEST WITH CHRISTINE!

I mentioned on Instagram (@PJBellinger) that I should post a color version of Christine’s headshot, because her eyes are insane! Christine is a fantastic model based in Billings but who works around the world. She’s represented by Rocky Mountain Entertainment Agency and Images NYC, and probably a few more. We only had an hour to meet for a quick test shoot, so we’ll definitely have to plan a more extensive shoot soon. Stay tuned for that.

Fashion photography is one of our specialties at Paul Bellinger Photography. Models and actors frequently need new headshots and new images to add to their portfolios. Get in touch to book your portfolio or headshot sitting at www.portraits.paulbellinger.com.

Tips for photographers: This is a really easy lighting setup. Christine is facing a big window and has a white reflector behind her for a background. She’s surrounded by black on both sides, a black wall camera right and black 4x8 foot reflector on the camera left side. I’ve got black curtains on my windows so I can make them bigger or smaller to soften or harden the light or to move the light to one side or the other. The catchlights in her eyes give away the size and position of the window light.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – FASHION PORTFOLIO SITTING WITH LESLIE!

Meet new model Leslie! She’s recently returned from a trip to LA for an international modeling competition that she pretty much cleaned up at, with a number of first place finishes and lots of call backs. She’ll be signed with a major agency soon if she keeps up the good work! I always like working with inspired young people like Leslie. I wish her the very best of luck in her endeavors!

Yes we do fashion photography at Paul Bellinger Photography! Models and actors, book a portfolio building sitting with us today to get your career off the ground! Please visit www.portraits.paulbellinger.com for more information.

Tips for photographers: Both of these images were made with window light. You can do a lot with a window! In the first image Leslie is facing towards the window that I am sitting in and she is only about 4 feet from the window so the falloff is pretty quick, highlighting her high cheekbones with darker falloff around the edges. She’s surrounded by black on both sides, a black wall on one side and two 4x8 foot black reflectors on the other. The black eats up the light, ensuring that no light is bouncing around to fill the shadows. In the second image the window is camera right and the curtains are closed down so that only a narrow strip of light is coming through. By shrinking the size of the window light I’ve made the light harder and the shadow cast by her nose is creating a defined Rembrandt pattern. Again I used the black 4x8 foot reflectors out of frame camera left to prevent the window light from bouncing off of anything else in the studio and filling in the shadows. By doing this I ensure the shadows are as dark as possible. I love the drama of dark shadows and I think it’s especially fantastic in black and white and with a model with such dramatic features as Leslie.

HOW TO GET A BADASS PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT IN BILLINGS MONTANA! TIP 2: DITCH THE BLUE BACKGROUND!

A great looking headshot will make a powerful first impression for people who find you online. If your headshot looks professional, modern and stylish, you will make a great first impression. How do you get a professional, modern and stylish headshot in Billings Montana? Well of course you can come to us at Paul Bellinger Photography, and we can show you. But since we can’t service the entire city I’ve started a headshot tip series here on the blog for people that can’t get a sitting with us. Tip #1 is about looking your best, and you can find it on the blog here. Tip #2 is below.

Tip 2: Ditch the blue background! The blue background is all too popular in Billings these days and it’s ruining a lot people’s headshots. The speckled blue background with the extreme spotlight/vignette and hair light is the worst offender. It looks dated, plain and simple. It’s a look that was popularized by Lifetouch in the 80s and 90s for high school yearbook pictures with a ton of hair light to highlight the massive hair of the day. So the first problem is that blue background is not modern, it’s not stylish, no matter how professionally it can be done. In fact, any colored background will inevitably look dated and will be associated with a particular era (the brick wall background for instance, is very 80s). The second problem with the blue background is another problem that all colored backgrounds have: it’s distracting. When people browse your website or check out your profile on LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter, etc. they are only going to look for a few seconds, and you want them to connect with your face for as many of those seconds as possible so they start to feel like they know you. As soon as they make that human connection, you’ve got a chance. But when you have a colored background the eye immediately gets distracted away from the face and onto the background, so no connection is made in those brief few seconds and they move on to the next candidate. So to reiterate a point made in Tip #1 nothing in your headshot should compete with your face for attention. No jewelry, clothing, hair/makeup, or background should attract more attention than your face.

So now that it’s clear you shouldn’t use a colored background, and especially the blue speckle (or brick wall), what kind of background fits the criteria of professional, modern and stylish? Keep it simple! There are only 3: black, white, and gray. There is a reason these are the background colors preferred over the generations by the great master portrait artists, they look timeless, which means they always look both modern and classic and can never be pinpointed to a single era. But why did the great masters start using black, white and gray to begin with? Because these neutral, colorless backgrounds do not distract the viewers attention away from the face, making the face the true centerpiece of portraiture over the ages. Pick up any fashion magazine today, and you’ll see black, white and gray backgrounds are ubiquitous. So in conclusion, when you’re looking for a headshot photographer in Billings Montana, make sure to request a headshot on a black, white or gray background, and ditch the blue background. Read Tip #3 here!

Tips for photographers: This is the same headshot lighting technique I discussed in the previous post here. The only difference is that I’ve turned the background light off, so now the white wall is going gray. I love gray! You can adjust how dark or light the gray is by adjusting the distance between the subject and the background. When you move the subject closer to the background you also move your lights on the subject closer to the background and the white wall becomes a lighter shade of gray. Move them farther away from the background and it’ll go a darker shade of gray until it eventually goes black if you move far enough away from the background. Enjoy!

HOW TO GET A BADASS PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT IN BILLINGS MONTANA! TIP 1: LOOK GOOD!

Everybody needs a great headshot these days. Most new clients will meet you online before ever meeting you in person and your headshot makes the biggest first impression. So it’s very important that wherever people can find you online, your headshot looks professional, modern and stylish. I’ve been telling this to people in Billings Montana for over a year now, but it is apparent that what I mean by “professional, modern and stylish,” must not be very clear, because I’m seeing a lot of people with unprofessional, dated, and lame headshots. If you come to me for your headshots I’ll show you what I’m talking about and give you a headshot that will make the best first impression possible for you and your business. But I know that not everyone in town can afford the luxury of having me as their headshot photographer, so I’ve put together some headshot tips so you can still get a badass headshot. I’m dropping the tips one at a time and here’s the first one.

Tip 1: Look good! This one is on you, put some effort into it! Do everything you can to come in for your headshot session looking great and looking like you want to look. Whatever your personal style may be, make sure your clothes fit how you want them to fit, and are not wrinkled. If necessary, get a haircut, get groomed, or book a professional hair and makeup artist for your headshot session so that you’ll look your absolute best. If you book a headshot session with me you’ll have the option of having a professional hair and makeup artist in the studio, keeping a close eye on your hair while we shoot so your hair looks amazing. I work closely with my favorite hair and makeup artist Sydney Ross, who is one of the few true professionals in Billings at camera-ready makeup and hair. We do this all the time and we know how to make sure you look flawless on camera. We also do a pre-consultation with our clients about what to wear. In general I advise neutrals, gray, black, white, off white, and earth tones. Bright colors, patterns and accessories are distracting and we want your headshot to feature YOU, not your clothes. Your look should compliment your personality, not compete with it. That’s it! The rest is on your photographer! Unfortunately I see a lot of photographers doing headshots that either don’t know how to, or simply aren’t doing their damnedest to make their clients look good. I’ll tell you what to look for and what to ask when picking a headshot photographer in the next tips, but I’ll let you in on a little secret right here: a good camera doesn’t make a difference if it’s not in the hands of someone who has carefully studied the art of the headshot. Any photographer can give you a mediocre headshot, but only a headshot specialist who knows how to make a great headshot can truly make you look your best. Be sure to follow along! Tip #2 is here! www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

Tips for photographers: This is a four light setup, three on the face and one on the background. The light setup is the right triangle setup made popular by Peter Hurley, the headshot king. Using two stripboxes and a small softbox I make a right triangle with lights and shoot through the triangle. I use a stripbox and the softbox to create a 90 degree right angle with the softbox on bottom. A second stripbox makes the hypotenuse of the right triangle. Some people use this setup and keep the lights all at the same power, but I personally like to have a definitive key light so that the direction of the highlights and shadows does not get confused. The key light is the vertical stripbox (as opposed to the angled hypotenuse stripbox). In this case it is camera left and is about a stop brighter than the other the two fill lights. The catchlights in the eyes make the setup very obvious, so look closely and you’ll see exactly how my lights are placed. Bring the subjects as close to the lights as possible while still keeping the catchlights fully within the colored part of the eye (don’t let the catchlights leak into the white of the eye, it’s not pleasing). The background light is a bare strobe with 8 inch reflector right behind the subject. I light the white wall to the point that the white starts to get blown out on the histogram. Make sure to keep the subject about 10 or more feet from the white wall or the background light will bounce and backlight your subject.

BILLINGS MONTANA PHOTOGRAPHER – HAPPY SUPER BOWL!

Today is the Super Bowl and I’m up way earlier than usual on a Sunday! I’ve got fresh coffee, beautiful morning light, and a smoker filled with pork. I’d say that bodes well for the day ahead! When the pork is ready I’m off to Ken’s for a day full of football, family, and of course, abusing his massive photo book library. In honor of the football season, I’m posting one of the few football photos I made this year. This is an outtake from a helmet shoot I did with Ken Jarecke for Hail Varsity Magazine. The Huskers were unveiling an alternative uniform against Northwestern, and had been struggling, so I wanted to make something a bit ominous. We lost. But oh well, today is about the Super Bowl!

I love the super bowl, regardless of who’s playing, but it’s always a little bittersweet because it’s the end of football season. Strangely, I feel more reminiscent about the year that’s past on the day of the super bowl and not on new year’s eve, when the year literally ends. It’s the end of the 2015 season, so it’s kind of like 2016 starts tonight at midnight. The ball drops when the game ends and we look forward to a great year ahead. 2016 came early for Nebraska fans this year, as the season ended on December 26 when the Huskers beat UCLA in Levi’s Stadium where the Super Bowl will take place today. I started the year sitting at a bar in London, watching my beloved Huskers from across the pond. I missed the season opener for only the second time in 10 years, and we lost the opener for the first time in my lifetime. Of course I feel guilty about it, but just like the players, I have to put it behind me and focus on the 2016 season, and not missing another opener.

For the record: I want Denver to win the Super Bowl and make the AFC West proud, something that I hope my Kansas City Chiefs can do next year. I’m also throwing my good karma behind Denver because some of my best friends and family are Denver fans, so I want them to be happy. For people who would say that I should hate Denver because they are the Chiefs rivals in the AFC West, I just don't have the energy for that and I've always been all about loving my own teams rather than hating on someone else's. I do like Carolina a lot too, just by the way they play, I love teams with good defense and a running attack/mobile QB. What self respecting Nebraskan doesn’t? I’ve been rooting for them in the NFC all season (along with the Seahawks for my bro-in-law). I also like Cam Newton and I hope he gets a chance to dab against Denver’s #1 ranked defense. I think we’re in for a good one and I’m not making a prediction. Happy Super Bowl!

Tips for photographers: Photography can be so strange sometimes. Why did I light this helmet like this? I was heavily influenced by the modern masters Marco Grob and Dan Winters around this time in 2015 (still am) and was doing a lot of portraits inspired by them. So I lit the helmet like I was lighting faces at the time, with hard light and flags. The Huskers were going to unveil this helmet against Northwestern, whose colors are purple, so I tried to put a purple-ish light on the front of the helmet to signify the upcoming game. The red light is for Nebraska, since there isn’t a lot of red on this helmet I decided to add some. Nebraska was off to one of its worst starts in history so I wanted to keep the overall image dark and ominous. The key light on the N of the helmet is a bare strobe, flagged to create the pattern you see and only highlight the N, while keeping the rest of the helmet black, as it was a matte black helmet. It was kind of fun playing around with this helmet and I’m thankful to Ken Jarecke and Hail Varsity Magazine for the opportunity. www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY WIFE!

Happy New Year! January 1 is a special day for me because my wife and I were married in India on January 1, 2010. It’s been six years and I have to say that convincing her to marry me was the best decision I’ve ever made. She makes my day, every day. We spend a lot of time together and yet we can’t get enough of each other. We’re blessed. We had an amazing 2015 and 2016 will be just as awesome. 2015 was a year of travel and adventure and I accomplished a lifelong goal to visit all 50 US states with a roadtrip to Alaska. I also visited 5 different countries in 2015, and that is a personal high for one year but I look forward to breaking that number routinely in the coming years. 2016 has a tough act to follow, but the possibilities are endless when you face everyday with the love and appreciation of a lifelong partner. Thank you to everyone who has made this dream life possible, and most importantly, my amazing beautiful wife Nisha!

Tips for photographers: Looking at the nearly 60 blogs I wrote in 2015 it’s obvious that I’ve got my game face on when it comes to improving my technique and vision. I’m shooting constantly and fine tuning my skills. I can’t be satisfied and I won’t be. I’m coming close to mastery of the tools at my fingertips but I don’t think my vision will ever stop evolving and right now it’s still advancing quickly. I’m speeding out of control on the “road to seeing” to use Dan Winters’ phrase, but my foot is still on the gas pedal. I’m looking forward to the road ahead. Cheers to 2015 and making 2016 the best year yet! This picture? She’s facing a big window behind me at my studio. www.paulbellinger.com

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS HEADSHOTS THAT AREN’T BORING!

Everyone needs a good-looking headshot these days! With profile photos on several different social media accounts, your headshot may be seen by potentially thousands of people before they ever meet you in person. Your headshot makes an immediate impression so it’s important that your online presence is carefully curated to create the impression you want the world to see. The world has changed and boring headshots aren’t going to work anymore! You need a headshot that will stand out from the crowd of boring profile pics and amateur looking cell phone selfies. Lucky for you it’s easy to stand out for the right reasons if you hire a professional portrait photographer, especially if you find a photographer that understands the art of the headshot. When you find the right photographer make sure and give them some creative leeway, after all you’re hiring them for their taste and expertise, don’t hamstring them by requesting a boring “safe” look. Let them make something exceptional for you. At Paul Bellinger Photography we specialize in badass portraits and headshots that will help make your online presence pop! To book your sitting visit www.portraits.paulbellinger.com.

Tips for photographers: This headshot lighting is inspired by Peter Hurley’s lighting technique. I initially set out to replicate the Peter Hurley look, but then quickly got shadowy. So I started with three lights on the face, to create a triangle catchlight pattern in the eyes similar to one that Peter Hurley uses. Essentially I created a right triangle out of light modifiers with a two or three foot opening in the middle to shoot through. Bringing the subject close to the lights creates something of a big ring-light pattern with quick falloff on the face and catchlights that can be very striking. But in my opinion there is too much fill in the shadows when the subject’s face is surrounded by big lights so I tweaked the ratios between the three lights until there was a clear shadow pattern that creates dimension on the face. Camera left I used a large 5 foot octabox in a vertical position perpendicular to the subject’s face as the key light, with the power set about 3 stops brighter than the other two lights, which will act as fill and catchlights. Underneath the camera a few feet below the subject’s face is a 4 foot softbox pointing straight up at the ceiling, creating a right angle with the octabox key light, forming two sides of a right angle triangle. The third light acts as the hypotenuse of the right triangle, connecting the other two on a 45 degree angle. You can see each of the modifiers in the catchlights if you look closely, although the key light is most prominent. To finish off the look I added a silver reflector behind the subject out of frame to the camera right that creates the edge light you see on the camera right side of the subject’s face.  See more headshots, including tips for photographers by clicking here.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – TWO OF MY FAVORITE HEADSHOTS!

One of the blessings of being a portrait photographer is making portraits of the people you love the most. All portraits are special but portraits of the people you love are priceless. These are my wife’s parents, Ma and Baba, and for going on six years now, they’re my parents too. They recently made their second trip to the US for Thanksgiving and they spent over a week in Billings Montana with us. I am very thankful that I got to spend about three hours with them in the studio and we made some beautiful portraits that my wife and her family and I will forever cherish. Ma and Baba are back in Hazaribagh India now, safe and sound. Thank you to everyone who made them feel welcome during their time here.

Everyone needs a professional headshot as part of their online presence these days! Your various online profile photos will be viewed thousands of times more than your actual face will be! If you’re in business, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than putting your best face forward and you only get that from a professional portrait photographer. Visit www.portraits.paulbellinger.com to book a headshot or portrait in Billings Montana.

Tips for photographers: Do you recognize this lighting technique? It’s the same as the last post. I mentioned that I use this lighting technique often because it’s so easy to set up and everyone always loves this look (especially women). I mentioned to Ma that these would be her favorites when we were shooting this look and sure enough, when it came time to pick her absolute favorite image from her sitting, this was her favorite. Read the last post here.

BILLINGS MONTANA FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER – BEAUTY HEADSHOT

I promised on Instagram that I would show the color version of this photo on the blog so everyone can see Arley’s stunning blue eyes. She is really a Montana treasure, and such a joy to be around and work with. I can’t wait to work with her again soon on a fashion shoot that we are planning now. Thank you to Sydney Ross for hair, makeup and styling, as always, you are the best. We’re definitely trying to raise the bar for fashion photography in Montana. It’s not just flannel and cowboy boots in a field of grass. We’re inspired by the amazing fashion photography that is happening around the world right now, and we want to show that we can make high quality work in Billings Montana, or anywhere else in the world. Check back to for updates in early 2016! www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

Tips for photographers: This is one of my favorite window light setups. It’s a go to lighting technique to start the day with because it’s easy, starting with natural light always get’s your model relaxed, and this soft lighting is great for beauty shots, which you want to get out of the way right when the model comes out of hair and makeup. Arley is standing just in front of a large window, with a piece of white diffusion cloth over it. I am standing a few feet in front of her, and Sydney is holding a white styrofoam reflector in between Arley and I that you can clearly see in the catchlight in the bottom of her eye. Behind me is a pair of 4x8 foot white reflectors creating a beautiful soft fill light that is flattering for all skin types. I made this picture with the Sony A7 and Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 at f/2.8.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – A FINE ART PORTRAIT SERIES

I’m very happy to show these three portraits from a new series of fine art portraits. Portraiture is something of a lost art in Billings Montana, being a small city in a remote part of the country, our portraits usually consist of a person standing in a field, or on a gravel road somewhere in bright sunlight, smiling at the camera. But elsewhere in the world portraiture is thriving as an art that is far more complex and nuanced. Just look at any magazine rack and you’ll see diversely crafted portraits everywhere. Why? Because portraits are powerful, we make an immediate connection when we see a portrait. The goal of this portrait series is to show off the power of the portrait, to show that we can make fine art portraits in Billings Montana that are made with the same techniques that master portrait photographers are using around the world, and in doing so we can show Billings that we don’t have to settle for anything less. To schedule a portrait sitting please visit www.portraits.paulbellinger.com. Read on to learn about the inspiration and hard work that went into making these portraits.

Tips for photographers: Well I imagine this will become a long-winded story because it seems like I’ve been thinking about these photos for months now, and it took five sessions to get comfortable with the lighting setup and really start making portraits. It all started with Gregory Heisler’s book “50 portraits,” which I’ve been reading for almost a year every time I visit my friend and mentor Ken Jarecke, who always let’s me browse his library (as long as I wash my hands first). A couple of months ago I read about a portrait where Heisler was praising the use of a ring light to create a “shadowless” fill light (p. 86). I made a mental note of it, but didn’t rush out and buy a ring light or anything like that. Perhaps a month later I saw a portrait of Kareem Abdul Jabar by Dan Winters on twitter and it was so striking to me that I started an all out binge on everything Dan Winters I could get my hands on (look at my twitter feed @paulbellinger to find a retweet of the Kareem portrait). Of course Ken had Winters’ book “Road to Seeing,” so I spent a few hours with it before buying my own copy soon after. I noticed that for a lot of my favorite portraits, Winters often used a ring light too. There is a strobist.com post about Winters that has a behind the scenes video of Dan shooting Jack Nicklaus and even has quotes from Dan saying that he prefers to use the ring light mostly for the catch light it creates, and less for fill when possible (click here to view). I set about trying to replicate a Dan Winters look, specifically to achieve a similar lighting effect as seen in his portraits of Tom Hanks and Benedict Cumberbatch.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – BADASS HEADSHOT

My brother in law Babu is awesome, so I thought it was only fitting to make him a badass headshot when he was in town this summer. A Badass Portrait (or Badass Headshot) is something new that I’ve been introducing to Billings Montana. One of Montana’s slogans is that “Montana is for Badasses,” so the badass portrait is one that made with an equal amount of badass as Montana itself. Really, it’s an editorial portrait that can take on many forms, whatever may be influencing me at the moment, or an idea that I come up with in response to a specific subject matter. This particular look for a headshot is inspired by Marco Grob, a renowned photographer who shoots a lot of magazine covers. So just think of your badass portrait as your very own cover photo. Book at www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

Tips for photographers: This is one of my favorite lighting techniques that I learned from studying the work of Marco Grob. I’ve written about the basics of the technique in the past here. The most important thing about this lighting technique is using a flag (black foam core in this case) to create a shadow on the same side of the face that the key light is coming from (camera right in this case). You can make the shadow hard or soft according to your taste, and you can make the shadow broad or narrow, but try to at least reduce the exposure on the ear. The key light in this case is a strip box very close to Babu, just out of the frame on the right. Two beauty dishes are behind Babu on 45 degree angles to create the kicker lighting. Other than that the set is closed off very tightly with black foam core to absorb any stray light and keep the shadows dark with very little light filling in the shadows.

I like shadowy portraits and I usually like short side Rembrandt lighting for that reason. And that’s fine, the flag doesn’t change much for short light Rembrandt lighting. But when the subject turns and broad lights themselves, the flag reigns them in by putting a shadow on the broad lit side of the face and obscuring the ear which could otherwise get brighter than the face depending on the lighting setup. Don't understand the difference between short light and broad light? Read about broad lighting here and short lighting here. This headshot of Babu is an example of broad lighting with the key light.

This was one of my favorite sessions because Babu is a great guy and part of my family, but he said something during the shoot that really stuck with me. Using flags on light stands makes a cluttered set and you have to constantly adjust them and the position of the subject to put the shadow right where you want it. It makes for a longer shoot than I’d normally prefer and would recommend using an assistant for that reason. But Babu said during the shoot that he thought it was really nice that I was fussing so much over the lighting and that “people must feel very important when they are photographed by you.” That was a great complement even from an obviously biased family member.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – TWO SPECIAL PORTRAITS FROM ALASKA

I love to travel and I love to make portraits of the people I meet along the way. It’s always special, but these portraits are extra special because this is my grand Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Ken. Aunt Bonnie is my grandpa’s sister, the aunt of my dad and his siblings. She’s always lived in Alaska since I’ve known her and we don’t see her very often as a result, even though she’s always been special because she’s the much younger and better looking only sister of my grandpa and their brother. Bonnie and Ken graciously hosted my cousin and I on our great Alaskan roadtrip when we were in Fairbanks for a day and a half, showing us some warm Alaskan hospitality. They gave us the family treatment, complete with hot breakfasts for two mornings and two hot showers each. It was a relief after driving relentlessly for just over 4 days. They shared some fantastic stories about my grandpa and my dad’s generation, and they made time to sit for me briefly before taking us out to dinner. I’m very happy to have been able to make these portraits of my family and these portraits will always remind me of the importance of having beautiful photos of the people you love, and I’ll never take it for granted. Thank you for sitting for me Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Ken, and thanks for the hospitality you showed us!

Tips for photographers: These photos are lit using window light with no modifiers of any kind. The room was basically white, but we closed all of the other windows and doors and there was enough distance behind the subject for the light to falloff into black. This was only possible because I made the falloff extremely fast by placing the subject as close to the light source as possible, which was basically in my lap. Yes these were intimate portraits in more ways than one. Looking back at these photos I noticed they looked a little different, with Ken’s having more contrast and detail and Bonnie’s being a little softer. The apertures are 2.8 for Ken and 2.2 for Bonnie, so I thought that was it. But then I noticed that I actually changed lenses between these two portraits (which seems crazy remembering how fast these were made), using the Zeiss 55mm 1.8 for Ken and the Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2 for Bonnie. The differences are pretty obvious so I’ll just leave it up to you to decide which look you prefer. www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

MONTANA PHOTOGRAPHER IN ALASKA – FLAT TIRE VIEW FROM ALASKA

If you’re going to drive to Alaska there is pretty much only one way in and one way out, and that’s the Alaska Highway from the Yukon Territories of Canada. After passing the huge St. Elias Mountains of Kluane National Park in the Yukon, you’re greeted by the Nutzotin Mountains just across the border in Alaska (pictured here). If it’s a clear day you can also see the massive Wrangell Mountains further in the distance behind the Nutzotin, but they weren’t visible when we arrived. Be warned, the Alaska highway is pretty rough for the last few hours in the Yukon and flat tires are common. We managed to make it just across the border into Alaska before getting our only flat tire of the 14 day trip. It was sprinkling and there was a beautiful sunset on the horizon, so naturally I photographed the sunset while my esteemed colleague, driver and cousin Chris (aka C-Unit) changed the tire. We were in need of a break from the road anyway and I ended up making a few of my favorite photos from the entire trip, so thank you tire gods! And thanks to Chris for being the craziest and best driver a photographer could ever hope to have.

Tips for photographers: This is a three image panorama that I photographed handheld from the road. I know that sounds bad right?! How lazy! But I’ve increasingly turned into a roadside landscape photographer, using a long lens to pick out landscapes from the road like a poacher dropping big game from a truck. Wow that doesn’t sound like a good comparison! We were on the road for two weeks during this trip, and we did a lot of run and gun, pull over and shoot stops. I know this is not a recipe for success. To make a great landscape photo usually requires hard work to get to an epic location, and then patience to wait for the light, two things that take a lot of time that we did not have. So what was the end result? Well I made at least one good photo this way, and I’m sure I’ll find a few others, but those are far and few between. Chances are, if you’re shooting from the road, with no tripod, you’re not going to make anything very special unless you get lucky.

I am Montana based wedding and portrait photographer Paul Bellinger. I love to travel and our motto at Paul Bellinger Photography is that we will go anywhere and do anything for our clients. There is no wedding too big, too small, or too far for us to travel for, and we’ll gladly make your portrait on top of a mountain as well. Please visit www.paulbellinger.com for destination weddings in Montana or anywhere in the world, and www.portraits.paulbellinger.com for our portrait studio in Billings Montana.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – THE GRAFFITI ARTIST IS PRESENT!

Meet Shylo, one of the most prolific graffiti artists in Billings’ new graffiti alley behind Good Earth Market and Pug Mahon’s. Shylo is unique in the world of graffiti for being a Christian graffiti artist who regularly paints religious themed artwork such as the “Snakebird” piece featured here and a number of murals for churches across the country. We’re lucky that Shylo has recently decided to move to the Billings area and will soon be blessing the region with more amazing graffiti. Stay tuned for more photos featuring this artist’s work soon.

I love making portraits of artists! It’s an honor when another artist trusts me to make a portrait for them, and even more so when I can feature their work or workspace in an environmental portrait. Contact us at Paul Bellinger Photography for your portrait! www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

Tips for photographers: This photo was made outside on a cloudy day and is lit with one light, a large silver bounce umbrella high to the camera left. I like working with bounce umbrellas because unlike a shoot through umbrella, which spills light everywhere, a bounce umbrella is easy to control the direction of light. The key to the light placement in this photo is the angle and direction to create a Rembrandt pattern on Shylo’s face and the ratio of light on Shylo versus the mural in the background. The light is about 5 feet away from Shylo, which is further than I would normally place a light for portraiture (depending on what I’m going for, but I like it close and soft with dramatic falloff in general). I chose to put the light further away than I normally prefer because if it were too close the falloff would be too quick and there wouldn’t be enough light on the background (of course I could drag the shutter to let some ambient light up the background, but that’s not the route I took because I was shooting handheld and wanted the mural to be in sharp focus). I'll be posting a BTS photo of the setup on instagram soon so be sure to follow @PJBellinger.

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER – ZAK’S BADASS HEADSHOT

Introducing the badass headshot. This is a headshot that is reserved for bosses. It conveys only one clear and simple message: I am a badass.  It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, everybody wants to hire a badass. Available in Billings Montana only at Paul Bellinger Photography. www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

This portrait has been a labor of love and it turned out badass if I may say so myself. Zak and I put about two months into learning this lighting technique and we fine-tuned it in the studio over six sessions. Thanks to Kenneth Jarrecke for challenging us to master this light. Thanks to all of the people that posed during test sessions, we will drop those portraits here on the blog as they are ready. Thanks to Zak for putting in hours and expertise on this. We’re going to keep pushing and raising the bar for portraits and headshots in Billings Montana.

Tips for photographers:

This photo was inspired by the portraiture of Marco Grob, after Kenneth Jarrecke showed me some of Grob’s work on twitter and sort of challenged me to light like Grob. Specifically this photo is inspired by a portrait that Grob made of Robert Downey Jr., because a lot of people say Zak looks like him. After a lot of hours studying Grob’s work, what we learned was more than just a lighting setup, it is a framework for working with the light that can be versatile. The idea is to add shadows to the highlight side of a Rembrandt, closed loop lighting pattern. Using a black piece of foam core as a flag, we put a shadow on the highlight side of the face, camera right in this case. You can also add a flag above to put a shadow across the forehead as well, something I wish we had done. It sounds very simple, one light, one or two flags to add shadows, and you can add kicker lights on the back side as we’ve done here too. But the trickiness comes in with the main light and the flag, and how close and at what angle to use the flag to add shadow right where you want it. The further the flag is from the light, the harder the shadow will be. You can also change the shadows by moving the main closer or farther from the subject. We prefer bringing the main light very close so that there is a dramatic falloff on the shadow side the highlights are very soft from the close light. For this photo we used a large, 7x1 foot strip box about two feet from Zak’s face. We used a pair of beauty dishes behind and on each side of the subject at 45 degree angles to create the edge lighting (also called rim lighting or backlighting). But the portrait looks cool without those extra lights and you can use reflectors instead of beauty dishes for a more subtle edge (click here to see a portrait without kicker lights, also inspired by Grob). Once you understand the basic framework it’s easy to experiment from there and adjust for the specific subject in front of you.