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 – CONGRATS TO ARLEY, FIRST PLACE IN SWIMWEAR!

Wow this has been an amazing week!  My friend and model Arley won first place in swimwear on a Global Stars Network cruise competition!  It looks like all of her hard work is paying off because this is her second first place finish in swimwear in the last few months!  Arley is a great model, who besides moving well and knowing how to pose, she’s just a great person that is polite, shows up on time, and works hard on and off set.  She’s fun too!  Thanks Arley and congrats again!!!

These are two of my favorite photos from our most recent session with Arley, and we were blessed with having the amazing Sydney Ross on set for hair and makeup, which is always a treat!  The three of us came in on the Sunday before Arley set sail for her cruise competition so that she could get some extra practice and get a little more comfortable modeling swimsuits and lingerie.  But of course she was already awesome and didn’t need much practice at all!  We made lots of great photos that I’ll share over the next month, so stay tuned!

So many ways this week has been awesome:

I mentioned this was an awesome week!  Besides Arley’s win, the new Kendrick Lamar album dropped a week earlier than expected (on Monday) and this album does not disappoint at all.  It will likely be in the running for album of the year and definitely nominated for best rap album of the year.  I also helped out with a film shoot for the Art House Cinema and Pub on Monday, which had it’s grand opening this week (another huge bonus for Billings this week).  Art House is a pub theater that will also be a hub for local artists, and it was fun to help out.  Another treat was receiving my new camera, the Sony A7ii, as well as a new Zeiss lens, the Loxia 35mm f/2 manual focus lens and I’ve already been putting them to work.  Lastly, my wife got some great news from a publisher that is interested in her book.  To top it off the weather has been great, we’ve been smoking ribs, chickens and pork loins on our smoker all week, and going for hikes on the rims with our dogs.  Wow, we are so blessed!

Tips for photographers:  Before I get to the lighting techniques for these photos, I think the best tip from this shoot is to have a good team on set for any given shoot.  For this shoot there were three of us in my little studio, and that was the perfect number of people for a lingerie shoot in a small space.   Having too many people on hand can clutter up the small studio quickly, and it can get distracting for the photographer and model.  We had Sydney Ross doing hair and makeup in the studio and she was on set for the shooting to make sure everything looked great.  It’s nice having an extra set of eyes that you trust on set.  At most I’d add only one extra person, an assistant.

Lighting info: The first photo is lit with two 4ft softboxes stacked on top of each other out of frame to camera left just a couple of feet in front of Arley.  The light behaves like an 8 foot softbox with two strobes, and the result is super soft, full body light.  Some of the light is spilling onto the gray background, which is otherwise dark in the absence of a dedicated background light.  There are no fill light on Arley’s shadow side, no reflectors out of frame to camera right, just a black wall that absorbs the light from the soft boxes and prevents it from bouncing back onto Arley, leaving her shadow side profile in silhouette.  The separation from her shadow side and the background is entirely created by the little bit of light spilling onto the background from the softboxes (hint, it’s important to put some light on your backgrounds!).  The second photo is lit with a large window out of frame camera right and two large 8 foot white reflectors out of frame camera left bouncing the soft light back onto Arley’s shadow side.  My black curtains are opened in such a way as to create a 4 foot wide bank of light about a foot in front of Arley so that she is being lit with feathered light spilling around the edge of the curtains.  There is some additional fill coming from behind me as there is another 4 foot bank of windows that are diffused with white cloth to produce a very soft front fill (the second window bank is about 12 feet in front of Arley, right behind me to camera right).  I used a tripod so that I could slow down my shutter speed and catch a little motion blur (shot at 1/40^th f/2.5 ISO 160 with the Zeiss 55 f/1.8 on the Sony A7 body).

I am Billings Montana portrait photographer, Paul Bellinger and I take the art of portraiture seriously.  It would be my honor to make your portrait.  http://www.portraits.paulbellinger.com

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - BEAUTY PORTRAIT

I had a fun day with model Katie Schroeder in the studio yesterday.  It’s always inspiring to be around Katie because she is working so hard to make her dreams come true.  I like people who bet on themselves and that’s what Katie is doing.  Thank you Katie!  Also, shout out to Tayler Cummings for assisting with this shoot!

MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - FASHION PORTRAIT

Haley is never afraid of a little snow.  The snow is afraid of her!  Thank you Haley!

Photographers click read more for a tip!

MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - BOTTEGA LEATHER HOODIE SERIES!

Katie sporting a leather hoodie from Bottega Clothing, with wardrobe styling by Janine Mix of Wildflower Gardens.  This wardrobe is available at Bottega Clothing in downtown Billings Montana.  Thank you ladies for making my job so awesome!

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - FASHION PORTRAIT

Elegant meets edgy.  Katie modeled all day for us yesterday at the Billings Open Studio event, and rocked several awesome Bottega outfits thanks to Janine Mix.  Everyone did a fantastic job, thank you so much!

Model: Katie Schroeder
Wardrobe: Bottega Clothing, Janine Mix

The Billings Open Studio, is a very exciting new creative space in downtown Billings that I am involved with.  We hosted an open house at the studio this weekend and it was a big success, with lots of photographers coming to check out the space and to learn from some of my favorite photographers and friends in Billings.  The BOS will provide creative studio space and photography equipment on an hourly, daily and monthly basis.  Features include a luxurious dressing room for models and private shooting areas, as well as office, conference room and display space.  The BOS will host workshops, gallery exhibitions, film screenings, exclusive parties, and much more.  Our hope is that it becomes a pillar for the creative community in Billings conveniently located in the heart of downtown.

Lighting Technique:
This photo is lit with two lights.  The main light is a large octabox directly to Katie’s left on a few feet away, creating the Rembrandt lighting on her face and body.  The light has to be close to the model so that the soft light will have a nice fall off, creating shadows even with soft light.  Using a large modifier in close like this also creates nice big catchlights in the eyes.  The second light is a beauty dish behind Katie camera left about three feet higher than her head for a hair and rim light that separates her from the background.

How do you dream of being photographed?  Billings Montana portrait photographer Paul Bellinger specializes in dramatic fine art portrait photography that is as unique as you are.  Paul has cultivated an artistic vision for portrait photography that is both modern and timeless, ensuring your precious memories will be preserved for generations to come.  Contact Paul Bellinger for all of your Billings Montana portrait photography needs, senior portraits, corporate headshots, and glamorous beauty portraits that will make any woman feel as special as she is.  www.paulbellinger.com

BILLINGS MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - DELICATE BEAUTY PORTRAIT

Well Sarah looks like a delicate beauty, with her grace, thoughtful pose and porcelain skin, but she’s not really very delicate.  Actually, she’s a world-class skier!  She’s also an awesome model that is very professional and a pleasure to work with.  She has a very bright future!

MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - RED ON RED!

Well I am a Montana wedding and portrait photographer, but I'm originally from Nebraska.  And in Nebraska there is no such thing as too much red!

MONTANA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER - DRAMATIC BEAUTY PORTRAIT

Meet Katie, the beautiful theater teacher with a flair for dramatic posing.  She’s a trained actress so she had no trouble at all stepping in front of my camera, and we a had a great time during her portrait session.  She is as nice as can be too, so the pleasure was all mine.

I’ve been off the grid lately.  Long drives, Husker games, and a lot of portrait sessions have kept me away from the computer, and it’s been pretty nice actually.  But I'm back to normal life in Billings now and things are taking off fast!

How do you dream of being photographed?  Billings Montana portrait photographer Paul Bellinger specializes in dramatic fine art portrait photography that is as unique as you are.  Paul has cultivated an artistic vision for portrait photography that is both modern and timeless, ensuring your precious memories will be preserved for generations to come.  Contact Paul Bellinger for all of your Billings Montana portrait photography needs, from maternity to seniors, to glamorous beauty portraits that will make any woman feel as special as she is.  www.paulbellinger.com