CS: Building Your Portfolio with Taylor Ballantyne (Sony)

Taylor Ballantyne began her career in Los Angeles with commercial and creative work in the fashion and design world. She segued into video production by shooting and editing films for New York, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. Simultaneously, she studied under legendary photojournalist Ken Regan at Camera 5 Inc., where she was introduced to the commercial, film, and editorial business of photography. Here is where she began building her portfolio and film reel.

In 2013 Ballantyne joined Sports Illustrated as a photographer for all brands within SI. In July 2017, she received her first national cover for Sports Illustrated; becoming one in an elite group of women to receive a national cover in the Magazine’s 60-year history. In February 2018, she directed, produced and photographed her first spread in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and created a short film entitled — "In Her Own Words" - a powerful black-and-white campaign that replaced the traditional Body Paint for the issue. Under Ballantyne’s direction, this was the first black-and-white, no-swimsuit series with an all female crew in the 54 year history of the SI Swimsuit magazine.

In November 2020, Ballantyne relocated to Nashville and was asked to direct Jake Hoot, "The Voice" winner of 2019, in his first music video "I Would've Loved You" featuring Kelly Clarkson. This sparked Ballantyne's directorial debut in the world of music. Following her debut into the world of music videos, she was called to direct her first feature length concert film and documentary for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Though her background lies within commercial and advertising, Ballantyne's goal is to continue on this path as a director, continuing her work in music, commercial and film.