Speaker Headshots - Susan Seay :: Normal, Illinois

I’ve photographed a number of conferences over the years. During these events I’m listening to the keynote and workshop speakers as I work my way through the room. Since I’m often in and out of the room a few minutes at a time, maybe more eavesdropping than listening.

Many of these speakers have been informative. Some have been entertaining. A few have been funny. 

Some, though, have a special charm that combines all three qualities.

Susan Seay is one of those charming speakers.

Susan Seay, Mentor for Moms

Susan and I met at a Hearts at Home conference in Normal, Illinois, several years ago when I photographed the event at Illinois State University. A wife to one husband and a mom to seven children in Austin, Texas, she was just getting started as a speaker back then.

And now?

Check out her website and you’ll see she’s written a book, runs a podcast, speaks at conferences around the country, and has been featured on numerous radio shows, podcasts, and publications. And she’s still married and parenting those seven children.

New Headshots for Susan

A headshot is an important marketing tool for a speaker and author—a good photograph helps build trust and credibility. Susan messaged me to say she’d be at the Hearts at Home 2.0/Ignite the Family conference back in Normal on March 15-16. The conference was being held at ISU again in the Braden Auditorium and would bring 1,500 women to town. Susan wanted to update her headshots and wondered if we could get together to do that. 

Fortunately for both of us, my buddy Scott Sarver from Broadleaf Video had asked me to help him shoot photos and video for the conference. So, yes, I’d be on site and, yes, we could easily make new headshots.

Scott was already planning to make headshots for other conference speakers so he had a “studio” set up backstage in the auditorium. When I arrived at the conference on Saturday, Susan and I took a few minutes that morning to put Scott’s studio to use. 

Once we finished her pictures, Susan returned to her speaker table in the expo hall where she met and chatted with the women attending the conference. 

Susan the Speaker

Susan also spoke from the stage that afternoon and had the audience—including me—in stitches. Lots of stories about the challenges and joys of raising a large family. Unsurprisingly, dinner plans get lost in the midst of busy days running from one activity to another: the Seay family are frequent flyers at Chick-fil-A.

The conference wrapped up and I sent Susan the proofs from her session. She chose the two poses you see here. Since Susan’s “brand” is all about connection, I wanted to make sure her new portraits conveyed kindness, warmth, and humor—I think we got it.

My sincerest thanks to Susan for the opportunity to make her pictures. If you find her speaking at a conference or podcast in your neighborhood, I hope you’ll take the time to enjoy her stories.

Need a New Headshot For Your Business?

If you’re a speaker, author, or business professional in central Illinois (Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Peoria) and need a professional headshot for your website or LinkedIn profile that builds trust, I’d be happy to help you.

Just let me know.

Molly Schempp, Miss Logan County Fair Queen 2018

It’s always a treat to work with the young ladies who participate in the Logan County Fair Queen Pageant. This year has been no exception. 

Molly Schempp, a senior at Olympia High School and Schempp Homeschool, has represented Logan County for 2018. She’s involved in FFA as well as Land of Lincoln CEO, an exciting business education program for high school students. Molly plans to continue her education in the agriculture industry after she graduates from high school this spring.

Since she lives close to the heart of the county, Molly has been involved in all manner of community activities this year: from parades to pancake breakfasts to calf scrambles and ribbon cuttings. She’s a delightful young woman who’s worn her crown and sash with dignity and honor.

We made Molly’s competition portraits back in August and met recently to take some new portraits and a headshot for this summer’s county fair program. Pageant director Bethany Rademaker (herself a former Logan County Fair Queen) and assistant director Katie Gosda (a former contestant) helped at each session to ensure Molly looked her best. And she did.

After I delivered Molly’s headshot proofs, Bethany replied with some very kind words:

Katie and I talked about how wonderful you are to work with! You know exactly what we need, you have a royal touch with the images, and you are so professional and personable.

My sincere thanks to Bethany, Katie, and Queen Molly. It’s always a pleasure.

Meg Meeker, Miss Logan County Fair Queen 2017

The Logan County Fair Queen Pageant took place at the beginning of August and a new queen was crowned.

Meg Meeker, whose family hails from nearby Emden, is a senior at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana where she is studying agricultural leadership and science education. Like 2016 Queen Michelle Paulus, Meg comes from a farming family.

On a recent Saturday, we made Meg's portraits for the upcoming state fair queen competition. The competition requires two photographs for each contestant: an 8x10 in queen attire and a portrait in business attire. As expected, it was a pleasure to work with Meg and pageant director Bethany Rademaker for the pictures.

Best of luck to you, Meg, at state and in your final semesters at the U of I.

2017 Miss Logan County Fair Queen, Meg Meeker :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

2017 Logan County Fair Queen Pageant Contestants

The 2017 Logan County Fair Queen Pageant takes place at the Logan County Fairgrounds (in Lincoln, IL) on Tuesday, August 1.

In addition to the Little Miss (ages 5 to 7) and Miss/Queen (ages 16 to 22) categories, this year's pageant features a new category—Junior Miss—for girls ages 9 to 12. More details about the pageant are available on the official website, LoganCountyFairQueen.com.

Once again I've had the privilege of photographing the lovely contestants. You can see all of the girls' photos in the slideshows below as well as on local media websites.

Wishing all the contestants the best!

Little Miss Contestants

Eva Leonard

Elliana Park

Andrea Rogers

Karri Caudle

Brooklyn Edwards

Eliahlyn Hinton

Reagan Titus

Brynleigh Ballance

Bay Boughan

Trinity Callahan

Junior Miss Contestants

Myah Bowman

Jaelyn Anderson

Danielle Phillips

Karson Mott

Lauryn Crawford

Araya Lucas

Julia Collins

Meya Harmon

Miss Contestants

Karrah Dean

Allison Bone

Jade Stewart

Alora Goodey

Meg Meeker

Danielle Burgrabe

Skye Kretzinger

Alice Roate

Faith Doerr

Elizabeth James, Professional Business Portrait :: Peoria, Illinois, Headshot Photographer

Elizabeth James, a business professional who lives near Peoria, contacted me to make some new headshots for her LinkedIn profile. We met here in Lincoln for a session, enjoyed getting to know each other, and made pictures.

Elizabeth was kind enough to send me a thoughtful testimony about her experience:

I feel very fortunate to have found Michael when searching for professional photographers online. I was in need of professional photographs to use on LinkedIn and other business materials but was not sure what to look for in a photographer. Michael was very prompt and detailed in his communications leading up to our session, and his professionalism and care made me feel completely at ease with the process.

I had never sought out professional photography before, so I was not familiar with the process or what to expect. Before we began the session, he described the process—what we were going to do step by step—and then gave me clear instruction every step of the way. His warmth, demeanor, and sense of humor put me completely at ease.

Also, I was very impressed with the quality of his equipment and setup. And the turnaround was incredibly fast; Michael helped me narrow down the proofs, provided me a subset to select from, and then had the finished photographs to me by next day. Amazing! Everything about my experience with Michael was top-notch and greatly exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend him, and I am sure I will be a repeat client.

The photo at the top of the post is the one Elizabeth is using for her social media profiles. Since she brought a couple of outfit changes, both professional and casual, here are a couple others from the session that I especially like as well.

Many thanks, Elizabeth, for the terrific session.

If you’re also in Peoria and need a new business headshot for your website or LinkedIn profile, please get in touch.

Professional business portraits and headshots in Peoria, Illinois :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Professional business portraits and headshots in Peoria, Illinois :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Keystone Risk Management Staff :: Lincoln, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

In one of my first on-location assignments for 2017, I made some new pictures for the fine folks at Keystone Risk Management, Inc. right here in Lincoln. Clyde and Shari Reynolds and their staff have been working with clients all over the country from their office on the prairie for more than 30 years.

They recently contacted me to make some new professional business headshots for their website so we spent an hour at their office one Friday afternoon to get the work done.

I set up a collapsible light gray background and our main light in a 60" umbrella. A small reflector added a touch of fill light from underneath. I spent about 5-10 minutes with each person and we took several poses to ensure we had plenty of good "looks."

After the session I posted the proofs to a private online gallery so Clyde's team could choose their favorites. Once I had their choices, I sent them off to the retoucher. A day later we had the finished images you see here and on KMRI's About Us page.

Are you in central Illinois? If your team needs some updated business headshots or if you need an executive portrait done on-location, please let me know.