Dr. Mariana Hwang :: Peoria, Illinois, Headshot Photographer

Dr. Hwang, one of my colleagues at Lincoln Christian University, asked me to make a new headshot for her. She teaches Christian Education and Children and Family Studies
 (among other things) and wanted a photograph for professional use. We met at the studio earlier this week and took a number of images for that purpose. This one was my favorite and one of the images that Dr. Hwang chose as well. It's a quiet image but, at the same time, compelling.

This photo was made with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens. A single Paul Buff Einstein in a 60" Photek Softlighter II provides illumination. 

If you're in central Illinois (Springfield, Bloomington/Normal, Decatur, Peoria, Champaign/Urbana) and interested in learning about how I approach business portraits (AKA, headshots) in the studio, you'll find descriptions, videos, and testimonials on the Business Portraits page. 

Behind the Scenes - Shooting Promotional Videos :: Lincoln, Illinois, Hybrid Photographer

I spent a few hours at the studio today making some promo videos. Here's a behind the scenes look at the process, and a few notes on gear:

• The time lapse video above was made with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera and a Lumix 12-25mm f/2.8 lens and then cut in Apple's Final Cut Pro X.
• The video I made of myself for the promos was captured with the Panasonic GH3 camera and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens. 
• Audio was recorded with a Rode VideoMic Pro plugged straight into the GH3. 
• I'm using Alzo Digital Pan-L-Lites for illumination. 

This setup works nicely for video, and the lights have been good for stills as well. The GH3 has built-in wifi and an app for the iPhone that lets the user control many of the settings from the phone. This is extraordinarily handy, since I'm able to step in front of the camera, set the focus point, and begin recording just with my phone.

Some black & white portraits (the best kind) with Brandon :: Peoria, Illinois, Headshot Photographer

My friend Brandon stopped by to check out the new studio today. While he visited, we made a few pictures. Here are some of the ones I liked best. 

Brandon, a black & white portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography :: Peoria, Illinois, headshot photographer

Brandon, a black & white portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography :: Peoria, Illinois, headshot photographer

Brandon, a black & white portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography :: Peoria, Illinois, headshot photographer

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 with the sharp Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens were pressed into service again for Brandon's pictures (the same camera/lens combo I used with Karl and Sara last week). I'm experimenting more with just one light for my portraits and headshots. These were lit with a single Paul Buff Einstein in a 60" Photek Softlighter II umbrella. While I still enjoy the clean look of a "pure" white background, there's a bit more drama and interest here. At the same time, the images have a quietness and depth that doesn't always come through on a white background. Not the perfect choice for every portrait, but a good choice today.

Behind the Scenes - Karl and Sara Schmitt, Business Consultant Headshot Session :: Springfield, Illinois, Headshot Photographer

If you're a business professional, you are making an impression online.

Every press release, every web site "about" page, every tweet, every Facebook status item, every LinkedIn update, every blog post--they all say something about you. Attached to each electronic breadcrumb along that digital path, of course, is the small profile photograph that you've uploaded in each of those accounts.

And those photographs say something about you as well. 

At a glance, your profile photos tell a story and have the potential to communicate trust, competence, professionalism, and friendliness. They can tell others that you're the kind of person who they'd like to do business with.

Karl and Sara Schmitt from bParati Consulting in Chatham, Illinois, contacted me recently to make headshots for their new website that conveyed the kind of trust they want to develop with their prospects and clients, so we met last week to do just that.

Karl found my web site by searching online for headshot photographers in the Springfield area. In our email and phone conversations, he had a clear vision for the images: simple, white backgrounds for a clean, professional look. Something along the lines of an Apple aesthetic. I assured him that we could do that and then we set a date to meet at the studio.

Before they arrived for the session, I set up the lights and 9' wide white seamless paper background so we'd be ready to go. If you want the white background to appear "pure" white in the images, it has to be lit separately from the subject. Otherwise the background will show as gray. The paper was lit, then, by a Paul Buff Einstein and an Alien Bee B800. I used an Einstein in a 60" Photek Softlighter II as the main light.

I'd initially planned to have Karl and Sara sit for the portraits (that's what I usually do), but Karl mentioned that they wanted to have some full-length images like the ones I'd made of Sheralyn recently. So I pulled out the posing stool, raised the main light, and put a sheet of white tile board on the floor. The tile board is the secret ingredient to ensure there's a reflection at the subject's feet. Here's the setup: 

Studio setup for headshots on a white background :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

With everything in place, we were ready to make pictures. 

Karl and Sara came with both casual and professional outfits, and we made some images of each of them separately and then together. 

Karl Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

Karl Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

Sara Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

Sara Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

When I'm working with people to make headshots or portraits, I'm always looking for genuine expressions. We want to connect with the person in the photograph, and we look to their eyes for that connection. During the session, I talk with my subjects to help them feel comfortable so we'll get to a place where we can connect. In this instance, I asked Karl and Sara about their work and their family, and where they'd lived before moving to central Illinois a few years ago. We talked about the challenges of raising nine-year-old girls and following the kids through all of their activities. This kind of conversation helps people feel more comfortable when they're in front of the camera, and the genuine expressions reveal themselves when people feel comfortable.

A good portrait or headshot can't be rushed. I generally plan an hour for each person I'm photographing. Sometimes a session runs shorter, sometimes longer. But there's usually some "warm up" time required for me and the sitter to connect.

After the session, I edited the set for the best looks and posted the proofs to a private online gallery for Karl and Sara to review. Karl emailed that he "loved the look" of the images but we'd forgotten to get a full-length image of the two of them together. Not to worry: we'd taken full-length images of them separately in their professional attire, so it wouldn't be a hard fix to put a composite together.

Here are the two photos of Karl and Sara that were used for the composite. Note that these haven't been "tweaked" to remove the unwanted background elements.

Here's the finished composite, in both color and black & white. Since the lighting and camera angle are consistent in both of the images above, the composite looks natural. 

Karl and Sara Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

Karl and Sara Schmitt, bParati Disaster Preparedness Consulting :: Michael Gowin Photography

Karl and I emailed back and forth a bit while he and Sara looked through the proofs. I made some recommendations and they then let me know which images they'd chosen as their selects. I prepped these and posted them to a second online gallery from which they could download the high-resolution files. Their gallery included both color and black & white versions of each select. We did the shoot on Wednesday and the Schmitts had their finished files on Friday.

Karl mentioned that he may want to send additional team members to the studio for headshots, and wanted the look of those images to be consistent with these. I made detailed notes of the set up in my handy Field Notes notebook and then photographed the page with my iPhone and sent it to Evernote for safe keeping. This will help me recreate the setting for future sessions.

One final technical note: the Olympus OM-D E-M5 was my camera of choice for this session. I've been using the Panasonic GH3 with the Lumix 35-100 f/2.8 lens for a lot of sessions lately but wanted to give the Olympus a shot (so to speak). The E-M5 has a faster sync speed than the GH3 (1/250 vs. 1/160), giving it a slight advantage at overcoming any ambient light. I also used the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens exclusively. 

I really enjoyed using the Olympus set up. It feels good in the hands, a bit more solid than the Panasonic. And that 45mm lens is very sharp--no complaints. The GH3 still wins for video, and if I were doing a hybrid session where I'd want to switch between stills and video in one camera, the GH3 would get the job. But for a stills-only session, the E-M5 is a pleasure to use.

Interested in a portrait or headshot session to improve your image? Just let me know. 

Two sides of Sheralyn :: Lincoln, Illinois, Portrait Photographer

My friend Sheralyn stopped by the studio the other day and we made some pictures. Sheralyn is a fun, dynamic person (as you can see in the photo at the top of the post) who loves performing. But she can also make a quiet yet dramatic black & white headshot.

Sheralyn - Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln IL (headshot photographer)

A couple notes on the set. For the first photo, Sheralyn was lit with a Paul Buff Einstein strobe in a 60" Photek Softlighter II umbrella (one of my favorite large light sources) with an Einstein and an Alien Bee B800 lighting the white seamless paper background.

The second portrait was made with just the Einstein and Softlighter. Again, a terrific light source for a portrait.

I used my Panasonic GH3 camera with the Lumix 35-100 lens for both images. I used that same combination to do some video tests with Sheralyn as well. The GH3 handles both the stills and video with ease.

Marketing Expert John Jantsch: Professional Social Media Profiles Need a Professional Photo :: Bloomington, Illinois, Headshot Photographer

You're probably already on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, or some combination of all those (and more). But do your profiles send clients and prospects the right message? 

Marketing pro John Jantsch says a professional's social media profiles should begin with a professional image:

Don’t settle for that phone “selfy” bounce shot off the mirror or the “look at how arty I can be” shot. (Okay, maybe those represent your brand accurately, but I’m guessing you’re a minority.)

Get a series of professional shots done. It doesn’t have to be the stiff studio shot either – add some character, get some outside shots, experiment with industrial backdrops – just make sure it’s well lit and composed.

And research confirms that LinkedIn profiles with photos get seven times more views than those without them, and a better photo leaves a better impression.

If you're having a headshot made for yourself, be sure to check out these tips for getting a great headshot. 

And if you're in central Illinois, drop me a line--I'd be happy to make your picture.

Some Recent Business Headshots :: Springfield, Illinois, Portrait Photographer

Just getting caught up posting a few headshots from weeks recent (and not so recent).

These were made at two different sessions and I made my gear changeover between them. The first two--Betsy and Steve--were shot with the Nikon D700 and a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens (which makes a fine portrait lens) back in February. Mark's, the third one, was made with the Panasonic GH3 and Lumix 35-100mm f/2.8 lens just this week.

The lighting setups were slightly different for each session as well. For the February folks, I used a Nikon SB-800 speedlight in a 28" Westcott Apollo softbox. You can see the square catchlight in the eyes. Shadows are filled in opposite the main light with a white reflector, and I lit the white seamless paper background with a single SB-800 as well.

For Mark's session, I used an older Nikon SB-26 speedlight into a Westcott 43" double-fold reflective umbrella as the main light. Why not the Apollo? Why not. I like to mix things up and see what works. I did, however, use a white reflector for fill and a second SB-26 on the background. This is a simple headshot lighting setup that always gives me consistent results.

I almost always deliver headshots in square crops or horizontal rectangles to my clients. I've never really liked the look of vertical headshot portraits. But since a vertical portrait is what nearly everyone sees when they see a headshot, my clients' images stand out because they're different.