Leslie Benson, graphic designer, lifestyle/editorial portraits and business headshots in Bloomington/Normal :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, Illinois

Normal, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

April 04, 2015

Usually, as I'm editing photographs from a session, certain images lend themselves to color versions while others naturally gravitate towards black & white.

That wasn't the case with Leslie's session. We ended up with images that looked great in both color and B&W versions.

Since I've already posted a few color versions from the editorial/lifestyle portion of Leslie's session, here are a handful of those photos that also look great in B&W.

Enjoy.

Leslie Benson - headshots and branding portraits - Part 1

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 2

Leslie Benson - studio portraits - Part 3

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 4

Leslie Benson, studio portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Leslie Benson, Graphic Designer, Studio Portraits - Part 3 of 4 :: Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 27, 2015

So far in this series of photographs from Leslie Benson's recent session, we've showcased her professional branding portraits (AKA headshots) and some lifestyle/editorial images. As Leslie and I wrapped up our session together, I suggested that we make some classic studio portraits.

These kinds of images don't have a business or promotional purpose; this is art for the sake of art.

A portrait to hang on the wall of a home.

A print to sit on the desk of a husband.

A keepsake for boys to remember a mother.

Leslie Benson - headshots and branding portraits - Part 1

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 2

Leslie Benson - studio portraits - Part 3

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 4

Leslie Benson, graphic designer, lifestyle/editorial portraits :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Leslie Benson, Graphic Designer, Lifestyle/Editorial Portraits (Color Edit) - Part 2 of 4 :: Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 23, 2015

Quick quiz:

Leslie Benson is...

a) Having her pictures made in a very old building
b) A wife and mother of two small boys
c) An award-winning graphic designer
d) A moody banjo-playing singer-songwriter

The correct answers are a, b, and c.

Answer d is kinda true: Leslie is learning how to play banjo but she's not a moody singer-songwriter--yet.

A few days ago I posted Leslie's new business branding images on the blog; how in the world did we end up with these pictures as well?

First, Leslie gave me permission to experiment during her session.

She said she wanted pictures that weren't "salesy." I think these are pretty non-salesy. Unless maybe you're a moody singer-songwriter trying to sell your music.

Second, Leslie was willing to trust me.

As I mentioned in my post from Greta Torry's recent session, a good portrait comes from a partnership between the photographer and the subject. Leslie and I corresponded several times before her session, discussing the kinds of images she wanted and how we might create them. Since Leslie trusted my sense of vision, we were able to make some unconventional but remarkable editorial-style photographs for her.

These were a ton of fun to make and I'm grateful that Leslie was open to trying something that didn't fit the standard "business headshot" formula. At one point during the session, I wondered aloud how Leslie would use these pictures. She said she wasn't sure yet but at least her kids would see them and might think she was cool some day.

But these might find a place on her new website. Or she could use them when she's profiled in FastCompany or some other hip design-oriented publication.

I asked Leslie if she'd share some words about her experience--here's what she said:

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I've known Michael through a mutual client for the last five years, but this was my first experience working directly with him. I needed updated headshots for my business website and social media pages, and I knew Michael would do a great job.

Michael was able to schedule my session on the day I requested and even emailed me location scouting photos and sample photos of what he had in mind for my photo shoot. I gave him input on what he had sent and shared my ideas with him as well. It was truly a collaboration working together.

He made the entire experience very comfortable and enjoyable. I love the variety of images he captured and am excited to include them in my new marketing efforts.

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Leslie Benson, Graphic Designer, Branding Portraits - Part 1 of 4 :: Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 19, 2015

Leslie Benson, graphic designer, business branding portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, Illinois — Leslie Benson, graphic designer, business branding portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, Illinois

Leslie Benson is an award-winning graphic designer who lives in Rockwall, Texas. We met a couple years ago through Hearts at Home, a mutual client, and have collaborated on a few projects since then. Leslie was recently in central Illinois for the Hearts at Home National Conference in Bloomington/Normal and took an afternoon to come by the studio in Lincoln. She's in the process of redesigning her website, so this was the perfect time to update her headshot and branding images for her new site.

When I asked Leslie what kind of look she wanted to portray, she told me, "Creative, trustworthy, and professional." We spent nearly five hours working on her portraits at the studio as well as at a building in downtown Lincoln with a lot of character.

Today I'm posting some of the images that I think would work well on Leslie's forthcoming site. I'll show more images from her session in three follow-up posts.

Leslie does terrific corporate branding and annual report design. I hope you'll check her out.

Want to work with Leslie? I think she'd like that.

Leslie Benson - headshots and branding portraits - Part 1

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 2

Leslie Benson - studio portraits - Part 3

Leslie Benson - lifestyle/editorial images - Part 4

Greta Torry, MBA; Administrator, Illinois Neurological Institute; Peoria, IL :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, Illinois

Greta Torry, Executive Business Portrait :: Peoria, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 16, 2015

Greta Torry has been on the business side of healthcare for many years.

Most recently based in Peoria, Illinois, Greta now serves as an operations director and administrator for the Illinois Neurological Institute and OSF Neuroscience Service Line. After searching online for headshot photographers in the central Illinois area, Greta contacted me to update her executive business portrait. We set a date to make some pictures she could use for organizational promotion/marketing, public speaking, and for her LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media profiles as well.

Greta drove down to Lincoln from her home in Bloomington and we met at my studio on a breezy Saturday afternoon. She brought six or eight different outfits to wear, and we spent the first few minutes discussing which ones might photograph best. I always encourage my clients to start the session with something they feel good and comfortable in so she opted for a simple black blouse. Good choice.

After Greta changed, we headed to the camera room and made pictures from a variety of angles and with a couple different lighting approaches. We then looked at those initial frames in the computer and made notes about what we felt was working.

During the session we chatted about sports, work, places she'd lived, raising children, books we were reading, and music we enjoyed. A good portrait comes from a partnership between the photographer and the subject--once she became relaxed and comfortable, Greta proved to be a great partner in the process. Over the course of a leisurely few hours, we got into a rhythm and I felt we had some really good images at the end of the session. Three are featured here in this post.

Many thanks to Greta for letting me make her pictures.

Are you in central Illinois (Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Decatur, or Champaign/Urbana) and needing to update and improve your image with professional branding portraits? Let me know--I'd be happy to help.

Seth Goodman and the ME Realty team :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Seth Goodman and the ME Realty Team :: Peoria, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 09, 2015

Lincoln realtor Seth Goodman has been a steady client of mine over the last few years. I've photographed portraits and team shots for him as well as property listings. Seth's ME Realty office team recently came through some changes and additions so we updated the images for his signage and business cards (above). And while we were at it, we made business portraits for team members Glenda, Gaynor, and Nancy (below).

Many thanks to Seth and the ladies for letting me make their pictures.

If you're in central Illinois (Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Decatur, or Champaign/Urbana) and want to update and improve your image with professional branding portraits, I'd be happy to help.

Amy McCoskey, sales professional headshot/business portrait :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Amy McCoskey, Sales Professional :: Springfield, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

March 02, 2015

Amy McCoskey has been in the heathcare field for a number of years. Most recently, Amy has been in medical device sales for Boston Scientific and travels throughout central Illinois (Champaign/Urbana, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, as well as Alton and other communities) to do her work. She wanted to update her online profile photos from (in her words) a quick "selfie" to something that represents a more professional and businesslike--but still friendly and engaging--look.

After searching for headshot photographers online, Amy found my site and contacted me to make some branding portraits for her. She came up from Springfield to the studio in Lincoln last week and, over the course of 90 minutes or so, we made some new pictures for her.

We took our time, first making some test images to find the most flattering posing, lighting, and backgrounds. We reviewed those images on the computer then went back into the camera room for more photographs. Amy had four or five different outfits and we tried them all with three different background looks to find the combinations that worked the best for her. Before she left the studio, we reviewed all the proofs and selected some candidates for her final selects.

After the session I posted the proofs to a private gallery where Amy could give them a closer look. She emailed me a few hours later with her three favorite choices, one of which is shown above.

I asked Amy if she'd write a few words about her experience; here's what she had to say:

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I was looking for a photographer who could capture a headshot to support my daily business activities and help expand on my professional brand.

Working with Michael was so much more than that.

He went far beyond making sure I was happy with the photo. Michael spent the time to share his thoughts on the story each photo was telling. He truly wanted to make sure I was happy with the photo and what it would say about me.

It was a great experience from the preliminary research he did to understand what I wanted, to an amazing session in which he made me feel relaxed and comfortable. I look forward to working with Michael again.

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Many thanks to Amy for letting me make her pictures and for her willingness to share her kind words here.

If you're in central Illinois (Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Decatur, or Champaign/Urbana) and want to update and improve your image with a professional business headshot, I'd be happy to help.