Peoria, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Business Headshot Clients, Spring/Summer 2016 :: Central Illinois Portrait Photographer

September 03, 2016

The spring and summer season have found me at work both in the studio and on location for a number of clients.

Professionals from Peoria, Pekin, Springfield, and Lincoln have graced the studio here in Lincoln. I've also shot assignments for clients on location around Lincoln and Springfield this summer. Here are just a few of the folks I've worked with in the past few months. Their industries have included sales, consulting, law, publishing, government, technology, and a variety of nonprofit efforts.

If you're a business professional in central Illinois (Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Decatur, Lincoln) and need a new image for your website or LinkedIn profile, I'd be happy to help. You can learn more on the Business Details page.

Springfield, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Decatur, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Peoria, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Lincoln, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Peoria, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Springfield, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Peoria, Illinois, business headshot photographer :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL - http://gowinphotography.com

Commercial and portrait photography for annual reports, Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Hearts at Home Annual Report Photography :: Bloomington, Illinois, Commercial Photographer

August 20, 2016

Hearts at Home has been doing creative and significant work for moms and their families for 22 years. Books, resources, and conferences have helped thousands of moms over those two decades.

Constantly "upping their game," the team at Hearts at Home published their first professional annual report last year as a more concrete and attractive way to show donors and constituents the results of their work. With this new marketing piece, they knew they wanted professional photography.

Laura Myers, senior director of Creative Services for Hearts at Home, contacted me about their annual report project early last fall. Laura was working with veteran annual report designer Leslie Benson on the project as well. Leslie and I made some headshots and lifestyle photos together last year.

Since Leslie is based in Rockwall, Texas, we met virtually via Skype and email to discuss the kinds of images she needed for the layouts. Once we had the vision for the report "look" dialed in, we set a date in mid-October to meet with some team members and moms in Bloomington, Illinois, for the shoot.

We started the morning at Miller Park, making new portraits and headshots of Hearts' CEO Jill Savage. After that we made a quick trip to nearby Forrest Park to make pictures of the ladies before returning to Miller Park to finish the day.

Leslie sent me the finished report a couple weeks ago. As you can see in the page layouts below, it looks fantastic. The images we made that day have been featured throughout the report as well as in Hearts' other marketing efforts: the website, email newsletters, and conference materials.

Many thanks to the Hearts at Home team and Leslie Benson for another opportunity to work with you all—it's always a pleasure.

As of 2019, Hearts at Home is now Ignite the Family.

Learn more about Leslie Benson Design.

Artist Michelle Schneider :: Client Testimonial

June 03, 2016

A few weeks ago I posted photos from a session at Michelle Schneider's studio. She's an artist in central Illinois who makes wonderful watercolor portraits.

In addition to making some pictures for Michelle, we've spent a lot of time over the last several months talking through her marketing approach. I've consulted and coached her on product offerings, business planning, and customer website experience. She recently took the time to write some kind words about our work together (below).

If you're an artist or small business person who needs help growing your business, please get in touch and let's see if there's something we can do together.

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Last year after having a baby, I was struggling turning my “business brain” back on and getting sales going again after some time off. I was feeling a bit lost, not knowing who to turn to, and definitely wanting to avoid the generic advice of business people who are smart and savvy, but who don’t know me or my business at all and who don’t have much to offer creative entrepreneurs like myself.

Michael came to mind immediately as someone I’ve known for a long time and respected as both a creative entrepreneur and business person.

Working with Michael has been amazingly insightful and well worth the investment. He’s helped me to look at my business and art from my customer's point of view, to narrow down my focus and intensity, to clarify my marketing message, and to build a stronger brand than before.

He’s devoted his time and attention to looking at my website specifically, talking with me over Skype and in person about the specifics of my brand, and has even made the trip over to my studio for our initial consultation and again later to photograph me in my environment.

His photographs have made my website more professional looking and have helped to add clarity to my brand. He listened to all of my requests and gave me a collection of images I can use on my website and social media to help my customer get to know me better.

I’ve loved working with Michael and have gleaned so much good information over the course of these past few months that it’s definitely changed my perspective on my marketing strategy. His one-on-one advice was exactly what I needed to get my business back up and running after some time away. I highly recommend his services!

Michelle Schneider, custom portrait artist :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Michelle Schneider, Artist :: Central Illinois Marketing Photography

April 29, 2016

Every small business is a marketing business; every artist who's selling her work is a marketer.

Central Illinois artist Michelle Schneider from The Art of Michelle "gets" this.

Michelle does a terrific job of marketing her work. She paints custom watercolor portraits and is writing and illustrating children’s books, and her websites showcase the work with outstanding product photography. Michelle's paintings are beautiful and personal, so she knows it's important to make a personal connection with visitors to her websites. To take her marketing imagery a step further, then, she contacted me to make some picture of her at work in her studio.

We spent a few quiet hours on a recent afternoon at work, Michelle at her easels and me behind the camera. We also made portraits that she'll use for PR purposes.

Here's what Michelle said when I emailed her the link to her proof gallery:

The proofs look amazing! I love them. You really are a lighting genius. Feel free to quote me on that. ;)

I'm eager to start using these pictures! ... Thank you again! I'm very happy.

Michelle makes wonderful paintings—I hope you'll check out her work.

Here are a few more images from our session.

Lauren Stanfield, actress portfolio photograph :: Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

Lauren, Actress Portfolio :: Bloomington, Illinois, Actor Headshot Photographer

April 01, 2016

Lauren Stanfield, an aspiring actress and soon-to-be Lincoln College graduate, came by the studio last month for some updated headshots. Lauren knows that, in this competitive industry, first impressions matter so she needed solid images that would help her find work.

Before the appointment, Lauren and I talked about what to expect during the session, best clothing choices, hair and makeup, and other details. Lauren arrived at the studio with some simple but appropriate tops and had her hair done that morning. She looked great for her shoot.

We started the session with some lighting tests to see what would look best. I set up my ALZO Digital Pan-L-Lites (the same system I used for the Thirty-One consultants in January) and we got started. After photographing Lauren in several different poses and lighting configurations, we sat down together to see what we felt was working best. We then headed back into the camera room to get some more images in her other outfits and with another couple lighting setups. Altogether, Lauren's session took about two-and-a-half hours.

I was impressed with Lauren's ability to "turn it on" for the camera. She had so many solid looks, it was difficult to whittle them down. In the end, Lauren chose the image below as her favorite and shared these kind words on her Facebook page:

I wish Lauren all the best as she enters this next chapter of her journey. Below are another couple of my favorite images from her session.

If you're a theater major (Bradley University, Lincoln College, Illinois State University, University of Illinois Springfield) or aspiring actor/actress in central Illinois, I'd be happy to help you create some beautiful portfolio images. Let me know.

Julie Timm, Senior Executive Director, Thirty-One Gifts :: Business headshot/portrait by Michael Gowin Photography, Lincoln, IL

59 Headshots for Thirty-One Ladies (2016 Edition) :: Springfield, Illinois, Business Headshot Photographer

February 29, 2016

One year ago I rigged a makeshift headshot studio inside a small storage closet in Sherman, Illinois. We set up a backdrop and lights then photographed 57 women over the course of the next six hours. Those ladies, Thirty-One gift consultants and directors from all over the country, used the photographs on their social media profiles and marketing platforms to promote their businesses.

Senior Executive Director Julie Timm, the motivating force behind those ladies, wanted to offer the same opportunity to her team again this year. So we did and added two more ladies to bring the total to 59.

The studio set up was the same as last year: ALZO Pan-L-Lites for the ladies and a couple speedlights on the white backdrop. Since the Pan-L-Lites are continuous lights, they give me the ability to quickly and easily tweak the light for each subject. We were able to photograph each person from multiple angles and get flattering light without having to move any gear around—it's a great approach.

What did our "studio" look like? Here's a look inside the closet from the entrance:

And here's the business view from the camera position:

And how'd we do?

It was a delight to work with these enthusiastic ladies, just like last year. And even though I spent only a few minutes with each one, it was a pleasure to share that time together.

Here are a few of the ladies we photographed.

My best wishes to Julie and her team. Thanks for the opportunity to make your pictures.

VIDEO: "Lincoln Guys" Theater Commercial

February 12, 2016

Downtown Lincoln, Illinois, is sporting a freshly renovated and expanded theater, the Lincoln Grand 8, and four local business owners hired me to produce a pre-roll congratulatory message which is now showing on the screens at the beautiful new theater.

Chris Graue (Graue, Inc.) raised the idea with me in December. We met with Patrick Doolin (Integrity Data), Joe Ryan (Country Financial), and Nick Guzzardo (Guzzardo's Italian Villa) as well to discuss the concept and script. In early January we met at the theater to film the interview pieces and I shot some B-roll footage later that day. After a couple rounds of edits, the finished commercial was ready to ship.

Congratulations to David Lanterman, owner of the Lincoln Grand 8. It's an outstanding destination for locals and visitors alike--I hope you'll come watch a movie here soon.

Technical notes: the video was filmed on a Sony A6000 camera outfitted with a Sony 18-105 F/4 lens. The interviews were lit with an ALZO Digital Pan-L-Lite kit and audio was captured with a Rode VideoMicPro microphone into a Tascam DR-60DmkII audio recorder.