You want to make the best first impression to promote your business. A great headshot can help you build your personal brand and presents you in the best light, pun intended! It may feel like a chore to get a new set of headshots, but if you value your image, it may be time for an update. Here’s why you should consider a fresh set of professional images:

1. A selfie may be okay for Facebook, but not for work. You deserve to look more professional. No one in your professional life needs to see you cut out of old vacation photos.
2. You don’t look like you. Yes everyone would agree you were thinner and younger then, but we want to recognize you. Besides, the wisdom and experience of the last 10 years looks good on you.
3. Styles have changed a bit. Your hair is more modern and clothes have changed since the 2000s. For men ties are thinner and facial hair is more in vogue. For ladies makeup is more subtle with emphasis on the eyes.
4. If you have changed jobs, then chances are your headshot matches the coworkers from your old company.
5. Your last portrait was taken late in the day. Men have beards that grow during the day and for some they may look like they need to shave again. Hair and makeup looks fresh in the morning but not so much hours later.
6. It might be time to use a new background (that blue background is so like the ‘90s!). Also consider outdoor or environmental portraits for a different look.
7. Would it kill you to smile? Well if you were in the Army or the Marines you are off the hook, but for everyone else: “A smile will increase your face value!”
8. In your last portrait there was a zit on your nose. These are modern times. We can clean up any blemishes and enhance your look with modern technology.
9. You look a bit plain. Perhaps the photographer showed up on a day you weren’t prepared. Dress it up a bit with your best outfit.  The right accessories and a fresh haircut will help you look sharp.
10. Can’t see your eyes. Look directly into the camera and push your glasses up. Viewers want to get to know you, “the eyes are the window to your soul”.

With all the graduation ceremonies over the last few weeks it's time to look forward to the Class of 2018! It's a great time of the year to book your Senior Portraits. Schools out, the weather is better and, and the summer only gets busier as time goes on. Salem is at the heart of some of the coolest locations around with the coast, silver creek falls, and Waterfront Park all nearby. Book your session now and get one more thing checked off your to do list! Here is a link to my Seniors page on my Website: ​http://www.lynnphoto.com/senior-portraits.html

Last week I had a shoot in Portland for Morrow Equipment Company shooting their giant tower cranes. Normally with an assignment like that I will scout out the area to find the best locations in order to make the best possible images of the subject. The tower cranes are located in SW Portland, but I also checked out various locations on the other side of the river in SE Portland. This involved a lot of poking around along the river bank and on the hill above the river along Highway 99E.

The area down by the river is actually very beautiful and thought that if I could make my way down there I might have an impressive shot with the cranes reflecting in the Willamette River. Part of the area is quite industrial, and to make it down to the river I found myself climbing around some concrete supports then down a fairly steep incline to toward the river. The area is filled with debris and graffiti from all kinds of various activities and not what I would call hospitable to any kind of life. After slipping down the hill and banging my knee I took a few shots down by the river and then decided to check out the area up by the highway for other vantage points.

I parked my car at on a side street and walked about 3/4 mile along the highway where bumper to bumper morning rush hour traffic flew by at over 50 miles an hour. To cross that four lanes of traffic on foot would be nearly impossible. Portland is full of bike lanes and trails, but here there were no bike lanes, and very little room to walk. There was a bit of a walking path just two feet off the roadway, just above a curb. So I walked along the highway to the point where I got some okay photos of the cranes. Still not the best view as there were power lines running across my view. 

So I turned to retrace my steps back toward my car along the highway. I passed a little forested area, not more than a quarter of mile along the road and probably less than 100 feet deep and that was where I saw the first movement. It was not more than 30 feet from me. A four point buck saw me first, but he didn't seem bothered by my presence. Just behind him was a three point buck, and just behind him was a little spike deer following. I just crunched down low, literally a few feet off of the highway with all these cars just whizzing by. As I shot photos of the deer I couldn't help thinking how amazing it was that this little band of deer were so seemingly comfortable here in their tiny patch of wilderness near the heart of such a busy city. If they can make it here, they can make it anywhere!

I don't always enjoy surprises at work, but today I got a pleasant surprise when I learned that musician Curtis Salgado would be performing at the Oregon Legislature as he was being honored by the state for his outstanding musical and humanitarian contributions. Salgado was the inspiration behind John Belushi's Blues Brothers Movie in 1980.  They met and became friends while Belushi was in Eugene, Oregon filming the movie Animal House. 

This image represents part of a shoot I did a few years ago out near Dallas Oregon. About 600-1000 Canadian geese were going about their business when, unknown to them a coyote was on the prowl nearby. Coyotes are very bold and don't seem to hesitate putting themselves up against crazy odds. On another shoot this past summer I photographed some coyotes challenging a herd of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep. 

Anyway, I shot several shots of the geese, and then crept to the edge of an embankment about 200 feet away, where I had an excellent view of the coyote. Unfortunately the coyote's cover was soon blown and within seconds the sky was filled with a million feathers. So, we can thank Photoshop for this fun photo that begs the question: What if?

'Welcome to the Rose City', the sign reads at Portland International Airport. 'Bridge City' might be more accurate with at least 10 major bridges connecting East and West Portland over the mighty yet sometimes calm Willamette river. The not yet finished bridge has a few temporary names including the 'Caruthers Bridge', and the 'Portland-Milwaukie light rail Bridge', and will get it's official name when it opens sometime in 2015. The Bridge will only be open to light rail, pedestrians and cyclists. No cars or trucks allowed. I got up early this morning to photograph the bridge. This image was taken about 7:15 am, twenty minutes before sunrise.