Meet Alaina Sullivan

Meet Alaina Sullivan

Alaina, of Sullivan Law Office, stopped in the studio to update her headshot for the new year. Take it away Alaina!

Scott Lawrence: Tell us about your business.

Alaina Sullivan: I have a solo law practice focusing on estate planning, probate, and family law.

SL: What’s unique about how you do what you do?

Alaina: There are a lot of lawyers out there, especially in my practice area. The difference between me and others is that I genuinely do what I do to help people. It is why I started practicing law, and it was why I dedicated six years of my life to helping children in abuse and neglect situations, and people who were not able to afford legal services. To me, you are not just another number. Whether you need an estate plan or need help in a family law matter, you are important. Your case is important to you, so it is just as important to me. That is, after all, why you hire me — to take your legal burden off your shoulders and help you through it. I am honored every day to help people through all walks of life.

SL: What’s the one thing most people don’t know about your business or industry, but should?  

Alaina: It depends on the practice area, but with my estate practice I hear a lot of “I can just do my own will online, right?” You should consider your estate plan an investment. You need a professional to make sure everything is proper and legal based on your particular situation. You simply do not get that with a “fill-in-the-blank” form. It is so worth it in the end.

Also, please do not trust advice that you get from a friend who has a friend of a friend that had the same type of case as you. I see a lot of people posting legal questions on general community forums, and you get a lot of armchair lawyers. Please, ask a professional. It is a lot like seeking medical advice from WebMD. What you know or what you think you know is usually not correct. Unless the person giving you the advice has a license to practice law and knows your situation, you should probably take his or her advice with a grain of salt.

SL: What's your favorite thing about Rochester?

Alaina: I recently moved to Oakland County from Indianapolis. So I am learning new things about Rochester all the time. I love the downtown. The shops are great, and the food options are amazing. I am a huge fan of Rochester Mills Brewing Company as well as Too-ra-loo. If you have not had their BLAT (bacon lettuce avocado and tomato) sandwich you need to do so immediately. I loved the lights downtown, too. Everything is so vibrant and fun. It is an amazing town.

SL: What’s the best way to get in contact with you?

Alaina: Give me a call at (248) 917-1351 or email me asullivan@sullivanlawonline.com

Interested in updating your headshot? Get in touch with Scott.

Retouching and Your Professional Portrait

Retouching and Your Professional Portrait

You woke up with a big zit, should you cancel the photoshoot? Probably not. Localized skin blemishes are not worth worrying about. They will be handled in the standard retouching phase, just like a stray hair.

Beauty marks are reduced but not typically eliminated, because they represent you. Don’t hesitate to mention any concerns at your session. Your photographer should always appreciate the feedback on this topic.

Retouching is a big part of the modern headshot or portrait. Lots of subtle smoothing, thinning, and brightening takes place on the final images. For a professional headshot, retouching should help you appear like you’ve had the best night’s sleep in a year (or before you had kids). This is a huge difference from looking like a pore-less supermodel. The porcelain skin look has it’s place in the fashion industry, just not on your LinkedIn profile.

Remember, it’s about being you. Maybe a slightly more polished version of you. But still you!

With and without retouching. It's subtle, but critical. Show your clients that details matter!

Have more questions about a headshot or professional portrait? Drop me a note!

Should I wear my glasses in a professional headshot?

Should I wear my glasses in a professional headshot?

Wondering what to do about your glasses for an upcoming headshot session? If you wear glasses a majority of the time, you’ll probably want them on for your session. That’s how people are used to seeing you. After seeing your headshot, prospective clients should be able to recognize you in a crowd. That’s the whole point! 

But what about glare? Glare typically isn't a problem these days since most lenses have anti-reflective coatings. Photographers are used to dealing with subtle reflections, so don’t worry.

Still on the fence? Bring them along and we’ll try a few shots with and without to see what looks best. You’ll have options!

Remember, the most important thing when dealing with glasses in a portrait is that you clean your lenses! Light smudges can be addressed when retouching the image, but my goal is always to get it right in the camera.

Do you have other questions about headshots? Drop me a note!

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For headshot tips, check out these videos!

Meet Lynn Oates

Meet Lynn Oates

Rochester native, Lynn Oates is the perfect client to kick off my featured client posts here in Michigan. Lynn, like most small business owners, is her business. If she's not networking around town, her business will feel it. I asked Lynn to share a little about her work. Take it away Lynn...

Scott Lawrence: Tell me about your business.

Lynn Oates: I'm a loan officer with Envoy Mortgage in downtown Rochester.

SL: What's unique about how you do what you do?

Lynn: At Envoy, we fully underwrite in advance! Most competitors provide a preapproval that is usually based on a few documents at best. It's not a true underwriting approval. So the mortgage process doesn’t really start until the client has made an offer on a home. We put our clients in a better position because they are fully underwritten, often before the home shopping begins. Because we are underwriting in advance, buyers enter the purchase negotiating process from a stronger position.  We are also typically able to close purchase loans in 21 days—half the time of the national average! An extra few days makes a big difference, especially when relocating or trying to make a school deadline.

SL: What's the one thing most people don't know about your industry, but should?

Lynn: Your credit score is a huge driver in the qualification process and in your interest rate. If you know you'll be house shopping, it's never too soon to begin addressing any credit blemishes.

SL: What's your favorite thing about Rochester?

Lynn: Everything!  I live, work and play downtown because we have the best of everything! A walkable downtown, great shops and restaurants, amazing charities and non-profit organizations, events all year long, hobbies for every interest. Rochester has it all!

Connect with Lynn.

Interested in updating your headshot? Get in touch with Scott.

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Lynn Oates, Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS ID#1495433

Rochester Christmas Parade 2016

Rochester Christmas Parade

Since coming to Rochester, Michigan, everyone has told me the Christmas Parade is not to be missed. So this weekend, we bundled up and walked down to Main St. and watched over an hour’s worth of floats go by. I lost count at 80!

The streets were packed—impressive for one of the first very cold days of winter. Roads were closed. Countless volunteers were running around making the whole thing happen. I could tell they’ve done this before. 

Rochester and Rochester Hills businesses were well represented. Other floats represented a huge cross section of the community, from elected officials, non profits, school organizations, bands, dance teams, football teams, and even the Clown Unit of the fire department showed up (with their truck nearly on fire, of course). 

What an event! Kudos to all the volunteers, Rochester and Rochester Hills, and the Chamber of Commerce for pulling it off. I can’t wait to see it again next year.