diff --git a/test/CTS/AssessmentControllerTest.cs b/test/CTS/AssessmentControllerTest.cs
index 289fcd92f..c9b412246 100644
--- a/test/CTS/AssessmentControllerTest.cs
+++ b/test/CTS/AssessmentControllerTest.cs
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ private static bool IsForbidResult<T>(ActionResult<T> a)
                 Assert.True(result != null || forbidResult != null);
 
             }
-            catch (Exception)
+            catch (Xunit.Sdk.XunitException)
             {
                 return false;
             }
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ private static bool IsNotFoundResult<T>(ActionResult<T> a)
                 var result = a.Result as NotFoundResult;
                 Assert.Equal((int)HttpStatusCode.NotFound, result?.StatusCode);
             }
-            catch (Exception)
+            catch (Xunit.Sdk.XunitException)
             {
                 return false;
             }
diff --git a/test/ClinicalScheduler/EmailNotificationTest.cs b/test/ClinicalScheduler/EmailNotificationTest.cs
index be00573e6..508242f0a 100644
--- a/test/ClinicalScheduler/EmailNotificationTest.cs
+++ b/test/ClinicalScheduler/EmailNotificationTest.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
+using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
 using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
 using NSubstitute;
 using NSubstitute.ExceptionExtensions;
@@ -281,7 +282,7 @@ await _context.Persons.AddAsync(new Models.ClinicalScheduler.Person
             {
                 result = await _service.RemoveInstructorScheduleAsync(savedSchedule.InstructorScheduleId);
             }
-            catch (Exception ex)
+            catch (Exception ex) when (ex is InvalidOperationException or DbUpdateException or SqlException or OperationCanceledException)
             {
                 caughtException = ex;
                 System.Console.WriteLine($"Exception caught: {ex.GetType().Name}: {ex.Message}");
@@ -463,7 +464,7 @@ await _context.Persons.AddAsync(new Models.ClinicalScheduler.Person
             {
                 result = await _service.RemoveInstructorScheduleAsync(savedPrimarySchedule.InstructorScheduleId);
             }
-            catch (Exception ex)
+            catch (Exception ex) when (ex is InvalidOperationException or DbUpdateException or SqlException or OperationCanceledException)
             {
                 caughtException = ex;
                 System.Console.WriteLine($"Exception caught: {ex.GetType().Name}: {ex.Message}");
diff --git a/test/ClinicalScheduler/RotationServiceTest.cs b/test/ClinicalScheduler/RotationServiceTest.cs
index 4c17e1580..905415e8f 100644
--- a/test/ClinicalScheduler/RotationServiceTest.cs
+++ b/test/ClinicalScheduler/RotationServiceTest.cs
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ private void SeedTestData()
                 }
                 _context.SaveChanges();
             }
-            catch (Exception ex)
+            catch (Exception ex) when (ex is DbUpdateException or InvalidOperationException)
             {
                 // Log the exception and provide a clear error message for debugging
                 Console.WriteLine($"Error seeding test data: {ex.Message}");
diff --git a/web/Areas/ClinicalScheduler/Controllers/CliniciansController.cs b/web/Areas/ClinicalScheduler/Controllers/CliniciansController.cs
index a762b76f1..c64f13e01 100644
--- a/web/Areas/ClinicalScheduler/Controllers/CliniciansController.cs
+++ b/web/Areas/ClinicalScheduler/Controllers/CliniciansController.cs
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ public async Task<IActionResult> GetClinicianSchedule(string mothraId, [FromQuer
                             fullName = $"Clinician {mothraId}",
                             firstName = "",
                             lastName = "",
-                            role = (string?)null
+                            role = default(string)
                         };
                     }
                     else
diff --git a/web/Areas/Effort/Services/VerificationService.cs b/web/Areas/Effort/Services/VerificationService.cs
index a84eac6b5..21afaa320 100644
--- a/web/Areas/Effort/Services/VerificationService.cs
+++ b/web/Areas/Effort/Services/VerificationService.cs
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ await _auditService.LogRecordChangeAsync(
 
         // Set verification timestamp
         var verifiedDate = DateTime.Now;
-        var oldValues = new { EffortVerified = (DateTime?)null };
+        var oldValues = new { EffortVerified = default(DateTime?) };
 
         instructor.EffortVerified = verifiedDate;
 
diff --git a/web/Areas/Students/Services/PhotoExportService.cs b/web/Areas/Students/Services/PhotoExportService.cs
index cf55dbb5d..7f4ad256d 100644
--- a/web/Areas/Students/Services/PhotoExportService.cs
+++ b/web/Areas/Students/Services/PhotoExportService.cs
@@ -891,6 +891,8 @@ public PhotoExportService(
         /// Loads all student photos upfront in parallel for faster export generation.
         /// Returns a dictionary keyed by student MailId for quick lookup during rendering.
         /// </summary>
+        private sealed record PhotoLookupResult(string MailId, byte[]? PhotoBytes);
+
         private async Task<Dictionary<string, byte[]>> BatchLoadPhotosAsync(List<StudentPhoto> students)
         {
             var photoCache = new Dictionary<string, byte[]>();
@@ -903,22 +905,22 @@ private async Task<Dictionary<string, byte[]>> BatchLoadPhotosAsync(List<Student
                     try
                     {
                         var photoBytes = await _photoService.GetStudentPhotoAsync(s.MailId);
-                        return new { MailId = s.MailId, PhotoBytes = (byte[]?)photoBytes };
+                        return new PhotoLookupResult(s.MailId, photoBytes);
                     }
                     catch (IOException ex)
                     {
                         _logger.LogWarning(ex, "IO error loading photo for student {MailId}", LogSanitizer.SanitizeId(s.MailId));
-                        return new { MailId = s.MailId, PhotoBytes = (byte[]?)null };
+                        return new PhotoLookupResult(s.MailId, null);
                     }
                     catch (HttpRequestException ex)
                     {
                         _logger.LogWarning(ex, "HTTP error loading photo for student {MailId}", LogSanitizer.SanitizeId(s.MailId));
-                        return new { MailId = s.MailId, PhotoBytes = (byte[]?)null };
+                        return new PhotoLookupResult(s.MailId, null);
                     }
                     catch (InvalidOperationException ex)
                     {
                         _logger.LogWarning(ex, "Invalid operation loading photo for student {MailId}", LogSanitizer.SanitizeId(s.MailId));
-                        return new { MailId = s.MailId, PhotoBytes = (byte[]?)null };
+                        return new PhotoLookupResult(s.MailId, null);
                     }
                 });
 
diff --git a/web/EmailTemplates/Views/Shared/_EmailLayout.cshtml b/web/EmailTemplates/Views/Shared/_EmailLayout.cshtml
index c9d283395..5ae931efe 100644
--- a/web/EmailTemplates/Views/Shared/_EmailLayout.cshtml
+++ b/web/EmailTemplates/Views/Shared/_EmailLayout.cshtml
@@ -41,11 +41,14 @@
                 @* Use width attribute for Outlook, max-width for modern clients. Class for responsive override. *@
                 <table class="email-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="650" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="background-color: #ffffff; border: 1px solid #dee2e6; max-width: 650px; width: 100%;">
                     @* UC Davis Weill Header Image *@
+                    @{
+                        var baseUrl = ViewBag.BaseUrl as string;
+                    }
                     <tr>
                         <td class="email-header" style="padding: 0; line-height: 0; font-size: 0;">
-                            @if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace((string?)ViewBag.BaseUrl))
+                            @if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(baseUrl))
                             {
-                                <img src="@(((string)ViewBag.BaseUrl).TrimEnd('/'))/images/email/email-header-weill.jpg"
+                                <img src="@(baseUrl.TrimEnd('/'))/images/email/email-header-weill.jpg"
                                      alt="UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine"
                                      width="650"
                                      style="display: block; width: 100%; max-width: 650px; height: auto; border: 0;" />