The Dreaded Author Photo
One thing every author has to do is get a photo taken – for the book jacket, website, social media and marketing materials. Seems every time I plan to have my picture taken, the morning of, I get pimples, spill something on my outfit or my hair stands up in a weird way and cannot be tamed. It’s like clockwork.
But the biggest thing is what to wear. Do I look like an author with something to say? Too fat? Too old? Too out of style? I wanted to appear professional, yet still relaxed and fun.
In cases like this, I did what I always do … consult the friends who can be trusted to tell me the truth. I sent picture after picture out for approval or ideas: tuck the shirt in, leave it out, cover with a jacket, etc. Then my neighbor, Pam, came over to take sample photos so I could see for myself. Interesting. Things I thought hid the bulges, actually made me look worse. Things I felt were too revealing got the thumbs up.
The photographer, Sarah Eastlund also weighed in. What colors look best on camera and which outfits translate into better pictures? The verdict? Definitely no white and no stripes!
The day we chose was very hot. Not a good time to be walking around in a leather jacket and long-sleeved shirt.
She started taking pictures. Once I relaxed and got used to the idea of being photographed, the shoot was fun. Sarah helped by making me laugh. She took lots of pictures: near a river, bridge, barn, trees, any place that caught our eye. When it comes to pictures, lots of options are good. She kept telling me, “Stick your neck out and look like a chicken!” This would help reduce the chance of a double chin and make me look younger. She also reminded me to relax, put my hand on my hip and coerced me into coming out from behind my bike. Pictures looked better when I wasn’t trying to disappear. I’m ok with head shots – it’s the full body ones that made me nervous.
In the end, Sarah took a lot of photos quickly and it was over in an hour. And now, I got my first official author shoot under my belt! Here are a few examples of the day’s work, just for fun.
