"P" is for Pictures -- Author Pictures

As I near the end of my first manuscript, I've become aware that I need some new professional authory pictures taken.

I've had professionals shots taken before, because, frankly, I look like the devil's spawn in most amateur pictures due to horrifying red-eye.  But I've never had any done with the specific goal of using them for my Twitter profile, Facebook fan page, website, and book covers. There's a certain image I want to convey -- I want them to be professional, but not stuffy or too "staged."  It just wouldn't fit with the subjects I write about.  We've all seen author pics where they're behind a desk or something with their hand under their chin.

Even Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, is guilty of this.

So, I've been scouring my author friends' pictures to find ones I love.  I've found a few that have a style that I like (which could also be due to the photographer as well) so I thought I'd share.

Here are a few of my friend, Laura Kaye, author of North of Need and many others.

I love how the shots are outside, and she looks comfortable in the pictures.

Here's one of my all-time favorites.  The author is Meg Cabot, who wrote The Princess Diaries.

The picture is fun and fairly relaxed, and her feet can even be cropped so it just shows her face and hands to make an entirely different picture.

I'll definitely be getting hair and makeup done for my pictures, and carefully choosing my wardrobe so I'm dressed in something that will both photograph well and not date the picture too much.

Living in a completely different area than most of my writer friends, I couldn't go by any recommendations...so I did a lot of Googling and checked out websites to see the photographer's portrait style. Because most photographers do portraits but don't have "author photos" listed on their price list, I emailed to ask for prices for what I wanted done.  I also requested that I retain the rights to the photos...I certainly don't mind crediting the photographer, but if they retained the rights, I'd have to constantly ask for permission to use a picture for whatever I wanted.  Want to use one for my Facebook author page? Gotta ask.  Want to change my Twitter icon pic?  Gotta ask.  Want to badly Photoshop mustaches on my picture just for the hell of it--or in case I write The Big Book of Mustaches?  Gotta ask. Thankfully, the photographer I have lined up was willing to work with me.  I'm hoping to have the shots done in early May if the weather permits.  I'm looking forward to it!

Have you had professional pictures taken?  What did you think of the experience?

xoxo Sarah