Author Photos: Good, Bad, But Mostly Cliché

When I first prepared to publish a book, I was surprised by how many people stressed the importance of a professional and appealing author photograph. They told me that they always check the author's bio photo and that it is a factor in deciding to read a new author. After only a little thought, I realized that the author's promotional portrait on a physical cover or online can affect my first impression of a book. Blurred, amateurish photos make me worry about a lack of professionalism that could extend to writing and editing. A clearly out-of-date picture of a living author makes me wonder if the content might need updating as well, or if the writer's current appearance would repel readers. Intentionally or unintentionally bizarre photos draw a second look, and sometimes a giggle, but not necessarily a purchase (a prime example for me was aging romance queen Barbara Cartland bejeweled in a hot-pink gown with a fluffy white lapdog). But the main problem with promotional author pictures is that they are usually so formal or cliché they leave no impression at best or a sense of marketing manipulation at worst. A clever flavorwire post by Paul Hiebert highlighted five of the most common author portrait clichés: 1. The Sophisticated Photograph (aka “The My-head-is-so-weighted-down-by-great-thoughts-it-requires-additional-support”); 2. The Office Photograph (aka “The Oh-I-didn’t-hear-you-enter-please-come-in-it’s-really-no-problem”); 3. The Comfortable Photograph (aka “The Torso-twist-with-arm-resting-on-back-of-couch”); 4. The Smoker Photograph (aka “The You-can’t-be-bad-ass-by-doing-what’s-good-for-you-and-your-children”); 5. The Hand-To-Face Photograph (aka “The Face-alone-is-boring-and-therefore-not-enough”). So I asked a professional photographer to create my author photo, and if it tends toward the Comfortable Photograph formula, I kept my hands away from my face at least! To see Hiebert's photo examples, including portraits of many famous authors, go to http://flavorwire.com/117566/against-promotional-author-photographs