Author Photo—a thousand words about the picture
Okay, so I hope this doesn't sound too braggy, but several people (besides my mom) have told me that they like my author photos. Thank you!
The pictures you've seen are actually from my second round of author photos. I debated about whether or not to share the story behind the first round because, well frankly, it makes me sound stupid (which I'm not) and vain (which I am a little) and naive (which I totally am), but in order to help prevent other new authors from making these same mistakes, I have decided to share my tale of woe.
First, some background: I grew up during the big hair era in a big hair place. I like to think that I've matured a lot, and I'm proud to announce that I have been hot roller-free for nine years now with not a single relapse. But then I get the news that my picture is going to be immortalized on the back of a book and, of course, I panicked.
On photo-shoot day, my wonderful friend Vanessa and I visited the swankiest salon in town where a stylist spent an hour working me over with a curling iron. Before I walked out the door at 11:00, she swore to me that my hair would "fall" before my 3:00 shoot, and that she'd made it especially bouncy for just this purpose.
Little did she know who she was dealing with. I am a former big-hair-girl from the world capital of big-haired-girls. My hair knew better than to fall. Falling is for the hair of amateurs! But stupid me forgot all this until it was way too late.
Then, on to the photographer's! I chose my photographer based on the pictures he took of my sister's wedding, which were truly the most spectacular wedding pictures I have ever seen. Unfortunately, my sister's wedding was one of the last the guy had done, and he now focuses almost entirely on senior pictures.
Here's the problem: I am not a senior in high school.
Unfortunately, this fact seemed to go unnoticed as the photographer instructed me to "cross your arms and wink" and "straddle this chair and hold your jacket over your shoulder."
I wasn't happy up until this point, but when he broke out a red velvet throw and a wind machine, I knew things were about to take an unfortunate turn.
When I went back to view the shots (they absolutely refused to send proofs) I was traumatized—absolutely speechless and bordering on tears when I realized that I was going to be immortalized on the back of a book looking like that. They were my senior pictures all over again—only worse: I was older, fatter, and (if it's even possible) my hair was bigger!
So, long story short, I went home, cried some more, and then finally broke down and called a good friend who said, "I know a woman, and she'd be great."
And she was. Her name is Shevaun Williams and she was the best photographer I have ever seen—a total pro!
Before working with Shevaun, I wrote the following list of questions which I would recommend any author ask before hiring someone do take his/her author photos—they certainly worked for me, and if I'd asked them of the first guy, I probably could have saved myself some heartache.
* * *
1. What experience do you have working with adults in professional settings (ie..non-seniors, non-weddings)?
2. What do you charge for the session and how much time (how many shots) are included?
3. What do you charge for the digital images and the rights to use those images?
4. What retouching or digital work is included in that fee?
5. Will I receive proofs (either hard or digital) that I can share with my agent and friends?
6. What backgrounds and settings would you have in mind for this session?
7. How do you plan to capture my personality in these images?
8. Will you be shooting in film or digital form?
9. If in digital, can I monitor the shots as we go along and can we discuss if they are meeting my expectations?
10. Can we take both black and white and color images? Will there be an additional fee for this?
11. Can I have the names of three professionals who might offer you a reference?
* * *
In closing, I've learned a lot through this process, and I share this with you in hopes that you too won't have to learn these lessons the hard way:
1. Hot rollers are best when used in moderation.
2. Just because life is supposed to be more glamorous when you're a published author doesn't make it so.
3. At a certain age (and weight) even big-haired girls should steer clear of red velvet.
The pictures you've seen are actually from my second round of author photos. I debated about whether or not to share the story behind the first round because, well frankly, it makes me sound stupid (which I'm not) and vain (which I am a little) and naive (which I totally am), but in order to help prevent other new authors from making these same mistakes, I have decided to share my tale of woe.
First, some background: I grew up during the big hair era in a big hair place. I like to think that I've matured a lot, and I'm proud to announce that I have been hot roller-free for nine years now with not a single relapse. But then I get the news that my picture is going to be immortalized on the back of a book and, of course, I panicked.
On photo-shoot day, my wonderful friend Vanessa and I visited the swankiest salon in town where a stylist spent an hour working me over with a curling iron. Before I walked out the door at 11:00, she swore to me that my hair would "fall" before my 3:00 shoot, and that she'd made it especially bouncy for just this purpose.
Little did she know who she was dealing with. I am a former big-hair-girl from the world capital of big-haired-girls. My hair knew better than to fall. Falling is for the hair of amateurs! But stupid me forgot all this until it was way too late.
Then, on to the photographer's! I chose my photographer based on the pictures he took of my sister's wedding, which were truly the most spectacular wedding pictures I have ever seen. Unfortunately, my sister's wedding was one of the last the guy had done, and he now focuses almost entirely on senior pictures.
Here's the problem: I am not a senior in high school.
Unfortunately, this fact seemed to go unnoticed as the photographer instructed me to "cross your arms and wink" and "straddle this chair and hold your jacket over your shoulder."
I wasn't happy up until this point, but when he broke out a red velvet throw and a wind machine, I knew things were about to take an unfortunate turn.
When I went back to view the shots (they absolutely refused to send proofs) I was traumatized—absolutely speechless and bordering on tears when I realized that I was going to be immortalized on the back of a book looking like that. They were my senior pictures all over again—only worse: I was older, fatter, and (if it's even possible) my hair was bigger!
So, long story short, I went home, cried some more, and then finally broke down and called a good friend who said, "I know a woman, and she'd be great."
And she was. Her name is Shevaun Williams and she was the best photographer I have ever seen—a total pro!
Before working with Shevaun, I wrote the following list of questions which I would recommend any author ask before hiring someone do take his/her author photos—they certainly worked for me, and if I'd asked them of the first guy, I probably could have saved myself some heartache.
* * *
1. What experience do you have working with adults in professional settings (ie..non-seniors, non-weddings)?
2. What do you charge for the session and how much time (how many shots) are included?
3. What do you charge for the digital images and the rights to use those images?
4. What retouching or digital work is included in that fee?
5. Will I receive proofs (either hard or digital) that I can share with my agent and friends?
6. What backgrounds and settings would you have in mind for this session?
7. How do you plan to capture my personality in these images?
8. Will you be shooting in film or digital form?
9. If in digital, can I monitor the shots as we go along and can we discuss if they are meeting my expectations?
10. Can we take both black and white and color images? Will there be an additional fee for this?
11. Can I have the names of three professionals who might offer you a reference?
* * *
In closing, I've learned a lot through this process, and I share this with you in hopes that you too won't have to learn these lessons the hard way:
1. Hot rollers are best when used in moderation.
2. Just because life is supposed to be more glamorous when you're a published author doesn't make it so.
3. At a certain age (and weight) even big-haired girls should steer clear of red velvet.
posted by Ally Carter at Tuesday, August 02, 2005
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