Hot and Haunted: A Guide to Your Perfect Author Photo

It's a long one.

I recently received a DM from a writer who was disappointed in a photoshoot she had had done and wanted to know if I had tips for getting a great author photo. We chatted a bit—because it turns out I DO have thoughts—and she said maybe I should write a substack about this. A little lightbulb went off and I thought, yes, I can do that. Here it is. I hope it will be useful.

So this post is for any author out there feeling like they could use some support as they plan for their Author Photo. I’ll provide tips (subjective of course! the most important thing, as you will come to see, is that you are true to yourself and your vision—more on vision below), take you on a tour of my author photos (many) and tell you a bit about each one, and then provide a sort of checklist you can use as you plan.

The first question I can imagine someone wondering is when does a writer actually need an author photo? I’m here to recommend that in our very visual age, you shouldn’t wait until you have a book deal and your publisher is asking for your author photo in order to have some image of yourself you like on deck. I like to talk to my clients and students about presentation early on—things like having a basic website that showcases your photo and bio (a bit about you and what you’re working on) and links to any published work, is something you can and should have for many reasons beyond the practical (so people can find you)—it’s actually part of your self identity as an artist.

I also encourage them to streamline their known-by names—as in, don’t go by boobookitty333 on instagram with your actual name nowhere in sight if that is a place you hope to make writerly connections and friends. I was reminded of this recently when a teacher at my kids’ school emailed—she has an email address that uses a different name entirely than her actual name, and then there seems to be a third name sometimes in the mix, all in all making it very hard for me to recall any of the names when I need to. You want to make it easy for people to figure out how to get in touch with you, have a streamlined presence in the spaces where you hope to build community, and, I’d say, have a photo you love of yourself by which people can, well, put a name with a face.

I happen to really enjoy both taking photos and having my photo taken, which puts me at an advantage in all of this over someone who hates the camera or feels extremely self conscious when the lens is turned their way. So, with this in mind, I will try to write this little guide in a way that will hopefully help you no matter what camp you find yourself in. In either cause, there’s a decent chance you’ve never had a photo taken professionally for the purpose of your art. I hadn’t until I did a hotel shoot in 2016 with my pal T Kira Madden who alongside being a formidable and shockingly good writer, is also a damn good photographer. She shot me on film but the day was really dark and rainy and we didn’t have the light we’d hoped for. The photos turned out beautiful but not quiiiite clear enough to later use on my first book jacket. Nonetheless I used them a lot for other things preceding it. Here’s a blurry one I just grabbed off the internet. You can see that Kira is an amazing photographer. At the time I was wearing almost exclusively jumpsuits of interesting patterns and so here I had on my favorite jumpsuit of the moment, and Kira’s mom’s heeled boots that I popped on at the last second for some flair. The room smelled like Kira’s perfume, a delicious heady vanilla, and we laughed a lot as I gazed out the window.

Prior to this I had been photographed for other things—my engagement, my wedding, rustic family photos in muddy fields and breezy beaches, and some bridal modeling I did (!?) pre-kids—but I had yet to have a full session geared toward my writerly use.

When the time came for an official author photo for my debut novel, I asked the AMAZING Portland based photographer Jessica Keaveny who I’d hired to do my daughter’s one-year-old photos (ummm adorable). I knew right off I loved her style and could tell she had a great eye. And even more, meeting her in person was like meeting an old friend. Her warmth and kindness sealed the deal so that later, I knew wanted her to do my headshots. At the time, I didn’t know what my book cover would look like, and in the past had mainly used photos I’d taken myself or a friend had snapped.

However, and maybe this is an official tip, I wish I’d done a session sooner, because sometimes you might win an unexpected award, or have a piece published that requires a photo, and you will be forced to take one quickly and likely by yourself or a loved one who may or may not be…skilled in that department. So I say might as well get ahead of it. For the Rona Jaffe Award, which was a total surprise, I ended up using this selfie I took on my iphone in portrait mode. 2018. Not bad. But I knew it was but a placeholder.

As many writers are wont to do, we dream about our books being published and what it will feel like, we dream about how it will feel to see our faces on our finished work. And maybe, if you’re like, me, you dream or at least wonder what your author photo will be like. So I was very excited for my first official session. But looking back, I’m surprised at how little outfit planning I did, considering now when I do shoots they are akin to a broadway production with full costumes. I kept it very simple, a white shirt and some high rise denim sailor pants and sparkly Vans. Everything I already owned and wore a lot. I had just turned 32 and had just had my second baby. Jessica and I shot the photos in really cute studio in NW Portland on a sunny day in March. I really loved how they turned out, and it taught me that I like being photographed in white. Maybe that seems counter to advice you may have heard, that white will wash you out, but I think white looks great on people in general, makes your eyes pop, and with the right photographer, you won’t be washed out. Here’s a few from that first Godshot shoot.

I really liked this one…

But this is the one I picked for the jacket itself

Something in me changed when given a bright solid gold cover. I loved this cover so much (designed by Nicole Caputo), and it couldn’t help but inspire literally every tour fashion choice I made, and so when the book came out, I had my husband take this pic to commemorate the day for social media. It’s not an author photo, but it still feels connected to the presentation of the work. The gold cover and the ensuing inspired outfits made me realize I really enjoy the interplay between photos and the work itself. I realized my self presentation could amplify and connect to the content of the work in a way that feels fun and a little performance arty.

So in that spirit, when it came time to figure out my author photo for my second book, Heartbroke, I had some ideas. The book was in so many ways connected to my childhood in the central valley, to my dad and his tall tales, and to this California western cowboy aesthetic that runs rich throughout the pages. I mean, the opening of Cowboys and Angels says it all:

Also, I had just lost my dad only a few months before taking the photos. Because Jessica is an angel of a human I felt comfortable to be my emotional, expressive self in the shoot and try things, like literally lay down on the ground. My dad always wore a gold signet necklace and when he died it disappeared. I was heartbroken. It was really the only thing of his I ever imagined wanting. Eventually though, someone found it and sent it to me, a true miracle considering the situation I was working with (a tale for another time!). So I had my dad’s necklace on, and I got in a full denim jumpsuit and found myself drawn to looking out the window at the clouds. Maybe at him.

Jessica captured this:

I about near lost my mind when I saw it. That’s the necklace, that’s the way I felt. That’s Heartbroke. All of it right there in that picture. Longing, California, moody but there’s grace. It’s definitely not a typical author photo and probably most publishers would tell you to choose another, face on perhaps, not looking away. But I was lucky that Catapult let me do what I wanted and never questioned it. And so that is the author photo for Heartbroke on the jacket. And I love it deeply for many reasons. I think it’s art in and of itself that corresponds with the art I made. Fun fact that the necklace wound up being a very central piece in my next novel, Madwoman. More on that later.

This one was never a contender for the jacket or anything else, but I show it only to show off my ‘Heartbroke’ necklace because it’s very badass looking if I do say so myself.

Okay, now. When Heartbroke was coming out in paperback I got a wild hair of an idea to celebrate the occasion. I’d become obsessed with this blue Chevy that was always parked off Hawthorne Ave. in Portland. I loved the color of it, how the interiors looked, everything. It was so pristine. I wrote it into Madwoman I loved it so much. I texted Jessica a picture of the Chevy with a note, sort of joking, I’d love to do a shoot in this car.

To my delight and surprise, she was in. The idea was going to be real?!

While we didn’t get access to that exact Chevy, Jessica, in all her majesty contacted a family friend and asked if we could use his car for awhile. Let’s just say he came all the way thru and this happened:

I wore the suit I’d worn to the hardcover launch, brought back the denim from the original photo with this little corset, drove out to a country gas station and made this come to life. I felt like I was channeling the book fully here and also nodding to what was coming. It was so much fun.

I love the idea of Easter eggs, and for me, the necklace and the blue car here are major Madwoman easter eggs. Again, there’s an element of performance art to it all that I really love. I do it for me, honestly, because why the fuck not. (More on your WHY in a bit).

Okay, when it came to the Madwoman cover, I sensed it would be a dark, turbulent cover. It could have gone a lot of directions, but my sense was leaning this way. I went ahead and did some new author photos with the incredible photographer Wondra in the rose garden here that really fit that bill well. I love the intensity of them and the use of natural beauty. Once I saw the cover, I knew which one I would use.

The grain makes it feel really dramatic to me, and there’s a dreamy quality to it. I dressed in mostly black with the pop of white here. I was feeling florals big time and it felt connected to the character of Clove, Madwoman’s protagonist, who flees to Portland to start a new life in Rose City. I like the intensity happening here, too, and I was really happy with it.

But when I saw the amazing UK cover, I just didn’t feel like this worked as well for it.

I thought maybe it would be okay (and it woulddddd) but it wore on me. Something wasn’t right to my eye. I knew we needed something brighter with a really clean background, and I wanted to go back to an all white look to pop against the hot hot pink.

I called Jessica of course, with just days before we were going to press, and (have I mentioned she’s amazing?) she was like, yes, yes, yes. Let’s do it. We knocked the new one out in an hour flat, one outfit, just a jacket that came off and on, and we also managed to have what felt like a sort of spiritual experience? I fell totally in love with how they turned out, and they now offer me so many options to use for different things as well. But the jacket photo was our main concern which she snapped in the first five minutes.

The sleeve took this photo into a direction I absolutely love. It showcases my personal style with the subtle shine of the material, I love the way it matches my nails and the opal of my ring. The “Mom” ring showing for a book very much dedicated to my mom. I love the sleekness of it too and how the pose is traditional but also a little bit unique with my hand on my heartspace.

During this shoot we also came out with some surprising images that I love, too. Here’s a few:

In my Siegfried and Roy era

Okay, so that brings us to the present. By this point you’re probably like, get to it!

Here are my tips for author photos you will love now, love to look back on, and feel great about.

1. Formulate your VISION

   Notice what you like, and don’t like. I usually collect examples of author photos I love to show the photographer so they can get an idea of a desired final product. It’s a good thing to just to have it between you, especially if they don’t normally do “author” photos.

   Then, start thinking of some key words. I will confess to you that mine for Madwoman was “Hot and Haunted” which is sort of the energy with which the book was written. Great examples of hot and haunted are basically every photo taken of Mary Gaitskill. Look at that expression, those eyes. You think she’s writing soft, boring, forgettable tales? I think not. Hot and haunted for sure.

   

   

   

   So, figure out your words! Google author photos of writers you love. I swear it helps. It will help inform your fashion choices, where you shoot, and your poses. You wouldn’t turn over your editorial vision to another person, would you? So don’t trust that the photographer can read your mind or shares your idea of what looks great. Be an active participant, communicate what you want, and, this might be controversial, but as you go, ask to see what they are getting. Don’t leave until you get the shot that you have seen with your own eyes. Obviously, editing happens later, but what I’ve learned is that it’s wise to check in because with everything going on, it’s easy to miss if a tag is out, or your shirt is billowing funny, or your hair is mussed up. Just check in to make sure you are on the right track so you can pivot if needed.

2. Bring your book/your work into the equation

   What’s the energy of your work? Is it bold? Is it voicey? Is it redemptive? Dramatic? Funny? Romantic? What? Are there any fun things you can pull out from the work? This will look different for everyone. We’re thinking in vibes here. And then, in many cases you can play off your cover if you have it already. If you don’t like any of those ideas, I would say the classic look of a smart shirt with a great fitting blazer will never do you wrong. Or like my first go, a great pair of jeans and a smart top.

   Below is an example of a beautiful author website featuring a really high fashion look that I love. It looks like a magazine, and it fits Tiffany’s vibe as a take no prisoners writer who is charting a clear path. I’ve read her work, and can confirm that this “vibe” completely fits. It’s also a great representation of her personality. Strong, bold, with softness and depth. And I know that from this photoshoot she got many great shots that can later be used on a book jacket or for other online stuff.

   

3. What to wear. This might be the trickiest of all the things maybe and the most time consuming. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s hard, but it’s wise to give yourself lots of time to decide, and shop if needed. If you are wanting to keep it simple, consider what you feel best in. A t-shirt and jeans can look amazing. It’s not what you wear, but dare I say, how you wear it. In real life I love wearing prairie farming-mother looking frocks that simply would not capture what I think of as my outward facing writer self. When I do events, I like to trend more towards sharp lines and menswear inspired looks with touches of frills and shine. Or a great blouse tucked into high waist trousers. This makes me feel more confident and like I’m putting on my writer-suit for the writer show. I most likely wouldn’t do an event in a billowy floral sundress, because mentally that’s not what I need to feel my best in that role.

   Think for you, what makes you feel the best? What’s comfortable on your body? There is no right answer. I love planning this sort of stuff, but you might hate it. If you hate it, ask some friends, or even the photographer for help. Or, there are styling services out there. I’ve never used one but they exist and could be an option if you really are like, I cannot.

4. Where to shoot. Basically the question is indoors or outdoors. I love outdoors for people because it looks so beautiful, you can play with lots of natural light, you have the advantage of nature at your whimsy. I used the Rose Garden here for my Madwoman US cover. This was somewhat of a last second accident, because we had planned to use a studio, but had to pivot. Sometimes you gotta pivot. I think they turned around really beautiful though they weren’t in my mind like that. But there’s a lot of studios you can rent by the hour that have lots of different backdrops and chairs and such for your use. Maybe you want to be photographed in your home with your bookshelf in the background. Make it special if you want. This is a great time to use the expertise of the photographer who will understand the best time of day to shoot and which locations will have good lighting.

5. The photographer. The best way to choose someone great is to choose someone who has taken photos you love. Is there an author you know who used someone you can use? Go that direction. Do you have a friend who is really good? My friend had her husband take some gorgeous pics outside with a nice camera. Done! You could even contact college photography departments to see if any students are looking to build their portfolio. You never know. I will say, though, really tap into what you want here. It’s a special thing. Make sure it feels right.

6. Posing: A good photographer should have ideas for you! Ideally they have creative impulse and a good eye. I’ve witnessed a photographer who had very low energy and next to zero ideas of what the person should do, where they should go, etc…needless to say, with someone like that, you have to run the show, and it kind of sucks to run the whole show when it’s your day. You want a partner. But if they aren’t going to be one, well don’t use them again, and make the best of it in the moment. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. “Does this look okay?” “Should we try over there?” “How’s the light here?” “I really like hearing feedback, it helps me.”

   Again, as for posing, look to authors you really love the photos of. What are they doing with their bodies? I’ve always been very inspired by Claudia Dey because her author photos have a fashion forward artistic lean. Those things are part of my vision.

   

   

   Let’s also take a moment to admire this stunning black and white photo of T Kira Madden. I love BW with a colorful cover! T Kira is wearing what I think of as a signature look for her—a super perfect black blazer—but it’s her expression that steals the show. Her eyes are telling a whole story.

   

   I took this photo of the writer, Okwiri Oduor at Macdowell in 2014 (pregnant with baby Harper and myself a baby at only 26 years old!), perhaps proving my point that you don’t necessarily need a full on professional to get a great shot. I had a Canon and we had the advantage of beautiful natural light and the dramatic backdrop of a snowy New Hampshire, and well, we had Okwiri’s absolute stunning self, so that never hurts. We took a series of shots and I never imagined she would use one I took for her book cover photo, but she did! I love how it captures her beautiful smile and the colors play into the jacket design, too. A happy accident. I love her pose here; it’s very natural, and I tend to love hands in photos, but that’s just me. We can be very expressive with our hands and it’s okay to use them.

   I also love this one of the poet Lauren Hilger I took during that same residency. A fun fact is that somewhere there lives an entire calendar’s worth of snow-nudes of all of us that T Kira took, that I feel confident will one day show up in my mailbox twenty years from now and make my life.

   

   Stunning Lauren, and a great example of a well placed hand.

   

   Here I love the writer Allie Rowbottom’s creativity. This is the photo on her website and it’s a whole vibe. It very much captures the essence of her work—dramatic, moody, full of longing, heartfelt, edgy, and risk loving. Her book jacket photo for Aesthetica is stunning as well and a much different look. Allie employs a ton of creativity into her shoots and you can cruise her website to see more. I love the photos where she is holding her own book.

   

My best friend the writer Genevieve Hudson snapped this pic outside the Whole Foods in downtown Portland in 2013 on a break from our internship at Portland Monthly. I used this one a lot back then. Early proof that I love a head tilt.

As for what to consider in the moment, keep in mind that you should try to move a little between each shot. Just subtle shifts. Lift the chin, lower the chin. Tilt the head, untilt. Pause. Breath and shake off your face. Don’t be afraid to do these things. If it feels awkward it doesn’t mean it looks awkward. Ask your photographer for reflection—I ask a lot “does this look weird or cool?” You can also bring a friend with you who is helpful in that way.

Note what positions make you feel powerful. Just notice.

And don’t be afraid to practice in front of the mirror.

7. Why these photos are important: Remember, this is a special thing. Yes, it is. I won’t back down. It’s a really special and important thing to put yourself out there in this way. This is a moment to celebrate yourself, feel seen, feel beautiful, feel strong, feel like the writer you are. Don’t downplay this! It’s also the face that will “meet” your readers in a way. How do you want to show up? You decide. Take the wheel. It matters because it’s your literal face, and behind that is your brain and your brain is writing beautiful things so let us see you!

   And of course, I always like to say, make your own choices before you get to the point that choices are made for you. This happens when we don’t take the reigns and wait too long, or avoid it, and get to the point where we just defer to someone else or settle for a quick fix versus really taking agency over the process. I’ve been there, and it never feels great. But if you get ahead of it, take your time, and be intentional, you will likely end up with something you are happy with.

   Taking author photos is a form of self love and care. By doing so I’m saying, hey, I’m worth this. I’m going to take this time, allow someone else to see me, and I’m going to enjoy it.

I love the way Gen’s photo captures their warmth, their style, and their vibe. This is how cool Gen looks all the time and it’s so perfectly captured here. This was a very laid back moment in Silver Lake with our friend the writer and photographer, Annabel Graham.

A great example of a photo that captures Kim’s essence. I love that she’s looking away. It evokes a playfulness, imagination, and a striking beauty. Also ways I’d describe Kim’s work.

And keep in mind, if you try and you don’t love the result, that’s okay! I would say, try again with someone else. Go back and refine your vision, gather examples, ask questions, and try again. And remember, sometimes photos we think we don’t like in the moment, we later look upon with love and admiration and compassion for the self we were in that moment. That’s the self that got us where we are today. It’s all part of the journey.

Happy author-photo-ing! Drop your thoughts into the comments! Let me know what your experience has been or anything on your mind.

xo,

C