Since I spent yesterday chatting about some of the pet peeves I see with author bios, I thought I’d expand on that today to include photos. Bottom line, if you’re a writer in any way, shape, or form, you need a photo of yourself. You should have it ready to give anyone who asks. Lately I’ve come across several authors who either don’t have one or tell me that they are “camera shy” and don’t want to give me one. Here are some thoughts on this.

You Need a Photo. Period. End of Story

I’ll tell you a secret: I absolutely despise having my picture taken. I think a lot of authors can say the same thing. Many of us are shy, introverted, and slightly (or more than slightly) dorky. We love words and creating stories but we don’t like the spotlight. The trouble is, we need the spotlight to have our words reach the right readers.

So… you need a photo. Period.

Make It Professional

The right “vibe” for an author photo should be casual yet professional. This means you are wearing something nice, you’re smiling for the camera, and you are the only one in the photo. By “wearing something nice” I mean that you don’t have your raggy sweats or PJs on. You might have a nice pair of jeans (or a suit if it fits your brand), a clean sweater or shirt, and you look like you just came from the coffee shop. You’re not overdressed and not sloppy.

Smile, Don’t Pose

Let’s talk about that smile. Just look at the camera and smile naturally. Don’t pose. This means don’t place your hand on your chin thoughtfully (unless you do this naturally), don’t make it look like you’re deep in writer thought, and don’t be “too smiley” with a big, fake grin from ear to ear. A simple smile that you would give a friend, that’s all.

How Often Do You Have to Update Your Photo?

This is an interesting question, because as some of you know I’m also a dating writer and advise online daters about the types of photos they should use for their profile. What I’m about to tell you is different than what I would tell them.

Authors should keep a standard photo for quite a while. Several years. Even if you begin to look differently, your photo should be on everything from your website to your Facebook page, so it acts as a type of glue for your other branding activities. Therefore, unless you look drastically different, keep it the same.  (As an FYI, online daters should always make their photos as recent as possible.)

Photo Gallery

For you authors that have a lot of different pictures of yourself, go ahead and post a photo gallery at your site. You can keep your “official author photo” the same but show different sides of yourself at a gallery on your blog, website, or Facebook.

Does It Have to Be Professionally Shot?

In the old days author photos really did need to be done by a professional. Today, many people have really good quality digital cameras, so you can have a friend take a bunch of pictures and then pick out one that works. The file size needs to be large enough for print (dpi 300 or more – sometimes 600 dpi), and adaptable so you can resize depending on the usage. Have a folder on your computer with different sizes of your author photos. You might even want one in black and white and one of the same in color. Up to you.

What do you think about photos? Overrated or important for authors?

Image: sxc.hu