I needed a great author photo for my Amazon author page, my website, and all the other book promo sites. The image above is the best I could do on my own. Fortunately, I knew Jeff Cable (his blog here), an amazing professional photographer with the requisite skills to make a nearly bald, middle-aged man look good. Ok, better. We had a blast brainstorming ideas until we realized we didn’t have a corporate budget behind us. That meant the exotic location shots, expensive aerial stunts, and special effects were out. Settling for the next best option, we drove 10 minutes to the nearest Redwoods forest and he shot the pictures.
Enjoy! Which is your favorite?
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- Here was my portrait before Jeff worked his magic. Note shameless plug of my book.
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- Marc in another Hawaiian shirt. Jeff is not responsible for the hat, but he did approve it. My brother-in-law vetoed the pic. (I know, I know, who asks their brother-in-law? See my Contact page)
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- Vetoed as the author profile. Apparently it isn’t smart to scare away readers.
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- Too boring. Don’t want it to look like it’s from a photo studio in a strip mall.
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- Ok, I used that pose a lot. This is the “if the NY Times calls” option. (Although I’ll probably still use the Hawaiian shirt one.)
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- I plan to save this shirt and image for my second book. Nothing like shaking up my loyal readers.
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- Ok, so it’s the same arm cross. But I am standing on a rock.
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- Jeff thought it was arty. I guess it will come in handy if websites charge me for color.
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- Jeff plays with lenses. Even in California, the redwoods don’t grow this wacky.
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- Seeing is believing. Yes, Jeff will contort his body in unbelievable poses (i.e. he crouched) for the sake of a cool shot.
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- Some days this is the winner. Other days I switch to the next one. Many new ways to deal with writer’s block in the modern age.
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- It’s like a completely different, more handsome, and much funnier author. It’s on my Amazon author page and elsewhere.
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Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read.
Thank you for sharing!
Okay, read them all as fast as I could.
So, voting for the pictures, just no on the hat and sunglasses, the rest work though. You know, you’re body language is really defensive. You’re a published author now, strike a couple of confident poses, even if it’s just pretend.
Keep up the good work!
I enjoyed this. Thank you.