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Why your Author Portrait is important.
- Americans put a lot of importance on how someone looks.
- A bad portrait can ruin a good book cover.
- It is not about being objectively pretty. It is about having a good photo.
- We are relational. We want to buy from someone we know.
Tip #1 Hire an Actual Professional (you get what you pay for)
- How to tell a good photo from a bad photo: look at the eyes. If you can’t easily see the eye color, it is not a good photo.
Tip #2 Shoot for your audience (not the author).
- Tell your photographer who the audience is for your book.
- Tell your photographer what feeling you are wanting the portrait to convey.
Tip #3 Bring Lots of Outfits for the Photographer to pick from.
- Go with solid colors and simple/minimal jewelry.
- Consider bringing a prop to use as an option.
Tip #4 Insist the photographer shoot in landscape mode.
- You can always crop a portrait shape photo from a landscape image. This give you more options with the design of your website and more options when speaking at event.
Tip #5 Use caution with Photoshop techniques.
- You don’t want someone’s first thought when they see you is “wow you look old.”
- The idea with touching up a photo is to make you look like your best self. Not like someone else or a younger version of yourself.
Tip #6 Buy the full copyright to the photo.
- Negotiate this ahead of time.
- Pay for the time not the image.
Tip #7 Update your photos frequently.
- At least once per book or once per year or two if you are prolific.
Announcement #1
- 100 Episode Live Event July 11th 7pm Central Time. Register here.
- We will post the recording afterwards but we will have giveaways and bonus content for the folks who come live.
- Free!
Announcement #2 Raising the Price on the 5 Year Course
- Ending the Jim Coaching Option
- Not too late to get the discounted price or the Jim coaching session.
- More info on the 5-year course
There are a lot of professional photographers. How would I find one who understands author pictures? Are there some photographers who specialize in this?