This is a transcript of a short YouTube video by Julie Broad (founder of Book Launchers) offering practical advice on how authors should get professional headshots for promotion and branding. She emphasizes that author photos are not usually suitable for book covers unless already well-known, but are important for author pages, press kits, social profiles and promotional materials. Main tips: hire a professional and obtain multiple edited shots and outfit changes; get images in multiple sizes/resolutions; experiment to find your best side and natural expressions; choose appropriate backgrounds and dress to match your brand; consider light makeup/hair touch-ups but avoid overdoing it. The video closes with a CTA to like, subscribe, and comment.
Chapters
Smile for the camera. Your photo's gonna be everywhere. When you write and promote a book, here's how to get a good one. Hi, I'm Julie Broad, award winning author and founder of Book Launchers, a fantastic company that will help you write, publish and sell a nonfiction book that grows your business. Let me be clear, your author photo isn't necessarily for putting on the COVID of your book. If you're not famous or a recognizable celebrity, there isn't really a good reason for putting your picture on the COVID of your book. No matter how gorgeous you look, your cover has one job and that is to sell your book. Your face. That's this right here. Your face will only sell your book if people know, like and trust it already or are curious about it. Although if you're gorgeous, you may get people to stop and look. So there's that. But really, how many of us can honestly say we're stop traffic kind of good looking? There's only so many. Chris Pines Seriously, Chris Pine I live in la. Why haven't you come by to say hello? Back to the photos. You don't need it for the COVID but you do. You need it for pretty much everything else. Amazon Author page About the Author page for Inside your book PR kit, podcast or speakers 1 sheet Goodreads page Posters for your book signing. The list is long, so how do you get a good one? Number one, hire a professional and ask to get at least three different edited shots with several changes of clothes and ideally a few different settings and backgrounds. Some photographers will actually give you all your digital images but allow you to choose 3 to 5 to be edited. That's what you want, ideally, so you can get a consistent look for your brand and book, but have some choices to work with. I'm sure that picture at your cousin's wedding was great, but cropping out your aunt's arm isn't an option. And seriously, you can tell a photo that isn't done by a pro. What? I'm a professional photographer. I got my camera right here. Smile. If you insist on doing it yourself, make sure you've got great lighting and a good background. Don't do it in the direct sun, with your eyes squinting or in your dark living room. This is going to be a fit of fiddo Fiddo. This is going to be a photo that's going to be around for a while and you're going to see it a lot, so it's worth investing in a good one. Number two, make sure you can get it resized easily or even just get the photographer to send you different sizes. For example, your Goodreads author profile is going to be 400 by 400 pixels, so a square. Many social media accounts will require a close cropped square of your face, but there may be things like a poster or other book related promotional materials or where a different size and resolution is required. So make sure you get a variety. Number three Find your best side. I tweaked my neck so I can't actually do this. Usually a pro will have you experiment with different types of smiles, different angles, you know, a little head tilt, a somber face or a smirk or a full smile. We're in digital now, so you can do a whole bunch of looks and find a good one. I find it easier to be natural when my husband or a friend is in the room talking to me or telling me jokes. What? That way I can loosen up and take more natural photos. Number four Consider your background. Busy backgrounds or action shots won't work for the small profile shots. I like to have a few choices of background, but I do find that your standard photography studios have decent choices and white or black isn't bad to have on hand either. But if you're a Realtor, don't do this one. I'm not going to name names, but there's a Realtor in Nanaimo that does this Dress the part. Solid colors tend to be best. Patterns can be tough, but most importantly, find an outfit and a look that matches you and the brand you're building. Keep in mind your background though. If you want a black background, don't wear black. Same thing for white. You get the drill. That's also why I like to plan for a few changes of clothes when I do a shoot. Now ladies, the bigger question for you might be whether you want to get your hair and makeup done. I don't do it personally because I want to look like me when I do a photo shoot, so you're not too disappointed when you meet me in person. As it is, the photographer is going to touch up the image to make you the best version possible. And the reality is that if you meet me anywhere but coming out of the photo shoot, my hair will be far from perfect and I'm not going to have a ton of makeup on. So I don't do makeup and hair. But I love it when my photographer has someone who will powder my face so I don't look greasy and do the flyaway hair control on the spot. So just think about that in advance. If you like this video, hit the thumbs up button and subscribe so we can hang out again soon. If I missed a tip for getting a great author shot, let us know below. See you on the next video. Smile.
