{"id":3960,"date":"2013-10-20T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T07:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3960"},"modified":"2013-10-20T08:00:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-20T07:00:39","slug":"the-dreaded-author-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3960","title":{"rendered":"The dreaded Author Photo"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_3961\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3961\" style=\"width: 251px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/glasto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3961    \" alt=\"This is the sort of photo I usually have - me at Glastonbury Festival.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/glasto.jpg\" width=\"251\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/glasto.jpg 430w, https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/glasto-287x300.jpg 287w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3961\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is the sort of photo I usually have &#8211; me at Glastonbury Festival.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I am sure I am not alone in hating the words \u2018author photo\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>We all need them \u2013 for our websites and blogs and other promo work \u2013 and to put in our books.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is, these photos never go away. They stay out there forever.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s just horrible hearing a whisper from the audience during an appearance &#8211;\u00a0 <i>\u201cShe looks NOTHING like her photo!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>With this in mind (and remembering my last author photos were done in 2009), I decided it was time to grit my teeth and face the lens again.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Getting ready for the shoot involved trying on every item of clothing in my wardrobe to decide what to take\u2026<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3966\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3966\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/iron.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3966\" alt=\"Luckily I had an episode of Strictly to watch as I did this load.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/iron.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luckily I had an episode of Strictly to watch as I did this load.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And then it all had to be ironed.<\/p>\n<p>There were accessories to consider as well \u2013 but not shoes. This was to be a head and shoulders shot only.<\/p>\n<p>I duly presented myself for sentence \u2026 sorry \u2026 for photographing by the wonderfully talented <a href=\"http:\/\/promotemeportraits.co.uk\/the-creative-package\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marte Lundby Rekaa<\/a>.\u00a0 Marte takes photos for RNA events, so we already knew each other. That helped a lot.<\/p>\n<p>We did the shoot in Marte\u2019s office cum small studio. I liked that \u2013 big studios can be a tad intimidating.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3968\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3968\" style=\"width: 341px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/studio.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3968  \" alt=\"Marte was full of good ideas - like using a textured rug for a backdrop.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/studio.jpg\" width=\"341\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/studio.jpg 608w, https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/studio-300x222.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marte was full of good ideas &#8211; like using a textured rug for a backdrop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She was incredible patient \u2013 making me laugh&#8230;\u00a0lying though her teeth by saying a shot or pose was gorgeous.<\/p>\n<p>The shoot was scheduled for an hour, but it ran over \u2013 due to my nervousness and Marte\u2019s generosity.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The next day \u2013 there was a web galley of \u2013 wait for it \u2013 348 photos for me to select from.<\/p>\n<p>That was almost as tough as the shoot itself.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3973\" style=\"width: 455px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gallery.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3973 \" alt=\"Somewhere there HAD to be a shot where I didn't look like me - that is to say, where I looked good.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gallery.jpg\" width=\"455\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gallery.jpg 505w, https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/gallery-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Somewhere there HAD to be a shot where I didn&#8217;t look like me &#8211; that is to say, where I looked good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I am the world\u2019s most un-photogenic person \u2013 and traditionally hate any and all photos of me.<\/p>\n<p>But this time \u2013 well.. let\u2019s just say I am not too afraid to have this photo out there\u2026<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3994\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3994\" style=\"width: 299px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/new-author-pic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3994 \" alt=\"Thanks Marte - great job.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/new-author-pic.jpg\" width=\"299\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/new-author-pic.jpg 332w, https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/new-author-pic-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3994\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanks Marte &#8211; great job.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3976\" style=\"width: 238px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/marte.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3976 \" alt=\"My shot of Marte is not nearly as great as her shots of me.\" src=\"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/marte.jpg\" width=\"238\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/marte.jpg 238w, https:\/\/janetgover.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/marte-159x300.jpg 159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My shot of Marte is not nearly as great as her shots of me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I am sure I am not alone in hating the words \u2018author photo\u2019. We all need them \u2013 for our websites and blogs and other promo work \u2013 and to put&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7g6jm-11S","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3960\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}