Yes, awesome, please freak out with me! Okay, now that we're done freaking out together, help me. I don't photograph very well, but the fabulously talented Wendy Whitacre of Blue Lily Photography left me with the odd problem of having too many pretty options.
Here is where you come in. Look at the pictures, pick your favorite, and tell me which one in the comments. The one with the most votes wins*. Plus, then when Paranormalcy comes out, you can smugly tell your friends, "Oh, yeah, I totally told her to use that picture." Alternatively, if your choice doesn't win, you can shake your head, sigh, and say, "She should have listened to me."
Option One
Option Two
Option Three
Option Four
Not an Option
So there you have it. Please leave your vote in the comments!*My editor has veto power, but she can't pick either, so I doubt she'll use it.
104 comments:
Right, I get first post so you sooo should choose my option.
My option is number 2, you can see your lovely white straight teeth and you look fabulous. Like a girl next door, someone you could be good friends with.
See? my choice is good
I see your problem here.....they are all so good! My vote is: Option Two-You have a great smile.
Although I love the brick background in Option Four.
I love option 2! I'm voting for that one. I love it when authors are smiling in their author photos. Makes me feel like I can be their friend (and not intimidated!).
--Rachel
http://twitter.com/rarararach
My vote also goes to number two. It's just a nice, happy picture that makes you look approachable. (Number three would be my runner-up.)
2 or 3
Well if you weren't so dang cute it wouldn't be such a hard decision!
UGH....
I like the last two (Well three if we are counting the "not an option" photo!)
Although two has a really pretty smile
I'm sure that helped immensely!
All good pics. I especially like the last one. ;)
I think 2 and 4 are the best ones.
I think number one is adorable, but I'm with everyone else — go for the smile on number two! (ALWAYS go for the smile.)
2
Kiersten you are so photogenic, they are beautiful photos! I vote for four, I think the background is interesting and you look love with a bit of ingenue mystery!
Number 2!!!
One or three (but I secretly hope for four).
I love #2, but #4 would make me wonder more about you, want to learn more. If I had to choose, I'd say go with #2. (Great pics, btw!!! You're freakishly adorable.)
I'm gonna buck the trend here and say go with option 1.
It's balanced, it's even, it follows the rule of thirds, and there's a lot of added visual interest from the two different textures behind you. You don't get that so much in the others.
Though I do like the last picture too...
Option 3
I think you look most "authorlike" in #1 or #3.
I vote for option 2. Option 1 would be my second pick.
i guess i am totally unoriginal in voting for 2 like everyone else ... but i think it's the winner!
Those are all awesome pictures. My vote would be for 2. It's the one you have on your website and consistency helps people remember your face for future books. :-) Whichever you choose it will be lovely.
One or two!
I like #2 the best...but I know you usually prefer pictures where you're not smiling, so if you are going to go that route, I vote #3. Love you hottie!!!
I like #2 the best...but I know you usually prefer pictures where you're not smiling, so if you are going to go that route, I vote #3. Love you hottie!!!
I laughed out loud at the cabbage one, and I'm pretty sure the people by me thought I was nuts. Option One. Hands down. It's very sophisticated, and it gives you a sense of mystery! Always a good thing when you're an author.
Well, I can certainly see why everyone likes option 2, but I want to cast a vote for option 1. I like the I'm Thinking Interesting And Amusing Things smile you've got going on.
Hey. Don't try tricking us by cropping Hot Stuff out of a wedding announcement for #4.
I vote for #2, too.
When I was looking at it full-size, my son hopped on the couch next to me and said, "Hey, that's you!"
But what really gets me is that yesterday he was around when I was reading your last post and saw the picture of you and Dojo and said, "Mommy, that's you and me!"
And he just did that again. My own son thinks you're his mother. Sigh.
(Despite being twins, we really don't look that much alike. Or at least not so similar that my son can't tell us apart ;) . I'll sign this with my Google account so we can get a little picture, but it's still me.)
Option 4.
But, you know, why listen to Anthony since, ya know, he used to be a DARKROOM TECHNICIAN and a PHOTOJOURNALIST not to mention GLAMOR PHOTOGRAPHER who, at one point, I beleive mentioned that YOU were photogenic (nice bones) and maybe, just maybe, you should consider having a REAL PHOTOGRAPHER take a couple of photos. And wow, look what happened when you did!
Anyway, option 4.
1 or 3! The first one is unique in its composition, just like you :) But hey, they're all super cute.
2 or 4!
I like #2 or #4. Two is a very nice close up and you have a lovely smile (all the pics are nice ;)), and I can see that one working well.
But #4 has more... personality, I'd say. It's not an action pose, but it's like you're doing something, you know?
Thus, my vote. %-)
1 is cool, if you crop it to fit in the book I might go for it. 2 is also good, but you look a little too interested in seeing me. 3 looks the most professional (to me). 4 you look a lot younger than in the others.
TLDR - option 3! or 1.
In my humble opinion, option 3 is the way I remember you the most and I would go with that one.
That is, if you are taking out the last pic, which is perfection. ;o)
xox
Then again 2 is good also. You're going to have to have a best-of-seven coin flipping tournament. Be sure and make a chart and show us if you do that.
I like 1 and 2!
I'm a fan of #2 too. But they're all great!
It's almost pointless because of how many people agree, but my vote's for number 2.
I like #2 and #4 best. #4 makes you look relaxed and comfortable, approachable. And #2 for all the reasons everyone else has listed! Lol
Biased though I am in favour of the cabbage, Number One gets my vote.
#2! It was tough to pick just one! You look fabulous in all of them!!
I like number two. :D
I vote option 2, followed closely by number 1.
1 or 4!
These are all so pretty! My vote is for option 2. You have a wonderful smile.
I really REALLY like 3 but since I can see which way the wind is blowing and I want to be able to say I picked it, AND because I like smiles--a lot--I'll vote for 2. ;)
When I read the other post, I wondered why you didn't just ask us...
1st choice: #2
2nd choice: #3
I love your dreamy, faraway look in option 3, and the framing is beautiful, but your face is a little overexposed (washed out).
The colors and exposure on option 1 are the best, plus your eyes just sparkle, but it feels a little unbalanced.
Exposure in option 2 is better than 3 but not as good as 1. Your smile is great, and I like how the shot is framed fully around you.
Option 2. Definitely.
I always prefer a real smile although you do look great in the other pictures too. But I'd have to go with #2. I think it's what Evie would want.
Like so many others, I think you should use option 2.
I actually like Option 1 better. I love the composition of the photo with the great use of the law of thirds, But, since that would most likely be cropped out for the sake of an author photo (though, I could be surprised), I think 2 is the better option for what you are going for.
Plus, you have a great smile.
I think they're all cute, but OPTION 1 is the most flattering. :)
SO exciting. Congrats again!
Okay, I haven't looked at any of the other comments yet so i wouldn't be influenced. I like 2 and 3 the best. I think I'd pick 2 because it is more you, although 3 is sexy and mysterious.
I like #1. Go #1!
Your eyes are sparkling like you have so many more stories that you're just dying to tell us. Plus, the look on your face is a little... what's the word? Mischievous, maybe? Like your book isn't going to be just a sappy love story-- it's going to have spunk!
I like one. You have a twinkle in your eye. It looks professional, but not posed. And I think it's kind of spunky.
Option TWO!
And I'm a photographer, so I would know which one rocks the most, you know. And I'm doing Natalie's pictures tomorrow, and she said option 2 or 3, so yeah, she has good taste.
No, really, they're all very nice, Kiersten! You're a cutie.
But I really think #2 is the most professional and you look so happy!
I just interviewed a former Oprah producer who said that it's important for an author photo to make the author look as approachable and interesting as possible. Before that interview, I would have picked photo 2. But the most interesting photo is number 4. (Btw, if anyone wants access to the 2 hour interview, go to www.AgentUniversityProgram.com.)
THREE.
Definitely three. It shows off how cute and smart and clever you are. Two is nice but a little glamour-shots-esque, and the brick and knee in four is a little too senior photo.
THREE! THREE! THREE!
Option 4. Makes you look content and approachable. Not the others don't; that one just does the most.
Option one! ( if you cropped it a bit on the left) :)
I really like #1. That's my vote, however #2 is gorgeous. Either one of those, you can't lose. :)
I love option 4. You look perfectly fabulous in 4!
And the winner is/ should be...
#2!
Pick it, you know you want to.
Number 2 for sure. It shows your personality... I like it the best and I'm not just being a follower either. I'm not like that!
#4.It looks totally authorish. And you should ignore all the other votes and just listen to me.
Options 2 or 4. Or you could feature the lettuce (or is it a cabbage?).
Option #2!
Although you look ridiculously pretty in all of them. Aren't we writers supposed to be indoor trolls who fear the light of the sun, and don't shower that often?
I'm voting for #1.
4. There's just something about it that's different from the others....I think it might be the angle, the setting....I dunno. But right away, that is the pic my eyes were drawn to.
Shelley
P.S. (I will tell you sometime about my author photo fiasco......but for now, just be glad you didn't wear a hat....)
I'm going to go against the pack here and vote for 3.
You are lovely in them all. In 4 I have the controversial opinion that you look a bit too young...as in a cute 16 year old writing a YA book :)
One is of course a favorite and I truly believe you can't go wrong.
My rationale for 3 is as follows:
a) You look the most gorgeous
b) You have that cool mysterious smile
c) It looks like an "author photo" in that it is approachable but has that ethereal air of preternatural achievement
d) Your expression here reminds me of that daVinci girl (no, not the Mona Lisa) the one in fresco Head of a Woman with Tousled Hair 1508
Trust me on this!
I changed my mind---I love 3 as well...probably is the best...2 is great, because you're awesome, 3 looks more professional yet alive, and 4 is just gorgeous.
Hint, hint....I like 3. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink:)
Those are all such pretty photos! :) I like Option 1 & 2 most. Option 1 you look like you're genuinely smiling a bit more, so it's my personal preference. But Option 2 looks more like a "conventional" author photo, so that might be a better pic.
I'm voting for Option 2. All the photos are nice and personable, but #2 is more of a close-up than the others, which I think will look better on a book jacket.
can't you do a collage of all of them? no, then #1 or #2.
Number 2 for sure! Why don't you like to smile with teeth? You are gorgeous!
3 or 4. Good luck choosing!
I am leaning towards # 3. You look amazing!
#2 - you look wonderful!
I love #1!
#4 is my vote.
They're all very good. I actually liked #2 the least. It looks the most professional, but... I don't know. I guess I like approachable better.
Of course by that logic, the cabbage photo is the best. I want to ask you what's wrong and try to help.
My God. I love them all, Kiersten. You're so gorgeous. But, my favorite was probably Option Four, because I liked the lovely brick wall in the background and the more casual pose. But don't worry, you'll look great no matter what. Even if you're utterly depressed by cabbage, or whatever.
Option 4. Approachable, with a dash of mystery!
I like 1 and 2.
1 because you look like you might know something you're not telling us yet.
2 because you have a friendly, open expression.
Good luck tallying all of these!
I love them all...but I think two and three are my favorites. Two is very friendly and nice and awesome, and three is very elegant, I think.
Ultimately, I think two is my favorite. :)
They are all gorgeous! I like number one the best:) Can't wait to see your picture in your book.
I like 2, the smile, openess, makes you look confident
Okay, I'm going to weigh in on this one too. My most favorite of the favorite is #4. Now, let me tell you why.
First: I love the TEXTURE of the picture with the wonderful brick and the hint of cement.
Second: I love the beautiful mix of colors and contrast. The picture composition is wonderful.
Third: I love the happy, genuine and thoughtful look that you have on your face. It's a face that makes you feel instantly connected with you as a person. It also expresses who you are inside and puts it all into a photograph.
She captured your essence. I love all of the pictures but this one I can see inside the book jacket of your books.
BTW: I don't think you could go wrong with any of the pictures. They're all great and I can see that it would be hard to pick just one!
Good Luck on that!
#4 is my overall pick for your YA audience; down-to-earth,fresh, friendly!
#3 subdued, pensive, and beautiful.
#2 best photo composition-wise, the way it fills the frame.
#1 Nice pic; with your eyebrows raised suggests you and by default, your loyal readers are onto something.
Again, my vote is for #4 but they are all good!
#1. :)
I'd toss in my comment here like a coin into a deep fountain (me being comment 86)...Option #1 is my fave by far.
PS: Please pass the lettuce. I'll toss it to my mom, she loves iceberg.
One :-)
Okay, let me preface my vote with the following:
As of late, I have been completely immersed in crazy humanitarian fundrasing, getting a (fairly unruly) 1st grader settled into a new school year, and doing about 3 kazillion photography side jobs...
All the while, do you want to know what I was NOT doing?
I was NOT reading your blog...so do you want to know what I have been doing for the past, oh, I don't know...15 minutes?
Well I'll tell you. I have been jumping up and down, and screaming, and calling my husband and back tracking through your blog to get MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON, and can I just say
Yay! Yay! Yay! and BELATED (freaking belated) congratulations???!!!
Okay then.
Now on to business. My vote counts for AT LEAST 10 votes because I have an amazing eye for this sort of thing (if I do say so myself) and the answer is #3.
I have chosen this option for the following reasons:
1. You look super pretty and model-y yet relatable in this one (and there are too many weird, random, unrelatable authors out there for you NOT to capitalize on the fact that you do not resemble "them" in the least).
2. You look smart. (You actualy look smart in all of them...probably because you ARE smart...but you look VERY smart in option #3.)
3. You look smokin' hot in option number three. Now, you may think that this reason is the same as reason number 1, but I assure you, there are subtle nuances that should be taken very, very seriously.
4. Most people can't pull off the "not-tooth-smiling, yet friendly/intelligent/approachable look" you've nailed it in option number three.
The good news is - you can't make a wrong choice based on the options available, and the even better news is: You're going to be a best-selling YA author! Yay you!
OPTION ONE. trust me.
Option three looks the most mature and professional. Is that what you're even going for?
I like photo number one the best, but you're lucky because they're all really good.
Well this is a quandary. Do we go for the gorgeous one, the simply stunning one, the incredibly beautiful one or the enigmatic but sensational one?
Hmmmm.
In cases such as this we have to consider the function of the picture. I think that of the four options #1 fits the bill best. It's simply the most book-jackety.
May I use the one(s) you don't choose on my book covers?
I like the impish expression in #1 and the smile in #2. So I am breaking all the rules and voting for two of them.
I'm such a rebel.
I like option 4!
Those are all marvelous though, I see why you have a hard time chooseing. :D
oooooh.... hmm. #2.
I love them all, but 1 and 3 are my favorite.
I think all of them are wonderful choices. I like pictures that showcase a little personality and I think #1 does that. BUT I love #2 as well! :)
Dad picks #3 first, then #1. although i quite like #5.
option 1, you can photoshop the rest of the family in on the left
I love 1-3, but "Not an Option" made me laugh!
OK this is probably too late, but I vote #3.
Option three!!! It's a really nice shot.
I vote for 2 but they are all fab!
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