Author Photos
Back when I was young and dewy-eyed, ca. 1980s, aka, the “decade for big hair.” This photo was taken at a Sears portrait studio. I wasn’t an author at the time, but I was living out of town and my mom wanted a nice photo of me.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: unless you’re young and dewy-eyed OR spectacularly gorgeous, most female authors approach getting new professional author photos with the same dread that might be reserved for bathing suit shopping (I can’t speak for male authors vis-a-vis bathing suit shopping, so I’m not even going to try).
Anyway, my last author photo was taken a few years back, though I’ve had a couple taken for newspapers. These tend to fall into the “not-that-great, but they’re free” category. And with the impending launch of A FATAL AFFAIR: THE MURDER OF HELEN GRIER coming October 28th, and with my co-author, Amanda Capper, in the same leaky boat is me, we decided to bite the bullet.
We started by researching local photographers and settled on Anna Pelletier Doble of Kevanna Studios in Sault Ste. Marie. She came recommended, we liked her online portfolio, and even better, she insisted on a meet-and-greet before setting up a photo shoot. The initial idea was to get a few pix, plus headshots, but Anna fractured her foot a few days before so…headshot for the book, any other author photos down the road.
One of the things you notice when it comes to author photos is the passage of time (a nice way of saying “aging”). Back in the day, I wore contact lenses, but dry eyes (prescription eye drops) make them an impossibility. Reading up on the “rules” of author photos, apparently if you wear glasses on a daily basis, you should be wearing them for your author photo(s)– (the hope being that readers can recognize you).
And yes, of course I bought new glasses! I may be older, but I’m not entirely without vanity.
And now, without further ado, my Author Photo Lineup.
2004 First photo taken as I ventured into editing and writing for magazines.
2010 Freelance writer and journalist / magazine editor.
First official author photo, 2015, taken for THE HANGED MAN’S NOOSE, my debut novel.
2023 (For The Sault Star)
2026, Kevanna Studios. Official author photo for A FATAL AFFAIR: THE MURDER OF HELEN GRIER.
Enough about me…here’s more about me
A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the multiple award-winning author of seven bestselling mystery novels, two books on publishing, and several short stories. She is also the founder and owner of Superior Shores Press, which she established in February 2018.
Judy is a member of International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors, most recently as Chair. A native Torontonian, Judy now splits her time between Goulais River and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with her husband, Mike, and their golden retriever, Enzo. Find her at judypenzsheluk.com.
They are all fabulous! You’ve really kept up, Judy. Looks like you still fit in your bathing suit!!!
Thank you! I seem to gain 2 – 3 pounds every year, so that bathing suit from the 80s is definitely no longer in the picture!
P.S. Your latest is authorial and elegant!
Thank you. I like it okay but it has a bit of a real estate agent vibe to it. But, no photoshopping. I refuse to have that done.
The photos tell a story all their own, from dewy-eyed ambition to self-confident accomplishment. Congratulations on the journey, Judy. Best wishes on Helen Grier!
Thanks Saralyn. I look at that 1980s girl with the big hair, and I can remember having zero self-confidence. My mom had the photo with her things, but I didn’t receive it until her partner passed last September. My mom passed in 2016. I’d forgotten all about it until the box of her things came from her partner’s daughter.
I didn’t even recognize 2004!
Yes, that was when I coloured my hair auburn and had it super short as I was running marathons and swimming 3 x a week in the Masters swim club. I kept it short until 2008, then started to grow it out. It was easy to care for! I also think that pic was photoshopped at bit, but maybe I did look that young LOL.
Judy, you’re aging gracefully. I’m still using an author photo from {ahem, ahem} years ago.
Thanks Lois. The one thing I really dislike is seeing an author photo on a website or conference catalogue and then meeting the author and thinking — OMG when the heck was that photo they used taken? Or worse — How much was that pic photoshopped.
But…I’ve alway been photogenic. Look better in pix than in real life!! And I had good makeup, hair and lighting. I do look best by candlelight these days LOL.
PS Lois, I saw you picking up your award at KN. — You look like your author photo!!