New Author Pics!

I've posted a few photos from the shoot I did with Eliya of Eliya Photography on my Facebook, but there were actually a ton of great shots that came out of that session. So many that I'm having trouble deciding which ones to use for author-y things!

Right now, I mostly am using them for conference slide shows and bio stuff (like for contests I judge, or my blog). But I will eventually need a jacket photo and can't decide. So I figured I'd share the photos, and get input/votes from you all!

In no particular order, here are some of the photos that Eliya took.

You'll notice that the one in the stripey dress is the only serious one in the bunch--until you find out that I call that dress "The Dress That Grandma's Afghan Died For". But really, it would be useless to have a bunch of photos of me looking appropriately grave, since I have difficulty being serious for more than 3 seconds in real life. Eliya was really fun to work with, and tolerant of me cracking up at odd times.

We also took some pics using my crow mask, and I'd love to use this one for a book cover for Crow's Rest.

Isn't that cool? And just so this post isn't all about me-me-me (okay, so it will be 95% about me), I'll leave you with a tip for your own photo shoot.

I don't do much photography of people myself, but from watching other photographers with their models at Preston Castle photo shoots, I learned it's helpful to have several outfits to change into. So what I did was to wear a pair of basic black leggings, black boots, and a black camisole. Then I just had to pull off my dress and put on a different one, or really change it up with that purple sweater and/or black trenchcoat.

I wore the same jewelry for all, so it made for very quick costume changes. The layers also let me change clothes right in the parking lot; we got a few startled looks, but we didn't lose time to finding a bathroom to change in. So feel free to use that idea if you get your own pictures taken!

And don't forget that any photo can be cropped to make it Twitter or other thumbnail friendly; here's the one I've been using

I highly recommend Eliya Photography if you're in my area, but have fun no matter who takes your portraits--it will come across in the pics!