Modern Photos
For obvious reasons it is far easier to find examples of the author photo in modern times. The technology is all there. You search for it and Poof! Pictures everywhere. However, the other half of that equation is that author photos are so much more prevalent now. It is the In thing to plaster ones face across the whole back cover of the book. Everyone is a celebrity, or everyone is trying to be. But still there are the things that divide. That tell a reader that Book A is a different kind of book than Book B. In an article for the New York Times, Dick Teresi talks about the cliches of the author's photo. For example there's the "Vaseline shot", the "Backlit women with big hair" that you might see taking up the entire back cover of a chick lit book or a romance novel.
But that approach isn't just for the girls anymore. John Grisham might not have the big hair, but the approach is the same. The back cover is the author. If you see John Grisham's face then you know what you're going to get inside that book. A legal thriller. The kind of book my father buys and reads, all lined up on the bookshelf in the den. All 20 some odd. It's not something to even think. The name is the brand, the face is the brand. Through work and focused marketing a picture of that man's face on the back of a book now means something in our society. The publisher doesn't need to come up with a clever paragraph to try and sell the book. Grisham's face does it. Just like Jodi Picoult's does for her fanbase.
But the author photo has other uses. You don't need to know the name Amy Poehler to know what kind of book you're about to be reading here. Obviously it's comedy, but just like in the frontispiece of Catholic History from 1653, this picture is taking a very particular jab at a specific group of people. Particularly the 'serious authors' with their fancy, expensive clothes, the cliche pipe, and the captain's hat for the boat they probably don't have. But it also pokes fun at the author herself, because here she is, in an author's photo, making fun of authors who have pretentious jacket photos. IN a very real way it doesn't just tell the reader that this is comedy, but points out exactly what kind of comedy it will be.
Another style, frequently seen though slowly fading away in the face of the more produced, full color shot, is the simple black and white as seen to the right. The focus here isn't like Amy Poehler's, which is an ad for the book. Nor is it a Vaseline shot where the author is the brand and nothing else need be said about it. Photos such as this one focus more on the author as a person. The background is usually a relatable space, the outfit, hair, and make up aren't sleek and professional. Overall it looks more like the kind of snapshot you might have of a family friend or an aunt over for dinner. Less posed. More candid. The kind of person you might just like to sit down and have a chat with. And if you'd chat with them, why not try reading their book while you're at it? If Grisham is bold and flashy, Bujold is a quiet nudge through the door.
References:
Teresi, D. (1993, December 11). Haul Out the Old Cliches, It's Time to Shoot an Author Photo. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/12/books/haul-out-the-old-cliches-it-s-time-to-shoot-an-author-photo.html?pagewanted=2