Use a real camera — or a real photographer — for your author head shot.
If an editor or publisher asks you for a photo, it’s natural these days to point your phone at yourself and snap.
But it’s also natural to hate how you look in a selfie, especially your nose.
Rather than blame the camera, some people find fault with their nose. Yet instead of taking a picture with a real camera, some people visit a plastic surgeon.
According to an article by Travis M. Andrews in the Washington Post, which cites a survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, “people are resorting to expensive surgery in hopes of snapping a better picture.”
“With selfies taken from 12 inches away,
women’s noses appear 29 percent wider
than they actually are.”
The research found that with “selfies taken from 12 inches away – a common distance for someone snapping a selfie … women’s noses appear 29 percent wider than they actually are.” But a photo “taken from a standard portrait distance of five feet … has no discernible distortion.”
Yet having someone else take their portrait photo from five feet away is not always the obvious solution. In 2017, according to the survey, “55 percent of facial plastic surgeons treated patients who ‘want to look better in selfies.’” The cost of a nose job? Upward of $15,000, says the study’s lead author.
Compare that to the cost of hiring a photographer for your author head shot.
