Peeking out from behind my writing…

Lights, camera, action!

Or should I say make-up, hair, outfits?

I’m still buzzing from a photo shoot. My first one ever!

The background – a short story I wrote, placed second in a competition and I needed to provide a ‘head shot’.

Easy, right? I scrolled through my photos, not many of me as I’m usually the one taking the photos. What few there were, didn’t shout WRITER or AUTHOR.

I gnawed on my fingernails for far too long over this, deadline looming. I’m an introvert, the writer behind the words. I couldn’t put myself out there – could I?

Serendipitously I met a friend for lunch between Christmas and New Years and shared my news. ‘You need to get a professional photo’, she insisted and before I could crawl back into my introvert shell, she whipped out her phone and showed me a photo shoot an author friend recently had.

My eyes widened. We were similar ages. This is exactly how I wanted to be portrayed. Barely there make-up, stylish but casual and very approachable. Most importantly, the photos shouted AUTHOR.

Could I do this? The introvert chewed her nails, she was doubtful but the aspirational author inside of me was screaming yes, yes, yes!

The friend I was having lunch with is a coach and a culture and leadership expert. She’s all about helping people achieve enduring success. She thinks long-term!

According to her, this wasn’t about me providing a head shot for the launch of the anthology my story was to be part of. This was about my future self, my career as an author. She was seeing book launches, author interviews, panels and podcasts.

When I picked myself up from the floor (I was laughing so much), I knew she was right (about the photos). I wanted what she (her author friend) was having.

And so, I contacted the photographer, Dominika Ferenz. We met for coffee and discussed what I was looking for, my thoughts on make-up (I didn’t usually wear much at all) and outfits (I had some great pieces from last century - not kidding).

Then the day arrived. Dominika chased all my introvert worries away. We decided on outfit combinations and then Sophia Ivy Lee worked on my hair and make-up.

What a team and what an amazing, fun and relaxing afternoon.

Excited to say – I now have photos that shout AUTHOR, and I couldn’t be happier.