Is there no limit to the vanity of Carolyn Crane?

So, one of the exciting yet strange things you do as an author is get a picture of yourself taken.

As luck would have it, my sister Deb is a fabulous professional photographer. So we had this whole photo session the last time I went down to the Milwaukee area that involved no less than three costume changes and many lighting options. And I was supposed to bring other author pictures I admire and we tried all these things. It was really fun.

Debbie's warning
One of the things she told me was that, a lot of her clients really want to go the whole Glamourshots route, wanting all sorts of photoshopping beyond sort of normal retouching and color correction, and trying to get themselves to look like models.

She warned me it was important to strike a balance, retouching and color correction and photoshopping is fine, but you want to look like yourself.

Carolyn Crane: Oh, you know me! I would never try to make you do all that stuff!!

Allow me to draw your attention to the top photo: a raw and untouched picture that those in the know felt was right mood for my book. It needed only color correction and maybe tiny retouching.

Carolyn: Deb, I don't have lines bracketing my mouth in real life! Do I? Okay, maybe in some lighting I do, but these seem more profound than normal. Can't I have this moody picture AND no lines?

Deb: Sure, Carolyn. Click click click. Photoshops out the lines.

Carolyn: Wait - what are those lines on my neck and chest? Yes, some of it may be from ill-advised sunbathing and just how a human neck is, and stray hairs, but OMG, can't you get rid of them?

Deb: Click click click. Photoshops out the lines.

And so on, and so forth. LOL. Hmm, will I regret this post?

I really love my photo I ended up with above! Debbie is amazing and brilliant. Her older sister the author, apparently, is TOTALLY vain!

Maybe this post is only funny to me.

I just think it's funny I made Debbie do all that--if you knew me in real life, you would be shocked , because I'm a slobby, sporty kind of person. Like, out of nowhere I suddenly got all fussy and focused on things like side-of-mouth lines. It's a book! Who cares!

Carolyn Crane does, that's who! *g* We took like 90 photos. The bossy older sister author and younger photographer sister is a pretty potent combo.

At left for comparison was the one I sort of most wanted, and I think it more looks like me, (yet better, through the magical lighting of Deb) but nobody liked it for a UF book. However, oh, look, I DO naturally have lines next to my mouth in that one, too. And neck lines. Whatever!