Photographs and graphic images play an important role in a self-published author’s life. While you may not be a photographer, it is important to understand why these requirements must be met. Let’s start at the beginning.
As a self-published author you have control over all aspects of your brand and you need to make sure that the quality of your brand is of the highest standard. When it comes to photographs of yourself for profile pictures on social media sites, or author biographies for blog posts, make sure the images are of high quality and give you a professional image.
It does not matter if the photographs you use are not posed, but they have to be full face on, and not your dog or cat. Yes, we are all sensitive about the way we look, but your audience would rather see you, than your pet pig’s face.
And no, selfies do not qualify. Get a professional photographer to take a handful of images of you that you can use. If you don’t know a professional photographer, or cannot afford one, ask a friend with a good camera (a digital SLR or bridge-SLR) to take the photographs of you. Remember these are not happy snaps, so ask a friend that understands the basics of lighting and composition of portrait photography to take them.
The same applies for your book covers. High quality images. In most cases the publishing site will also specify the minimum and maximum size that the book cover image has to be. Make sure you read these rules before you use any images from the web. Beware of copyright infringements. Just because the image is on the internet, does not imply that you have the rights to use it for commercial purposes. Even if you make the book free of charge, it is still a commercial application.
There are many sites that sell images of the right quality, so investigate those and buy from them. They are not as expensive as you might think.
See you tomorrow!
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