BEA Day #1

Wednesday, May 25, 2011       •       2 Comments

If you haven’t been to BEA you probably won’t know what kind of exhaustion you experience. You lose sleep because you room with awesome people. You skip eating because there’s too many people to meet. You walk and stand on your feet for as much as possible because you can’t miss a single moment.

So I apologize when I tell you that tonight my round up and highlights of the day will be to a minimum because I am crashing in T-minus 2 minutes. BUT I won’t leave you, I will update some more later in the week, mostly with highlights of the BEA YA Editor’s Buzz panel.

First, I met the lovely Sarah Dessen! I got a copy of her WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE signed for my new buddy Navah.

I left Javits, met Navah for pictures, took some awesome pics (coming soon) of her cute self and trecked back to Javits just in time for Richelle Mead’s signing for BLOODLINES.

While in line I got to listen to Laini Taylor chat about DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE and it made drool even more for it. Can I haz it now?

NYC Day #1

Monday, May 23, 2011       •       0 Comments

Well hello there, NYC! Nice to meet you!

I got in the hotel around 4 and met up with some fun and lovely bloggers, Kelsey, Chelseas, Jeffrey, Jeremy, Carla, Kelsey, Mitali and Rachel! Mitali took us on a tour through NYC awesomeness, seeing some cool spots where NYC can be seen bright and beautiful!

Most excitingly, I saw the Statue of Liberty and got on the Staten Island Ferry in WHERE SHE WENT style! Free, with a great view!

Tomorrow, S&S Blogger Preview and TAC and more NYCness I am sure to photograph and share with you all!

BEA and where you can find me

Saturday, May 21, 2011       •       1 Comment

Last year it felt like there was hide-and-seek going on at BEA.  Or I-Spy! But this year I have seen many bloggers be very helpful and post about what they look like and where they will be.  So my schedule is too nutty to have in detail and I don’t know how I’ll survive it but here’s a few cool places you can find me at.

First, this is what I look like.

Where can you find me?

Sunday:

Around the NYC area. Follow my TWITTER to know what I’m up to.

Monday:

S&S Blogger Preview (who’s going?Come say hi!)

Teen Author Carnival @4pm

TUES- THURS

BEA! YAY!

Wenesday:

At the Soho Apple Store at 6:30 Ally Carter and Melissa de la Cruz will be there doing a reading from their latest or future books. I hear Ally’s reading from UNCOMMON CRIMINALS and Melissa’s reading from LOST IN TIME!

Thursday:

At the Scholastic Soho store authors Libba Bray, Meg Cabot and Maggie Stiefvater will be doing a joint event for This is Teen at 6:30pm

Friday:

Nothing much in the afternoon except hanging out and taking pics of NYC! Wanna join?

Saturday:

A few photo sessions with some lovely bloggers and friends.

Also, come to a super cool signing/event with Sarah Rees Brennan (Demon’s Lexicon)  & Maurissa Guibord (Warped) at Books of Wonder at … not sure yet.

Sunday- Tuesday:

Omg, I believe I’m free! So let’s get together y’all!

I will be updating the blog as much as I can especially on BEA topics and happenings. Follow my Twitter for pics and inside scoop. And if you want to meet up message or email me.

See you all soon! And now I go pack!

Author photos: tips

Monday, May 16, 2011       •       1 Comment

I get a lot of comments about how my portraits look good and that I have great subjects. While I will agree that I do have great subjects, authors aren’t models. Authors are writers, hermits sometimes even, who are in their pajamas at home and write. Or so, I’d like to imagine! On occasion they get sent off to talk and sign books but they don’t get training in how to pose and look gorgeous the way my models do.

So those of you scared of getting in behind the camera,or have had bad experiences with cameras here’s a few tips.

1. Find someone you’re comfortable with.
Authors, it is so important that you don’t just jump to the nearest and cheapest photographer. Save your money if you have to but get someone who’ll make you look nice. And I don’t mean make you look SO nice you’re unrecognizable, but do get someone who makes you look pretty and yourself. After all, these author photos are first impressions to your readers and industry.

If you are uncomfortable at a shoot it will show. When I used to work at a studio (Oh, the horrors!) I had a day where I had to shoot a little girl. All the lights and equipment made her so uncomfortable there was no way we would ever get one decent shot. It just doesn’t work.

Laugh in your photo if you you want to. Or don’t even look at the camera.

2. Have different options.
If you write dark books maybe try for a darker look. Or more serious. And just in case try a happy one.

That is what we did with Lisa McMann. She writes darker books for teens but also has a middle grade, so we wanted to have options.

3. Know your good side.
This might sound vain but you have a good side. Maybe a cute dimple on your right side, or your hair parts on your left. Margaret Stohl proved me right on this and you’ll see many of her photos feature her right side. Nothing wrong with know how you look best. And if you don’t know your good side, don’t fret, it’s up to your photographer to find it. Hence why #1 is so important.

4. As Beth Revis pointed out to me on Twitter- Don’t be cliche.
Meaning arms crossed in front of you all serious, or hands on chins (which I cringe every time at).

5. Be creative.
Have fun with it! Don’t shy from trying something different. One of my fave author photos is Richard Kadrey‘s with Holly Black‘s a close second.

6. The unexpected works too.
And in case you just don’t have a good photo and need something for a substitute until you do get one… just use a nice, well lit and clean photo from one of your events.

Well there goes my two cents. Basically invest in a good photographer, one that will make you comfortable and one that will deliver. And don’t forget to have fun and be creative.

What advice do you have, authors or photographers? Have you had any bad experiences? What have you learned?

And PS- I’ll be in NYC around BEA and if you need or want photos email me at vandsmedia[at]gmail.com. I have a few spots available.

My evolution of event photography: from weddings to authors

Monday, May 16, 2011       •       3 Comments

This isn’t a new development. This author event photography, I mean. After all I come from a journalistic wedding photography background where you document everything. Even the little details. (Oh, how I miss weddings!)

So I love, now going to WAY less stressful and just as fun events and taking photos. I love capturing some fun moments like joke and teases and just a good time (see: Smart Chicks)

And even shoes. (Can you guess whose these are?)

So recently I had the amazing pleasure and opportunity to meet and hang out with some of the coolest authors in YA. If you ever get a chance to go to any one of these ladies’ signings you SO should.

Terra McVoy is a home town girl here in Atlanta and I love seeing her. But at her awesometacular event and launch for her third book SUMMER OF FIRST AND LASTS she was even more fun.Why? Because there was a talent show! And ice cream! And a good book and reading from Terra herself.

Lauren Myracle also a fellow hometown girl (she grew up here) was OH SO CUTE! Ok, not only is SHE cute but she doodles when she signs your book. Who does that?

And a few weeks before that, we had the lovely Lisa McMann who’s so photogenic (I did her author photos and all her pictures turned out awesome!But more on that later.) but she was also an incredible sweetheart and I loved getting to know her a little bit more. She’s good people, y’all!

So now with BEA 2011 around the corner you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be with camera and lenses in tow photographing the whole event. All three days. All the signings (as long as I have battery!). All the booths and books and people! just like I did last year.

At Teen Author Carnival last year. Sarah Ockler and Heidi Kling.

Laurie Halse Anderson at her signing at BEA.

Bree Despain at her signing at BEA.

Lauren Kate at her signing at BEA.

So if you see me, come get your picture taken. And if you won’t be at BEA 2011 stay tuned to my blog for pictures of my weeklong adventure in NYC and BEA.
See you all soon!

Author photos like you’ve never seen them before

Tuesday, May 3, 2011       •       2 Comments

How do you do author photos for an author whose identity is a secret? Well, as I learned, you can do ANYTHING and they are fun on a level that is full of adolescence and youth.

These photos I did for middle grade writer, Pseudonymous Bosch, were so much fun to do and we had a blast being goofy!

Check them out and tell me what you think!