Yep, that’s me.
Above are two cropped versions of my new author photos, superbly set up, photographed, and photoshopped by Toyama-based photographer Kaede Tsuji (@maplens27). We took these photos back in early July on a swelteringly hot Saturday in Kansui Park in Toyama City. I’ll be using one of them (probably the standing one) for the release of MFA Thesis Novel in April, along with marketing, publicity, social media, and all that good stuff.
This was my second time doing a photo shoot—my first time was back in New Hampshire in 2016 when Katie Rogers (no relation) , who I’d done drama with in high school, took my photos (one of which currently graces my About Me page) to add to her portfolio, and I started using them for writing-related stuff. The Toyama shoot, though, was my first time paying a professional, and my first time planning a photo shoot specifically for writing.
Want to know how this photo shoot came to be? Read on for the full story…
Asking a Photographer Whose Work I Knew Felt Natural
I met Kaede Tsuji in Toyama through a coworker, and I was surprised to find that I was already following her on Instagram, where she’d taken photos of other foreign teachers around Toyama. (Since I met her face-to-face before my interview with Krissy Diggs, this was my first time meeting someone I knew from Instagram in real life!) Kaede was really cool to talk to, and I suggested that she submit to the TRAM zine that I co-edit—which is how we came to run her photo homage to the movie Amelie last winter.
Meanwhile, it had been in the back of my mind to update my old author photo, which was now bordering on five years old. Places that run your writing often ask for an author photo so readers can put a face with the name, and I’d been using Katie Rogers’s photo as my go-to for a long time. I was beginning to worry that using the same photo was getting stale—and with MFA Thesis Novel coming out in April, I also wanted to prepare myself to put my best foot forward.
Plus, as much as I love my trademark black jacket, I wanted something a bit more summery…
I’d had it in the back of my mind to ask Kaede about taking photos for a long time, but put it off partly because I was really busy and partly because, well, asking/hiring someone to take my photos was a new step for me, and it felt like a risk.
I finally realized that because I was leaving Toyama in August, it made sense to at least see if Kaede was interested, because I really liked her photography and I would have regretted it if I’d left without working with her. I didn’t personally know any photographers back in New Hampshire who would take that kind of portrait, and I didn’t want to get stuck hiring someone whose work didn’t know.
I finally texted Kaede saying that I was looking for a new author photo, and asking whether she was interested and how much she charged. She responded right away with the details, saying she could do a one-hour photo shoot, plus editing and touching up two final photos, plus I’d get to keep the photo data when we finished.
I told her that sounded perfect, and we decided on a date before I left Toyama.
The Photo Shoot Was Easy and Fun…Eventually
Before the shoot, Kaede asked me what kind of photo I wanted. While I wasn’t exactly sure, I told her I wanted something friendly and fun, and sent her a photo of Jonathan Lethem sitting under a tree from the back of my copy of Fortress of Solitude. In retrospect, this was pretty vague, but WAY more help that giving no direction at all.
The day of the shoot I had some other things to do in the morning, which meant that I had to scramble to change clothes and get to the station and catch the train to Toyama. The weather was also really, really, REALLY hot, and had been for several days, so at Kaede’s suggestion I brought extra clothes and towels. I tried to wear clothes that were comfortable, cool (temperature-wise!) and that I thought would look good for the photo—my blue shirt met all of these qualifications nicely, though I chose my lightest pair of slacks mostly because they breathe easily, and I DEFINITELY didn’t want to wear shorts :-)
Also, always wear an undershirt when taking photos on a hot day—trust me!
Unfortunately, because I had to ride my bike to the station and then walk to meet Kaede in the heat, by the time I met her I was sweating pretty bad—not a promising start to the shoot. It was also a bit too early, the sun was still overhead, and it was just too hot, so we waited a while and took some practice shots to get started.
Kaede was really great about helping me with poses, since I basically had no idea what I wanted. She pulled up some suggestions for male poses on her phone, and we looked at shots standing up, siting down, hands crossed, etc. I often worry about what to do with my hands when posing, and Kaede was really good about showing me how to curve my fingers inward so my hands would look more natural.
Because it was so incredibly hot, there was still so much sun, and I was still getting used to posing, the first half of the shoot was basically one big warm-up while I tried to relax and keep my soaking wet sweaty hair under control. Posing is harder than it looks, and I now have a new respect for models and the work they do :-)
The second half of the shoot went much better as the sun started going down and I relaxed more. We took the sitting-down shots in a different part of the park, then moved to the bridge overlooking Toyama City. The standing up bridge photos were actually the last ones we took!
Kaede was really encouraging and easy to work with the entire time, both in suggesting poses and locations in the park, and in making me feel comfortable—because like I said, the experience was a bit nerve-wracking, and I wanted to look more natural in the photos.
After the Shoot
After the shoot we went back to Kaede’s place, where she sorted through the hundreds of photos she’d taken to a mere hundred or so for me to choose from. She recommended I do a quick first-impression Yes or No scan first, then narrow these down to the poses I liked the best. Since we had several shots from each pose, I had a few different facial expressions and hand placements to choose from.
The sitting photo was an easy choice, but there were several bridge photos I liked. I ended up choosing the one where my hair and shirt were blowing back a bit, since they looked more casual and matched the vibe I wanted to give off.
After that we parted ways, and a few days later she sent me the two photos that she’d touched up and polished, in both full-sized versions and smaller, social media-friendly versions. I posted them to my Instagram right away, while Kaede shared a Story of some video she’d taken during the shoot, along with the photos themselves when they were ready, and we did a bit of back-and-forth hyping.
It was really nice of Kaede to post the photos to her own Instagram, and I was happy to share and re-share her Stories and give her account a plug, which reminded me of how awesome it is to creatively collaborate with people you know in real life.
Next Steps
This week I sent the new bridge photo to Vine Leaves Press so they could update their author page (which they did SUPER quickly!), and I’ll be using one or both photos in my mild revamp of this blog over the next few months. And of course, the plan is to use a photo when marketing MFA Thesis Novel so people have a name to go with the face ;-) It’s great having new photos I can feel confident about, and that I’m proud to show off without reservations.
Also, if you haven’t already, even if you’re not in Japan you should check out Kaede’s Instagram or visit her website (in English and Japanese!) to see more of her work, because it’s pretty awesome.