10 tips on taking photos of a book you've written

 

Writers need a huge variety to photographs of their books and publications for publicity, illustrating blog posts and social media stories.

Ten hints:

1. Always use a spotlight - a desk lamp will do - or wait for lovely outdoor light.

2. Think about who is going to read your book, where and why. Dream up your ideas accordingly.

3. Chose a minor colour used on the cover for your background, eg gold or dark grey. A pashmina scarf works well as the fabric looks good when well lit.

4. Only use 1, 3 or 5 props with a limited palette of colours. You don't want to distract from the book.

5. Chose attractive props: sunglasses and a straw hat with a few leaves suggest summer reading. Spectacles with comparison books and a steaming cup of coffee work well for winter. Wrapping paper and ribbon suggest the book would make a good present. vintage black and white photos illustrate 20th Century historical fiction. Feature an ebook on Kindle or open a magazine showing your article.

6. Focus on the most important aspect of your book such as the title or author name.

7. Frame as closely as you dare but try to feature the spine.

8. When you take portraits of people, animals or birds compose the image with one eye in the centre of the shot.

9. If you are after a comic shot, crop the subject off at a shoulder joint.

10. Play around with filers or cropping until you get it right. Discard any that aren't perfect.

Enjoy yourself. This should be quicker than using Canva or CGI. Take three aspects of each shot: square for Instagram, landscape for Facebook and Twitter, Portrait for Facebook or Instagram Stories.

Sophie Neville won the Create! prize for photography