The importance of being Ettlingered

So when Tayari Jones posted the results of her recent photo session with Marion Ettlinger, something about the photograph rang a bell, but I couldn't figure out why.

Then I realized it's the angle of her head, which is awfully similar to the photo that Laura Lippman used for years (one that's about to be replaced on her next novel.)

Is it just me? Judge for yourselves:

It's also worth checking out Ettlinger's website and looking through the gallery of notable author photos dating back to 1983. Because that style of hers really hasn't changed much - this is Richard Ford in 1983, while Lippman's photo was taken in 2003 and Jones' picture only a few weeks ago.

Comments

[patti abbott]

These are two very beautiful women who have been made to appear sort of hulking in these pics. And photographing from the side makes them seemed unapproachable/stand
offish.

[Tayari]

Hey Patti, thanks for the beautiful part. (wink)

[Laura]

I love that photo. Fact is, I'm a broad-shouldered gal, so I think the photo flatters my frame.

I understand that Marion's work has its critics, but I doubt you'll find any among the writers she has photographed. In fact, I think we all fall in love with her. She is a delightful person, warm and kind. And she even reads the book!

[Kevin Wignall]

I think these are great pictures, and her gallery is impressive too - if you look carefully she manages to give some very ordinary people a mythic quality, but when she's working with more obviously attractive subjects (yes, you two fall into the latter category) she strips it down and makes it simple. Good stuff.

[anne frasier]

i love both photos, but then i much prefer artistic poses. it took me two years to get my publisher to use my latest photo because it makes me look unapproachable. for me it's all about art and artistic expression, even the author photo.

[Martyn Waites]

Completely agree with Kevin, there. Especially about the mythic quality. That one of Cormac Macarthy looks like he was chiselled out of flint while he sat there. But then he probably was.

[Megan]

I think they're both so beautiful and lush. At the same time, they convey a real strength and gravitas, which seems to me, anecdotally, to be a bit rare among author pix of women...?

[David J. Montgomery]

I've always liked that picture of Laura. Hope they replace it with another good one!

[Lauren Baratz-Logsted]

The pics of Tayari Jones and Laura Lippman are terrific. OTOH, the Ettlinger of Anita Diamant makes the author look like Ellen Degeneres's evil twin.

[Stacey Cochran]

I think they're both great photos, and I think it's just a coincidence that they're similarly positioned. Tayari and Laura's writing certainly couldn't be more different, though they're both outstanding.

Stacey