I had some professional head shots taken the other week. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I don’t really like having my photo taken. It’s just too easy to look at a picture of yourself and see all the perceived imperfections.

But, nevertheless, I bit the bullet and contacted a professional photographer. Within a couple of days, it was all organised and I was set.

The day before the shoot was beautiful and sunny and even warm, considering this winter has been the worst Toronto has seen for twenty years (or so people keep telling me). The day of the shoot it snowed. Heavily.

I caught public transport out to the photographer Anne de Haas’ house and trudged through the snow with my assortment of shirts. The session lasted an hour, choosing between different backdrops and lighting, different coloured shirts (though in the end we only switched between black and white), and different positions.

We had a quick look at the photos on the camera, me cringing at all the usual things but Anne seemed pleased, and I’m happy with what I’ve received back. I think they do the job and make me look better than I think I do.

And it was a painless process. Anne was easy to get along with and she provided good direction and ideas. I recommend her if anyone needs a photographer in Toronto.

I then put a selection of photos on Facebook for friends and other authors to comment on and help me decide which ones to use. I’ve narrowed it down to three, which I’ll rotate based on circumstances. What do you think of my choices?

And if you haven’t seen Sunset Boulevard (why not!), here’s the clip where the title of this post comes from: