Judging a book by its author photo

This photo of Raymond Carver was taken in 1984 by Marion Ettlinger.

I was on a tight budget in 1989 when a book cover totally seduced me and weakened my fiscally conservative resolve. I’d already read most of the stories in Raymond Carver’s collection Where I’m Calling From when I saw the Vintage paperback at Elliott Bay Book Company. But that photo. I couldn’t walk away.

That day was the first time I paid attention to a photographer credit:  © Marion Ettlinger. This, I thought, is a photographer I want to remember.

Turns out it was easy to remember Ettlinger’s name. Each time an author photo seemed particularly arresting, I’d look and — sure enough — it would be by Ettlinger. Soon I didn’t even need to look for the “photograph by” line. I could tell. It got to the point that before I’d read the inside front flap, I’d flip to the back to check out the author photograph. In fact, I still do this.

One of Ettlinger's photos of Truman Capote gets front cover treatment.

In 2003, a compilation of Marion Ettlinger’s author photographs was published in Author Photo. You’ll find a lot of big names – Truman Capote, Russell Banks, Ann Patchett, Joyce Carol Oates, Sherman Alexie, and maybe some names you don’t recognize (but if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself looking up their books). Ettlinger photographed Stewart O’Nan in a diner and Jeffrey Eugenides in a New York subway, but most of her portraits are tighter on the author’s face; all are shot in natural light; and all have a realness that seems even more evident if you know the author’s work.   I come to a photo of Lucy Grealy and my heart aches for the loss of her voice; I feel the same way when I get to David Foster Wallace and I look to see if there’s any hint in Ettlinger’s photo of the sadness of DFW. Then I recall a photo of Wallace I like even better (below)  than the one in Author Photo. I look for it online, and am not at all surprised to see that it, too, is by Ettlinger.

David Foster Wallace, photographed by Marion Ettlinger.

My challenge to you: Next time you see an author photo that seems particularly compelling, check to see the photographer credit. The ones you like may or may not be by Ettlinger, but now at least there’s a chance you’re flipping to the back flap and noticing, too.

See also: Marion Ettlinger’s gallery at her website.