CELEBRATING A NEW CHAPTER
Taking a friend’s author portrait was a joyous opportunity to celebrate her debut novel while also paying homage to an iconic photographer.
“In an age when many photographs exist only in digital format, the opportunity to take them specifically for print is a rare and cherished one.”
The book jacket’s bright colors mirror the electric narrative within its pages.Darrow “Darri” Farr, a writer and family friend, asked Benson Photo to take her author portrait for her debut novel. The Bombshell traces the journey of a French American teenager from her abduction by Corsican rebels to her unlikely role as the new face of their cause. It was clear that the captivating narrative woven by Darri needed an equally impactful portrait.
We were inspired by the work of portrait photographer Marion Ettlinger, whose black-and-white close-ups powerfully captured some of the best-known American authors of the past century. (Indeed, for decades, the literary world viewed being “Ettlingered” as a sign of an author’s true success.)
