Thanks for this great piece. I totally feel your pain! I was in my early 40s when my first book came out, and since then I've regularly needed a profile photo (I'm 70 now). As it happens, my current Medium profile photo was taken by my grandson aged 8 and I really like it! But memories of early photographers include (1) a photographer just returned from shooting lions in Africa with a very detailed lens that picked up every spot on my face (2) a photographer who kept telling me to 'lick yer lips darlin' (3) the man who would not allow me to stand in a way that I feel comfortable, with my hands in my pockets, but insisted on positions which felt quite humiliating and definitely not me. One of the best pics I ever had was when a magazine insisted on receiving one that day so I rushed to a local photography shop where the manager stood me against a white wall and took a great hi-res headshot for almost no money. I confess that yes I do look at photos and videos of writers I'm interested to learn more about. I like to hear their voices too. But I always connect best when they feel true, not posed within an inch of reality.