Off With Their Heads!

Do you have questions and just don't know where to go for answers?  Have you ever wanted to spend just a few minutes with a handsome hunk and dish  about what it's really like in the romance industry? Well, here's your chance!  Each month, Media mogul and cover model icon Jimmy Thomas will be here to chat and answer questions about all aspects of the publishing and marketing world.  While he's at it, he'll even answer a few personal questions and dish a bit! So pull up your chair and enjoy being taught and entertained by the best in the business! 


Since this is the first issue, let's get started with one of the questions I am most frequently asked:

Q: Why are so many covers just the body of the person with the head cut off? 

A: I, myself, will sometimes cut off my own head on images before uploading them to my RNC romance novel stock image website. There are a number of reasons why heads are cut off for novel covers:

1.)  In very sensual images it is all about the body language. When faces are shown, one's attention naturally goes to the faces, or to the rest of the cover equally, so the desired focus is lost. This is similar to a retail ad.  If the model is too attractive or if something stands out in the ad/image other than the item being advertised,  the ad is not fulfilling its purpose. Our eyes naturally want to go to the faces because they are what identify us. Cropped heads help you focus on things.  Notice the images on the right.  You are forced to look at our bodies on this cover image where I cut off our heads prior to uploading it for sale.  
The cover image below was also cropped to focus on what the title states and implies, "touch", which sends a subliminal message to the viewer and ties the title to the cover image/art - her hand touching my chest, with a gentle, loving touch - hence the title "Touch of Love".
2.) Heads are also cropped because the expressions may not be what are desired for the feeling or style of the cover. Maybe they were smirking, smiling, etc., or maybe his expression didn't match hers, but the rest of the image was loved so much it was desired for the cover.

3.) The model(s) may not be that attractive or maybe the ethnicity was wrong (Asian face, but body looked Caucasian, bald or balding, wrong color hair, etc.) or maybe the model wasn't talented enough to pull off a great expression, it looked fake, insincere, boring, etc.

4.) The number 1 reason heads are cut off on covers though, is that many publishers, cover artists and authors believe that readers want to imagine the characters faces themselves, so they crop the models faces off. Many readers agree with this, many don't.
As for my own images, I not only personally select the images I'm going to work on and upload, but I'm meticulous when cropping them as well - even if just 1/8".  Slight amounts of cropping can make a big difference in where your eyes go, and in balancing the image with what else is on the page, shapes and colors, etc.