Choice #1: This one is ideal, because I am rather desperate to get a picture of the Tetons somewhere on my book (the mountains are an integral part of the setting of the novel) and this would be a sneaky way to do it. Still, the lighting is a bit off.
Choice #2: Here's another with the Tetons and again (argh!) the lighting is not great. My husband pointed out that in Choice #1 and Choice #2, you can tell that I'm taking my own picture.
Choice #3: I include this one in black and white because what's behind me is actually mud, which doesn't look great, but I like the picture well enough. One thing that good author photos evoke, I think, is the sense that the writer could represent the main character (good luck with this for me, ha!, since my MC is a 17-year-old strawberry blonde ANGELIC being).
And Choice #4: my go-to author photo, with books in the background. I think every writer everywhere has a photo like this stashed away, standing in front of books with a contemplative expression, like you're just about to sit down and whip out the next great American novel.
So, let me hear from you! Which photo would YOU see on the back of a book and say to yourself: "Hey, this writer looks like she could really tell the kind of story that I would love to read!"