How does Sports Illustrated do it? How do they choose the “perfect hottie” for a cover?

I am sitting here trying to finalize a cover design for my cookbook and struggling trying to figure out what dish will be my “hottie” cover model. Do I display our green enchilada recipe because it is my all time favorite dish? Or maybe red enchiladas, because they are my second favorite dish and oh so pretty with a fried egg on top? Or how about a plate of some tostadas because everyone recognizes what they are? Or do I choose a photo that is more symbolic — One of my mom and me making flour tortillas with the rolling pin that was my grandmothers?

The decision has been so difficult; it’s like choosing a name for your first-born. You want it to be unique but at the same time you don’t want to have to explain what it means every time. So with that said I go to bed tossing and turning hoping for a sign from the heavens.

What makes you pick up a cookbook from the shelves at a bookstore? Next time you are perusing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders think about why you pick up a book? The picture, the familiar cook or author, or the title? I’m just curious.

They say you can not judge a book by its cover, and yet every day people do.

Photographer: Fototails Photography
See more photos on YouTube