The Truth About Confidence and Being Photographed

One of the biggest myths about photography is that you need to be confident before you book a photoshoot. You don't… and if that was a requirement, I'd have a very empty calendar.

The number of people who arrive telling me they're awkward, hate having their photo taken, don't know what to do with their hands, don't like their smile, don't know their good side, or considered cancelling on the way there is impressive.

But in the end, those are the same people who end up saying, "I actually had fun" and "I can't believe that's me."

Most people think confidence comes first

A lot of people have this idea that one day they'll wake up feeling confident and then they'll book the photoshoot. Or that they need to lose a bit of weight first. Or wait until their skin clears up. Or wait until they feel better about themselves. Or wait until they're less awkward. And then months pass, sometimes years, and it never happens.

Confidence isn't usually the thing that gets you in front of the camera. More often than not, confidence is the thing you leave with afterwards.

I don't (very often) photograph professional models

Most of my clients are normal people. They're business owners trying to make themselves stand out. Couples who feel a bit daft being photographed. Families trying to keep track of children who have suddenly discovered the ability to run in four different directions at once. People who haven't had professional photos taken before. People who think they're going to be the most difficult client I've ever worked with.

They're almost never right.

You don't need to know how to pose

I am constantly hearing; "But I don't know what to do."

Good.

Because if everyone arrived with a list of poses they'd memorised from the internet, I'd lose my mind. I don't expect you to know what you're doing any more than you'd expect me to know how to do your job.

My job is to help you relax, guide you when needed, distract you when needed, and make a fun experience where you stop thinking about the camera.

Confidence starts before the camera comes out

Something else people often don't realise is that a photoshoot with me doesn't start when we turn up on the day. By the time we get to shoot day, we've already spent time chatting. We've talked about you, your ideas, the things you love, the things you're worried about, and the sort of photos you actually want.

We'll plan locations, themes, outfits, props, colours, weird ideas that popped into your head at 2am. The whole process is collaborative. I'm not handing you a pre built template and expecting you to squeeze yourself into it. We're creating something together, which means by the time the shoot arrives, you already feel comfortable.

The best photos aren't the perfect ones

The photographs people end up loving are rarely the ones where everything is technically perfect. It's usually the photo where they started laughing because something unexpected happened. The one where their child did something ridiculous. The one where their partner looked at them in a way they hadn't noticed. The one where they forgot they were being photographed at all.

Those are the images that people fall in love with.

Confidence looks different on everyone

Some people arrive bouncing with energy, some people take a little longer to warm up, some people tell me their entire life story within ten minutes. Others take half the shoot before they really settle.

Neither approach is right or wrong.

Confidence doesn't always look like being loud or outgoing. Sometimes confidence is simply getting out of your comfort zone and doing the thing that scares you anyway.

Your personality is far more interesting than perfection

I've never looked at someone and thought, "This person would be great if only they were less themselves." The things people worry about are often the things that make them memorable. Your quirks and uniqueness are something to be celebrated. The way you laugh, the way you talk with your hands, the way your family interact with each other, the way your eyes light up when you're talking about something you love.

The world doesn't need another perfectly posed photograph of somebody trying to look like everybody else. It needs photographs of real people:

• The history nerd who wants to wander around a castle.

• The woman who wants to channel Lady of the Lake and stand knee deep in a lake at sunrise.

• The business owner whose entire personality can be summed up by an alarming number of houseplants and a collection of colourful notebooks.

So stop worrying about the things you're not and start celebrating the things you are, they're far more interesting.