5 Steps to Overcoming The Fear of Being Photographed
Here’s a surprising fact we’ve learned from 20 years photographing women.
When we first started out, we found willing subjects everywhere. Few people objected to having their picture taken.
Fast forward through a generation of rapidly increasing Social Media and things have changed.
Many people have fears about having their picture taken, in fact even the thought of having a photographic session is enough to drive some people to a panic attack.
The irony is that we all have so many pictures of ourselves out there now, on mobile phones, taken by friends with little or no photographic experience on wide angle lenses and we see so many bad pictures of ourselves that our anxiety has naturally increased. Bad pictures on social media and mobile phones are the reason we have so much fear about being photographed. Plus, of course, we see so many ‘beautiful’ people setting the standards of beauty that we can never aspire to that we always seem to come up short somehow. Of course, nobody is perfect and no one wakes up up in perfect makeup with perfect hair, but that’s the story that social media sends us.
Overcoming the fear of being photographed can be a challenge, and this is what we can help you with.
Much of the Art of Boudoir, in particular, is about helping our clients accept their bodies and overcome their negative body image.
Do you remember the old Channel 4 Series, ‘How to look Good Naked’ with Gok Wan. - This was the inspirational fashion series that showed women how to look fantastic with their clothes on or off no matter what their body shape - and all without a surgeon's scalpel in sight. The series aimed to debunk the body-fascist myths of perfection perpetrated by the fashion, beauty and advertising industries, as Gok Wan showed women how to make the most of what they've got.
That, in a nutshell, is the point of a Boudoir Experience.
So, Step 1 in ovbercoming the fear of being photographed is to try to identify the source of your fear. If it’s due to negative body image issues then this is what we will work on.
Step 2 -Find a supportive photographer: Look for a photographer who is supportive, understanding, and patient.
Having a good rapport with your photographer can help you feel more comfortable and relaxed during your photoshoot.
Step 3 - Make sure you set up your personal boundaries.
Decide what you are comfortable with and communicate your boundaries to the photographer. Remember, to get the most out of an empowering Boudoir Photoshoot it’s worth trying to push your comfort levels a little bit and that’s why it’s so important to find a photographer you can trust and makes you feel as comfortable as possible.
This will give you more control and make you feel more at ease.
Step 4 - One of the toughest steps of all is to embrace your imperfections.
Everyone has imperfections and it’s the imperfections that makes you unique. Freckles, wobbly bits, Roman nose, thin lips, flat chest, big boobs….Embrace your imperfections and realise that everyone is ‘perfectly imperfect’ and focus on the positive aspects of yourself. It’s all about giving yourself permission to love yourself. (I know, easier said than done, but that’s where we come in, with bags of positivity and encouragement in a safe, non judgemental environment)
Step 5 - Celebrate yourself! Treat this photoshoot as a celebration of yourself and your body and everything that you are. Try and focus on the positive aspects of yourself and the experience.
Follow these steps and be patient and kind to yourself and you will overcome your fear of being photographed and actually enjoy the experience.
You’ll see just how many of our clients started off being really nervous and ended up with so much more confidence and power after the shoot by reading about their personal experiences here - OUR CLIENTS
