As photographers who talk with women, we’ve heard many reasons for not having a photo session, but the number one fear is expressed in many ways:
- I’m not photogenic.
- I don’t take good photos.
- I don’t like being in front of the camera.
It’s amazing, the amount of women who tell us this. It all boils down to a couple of things–trust and knowledge.
I’m not photogenic
Believe it or not, only a select few of us look sexy eating pizza. They get paid to look that way, and believe me, you don’t want their stress.
So, how do we overcome this fear? Eric enjoys telling clients about his photos. Most of the time when I (Kandi) snap a photo of him, he doesn’t look great. He has a goofy look, or he’s resting and not his best self. What has he done about it? He’s asked his photographer friends to help him relax and look his best.
The same is true for you. Trust those who’ve had experience in posing, in getting to know you, and help. you relax and look your best in your images.
I don’t take good photos
Our reply to you is:
Good. You’re not taking the photos.
But seriously, you’re not. You don’t have to do anything except listen to the instructions. Eric’s learned how to pose you so that you’ll look great!
I don’t like being in front of the camera
True. I (Kandi) get that. It took me many years of being Eric’s model to enjoy being in front of the camera. It actually was from seeing the images Eric took of me, to understand what he saw. One of my favorite images, is one where I didn’t even have the camera right in front of me.
Another helpful hint to shrink this fear is to think of being in front of the camera as talking to your bestie. Envision that person and that you’re chatting with them.
Ignore the camera. One wedding photographer will arrive at the venue and put her camera right up into the bride’s face. No those images aren’t great, and probably never get to see the light of day, but it gets the idea across.
The camera’s not what’s important. It’s the day. The same’s true of a session with us. It’s a conversation just around a camera.