Let’s admit it – most of us range from mild reluctance to abject terror when faced with the prospect of having our photo taken. 

A dollar for every time someone says “I hate having my photo taken.” It’s rare for us to have a client say ‘fantastic, I’ve been looking forward to this. An opportunity for me to shine to the world” That never happens. But why not? 

The truth is we are endlessly bombarded  with images telling us how we should look, dress, drive, eat, play, work etc. 

​You get the picture. It’s particularly bad for women, although this is catching up with men quickly too. 

There are wildly unrealistic images all over the place telling us that we must be good looking, slim, athletic, happy, engaging, care-free, healthy, … (insert other marketing buzz words here.)

We see all of this, and then comes the killer… ‘Comparison.’

We compare ourselves to these unrealistic marketing lies and can never match up to them. It’s impossible. Even the models in all these images can’t match up because they’ve been photoshopped out of reality. It’s simply not how they actually look in truth. We don’t look like these pictures – they are fabrications.

We place so much importance on how we (and things) look, but it’s not even close to the full picture of who we are in truth.

Can you imagine a camera that also captures how you feel? How loving and caring you are? How you support you friends, family and community? How gentle and tender you are with your pets? We are so so much more than our outer shells. You only have to dig a little deeper to find we are all exactly the same on the inside. Same blood, skeletons, organs and hearts.

It’s a tragic situation which is going on all around us, so much that we don’t even register it. It’s like the water to a fish. It’s the very fabric of the world we live in. Think about how many images you see everyday; magazines, newspapers, billboards, TV, internet, mobile phones. The list is endless. 

Now all this may sound weird coming from us, since we’re in the business of image creation.

It’s not the images themselves that are the problem, it’s how they affect us through comparison and unrealistic expectations. It’s about truth. There can be amazing truth in images, just as there can be misleading lies.

So… you’ve got a photoshoot coming up and you’re freaking out. What to do?

Here’s 7 tips we find useful for our clients and ourselves.  (we also have to get in front of the camera  on occasions).

You are so very much more than what the eye sees. Connect with this and it will show in the photo. Let the world see a photograph of the loving and amazing person that you are. Every single one of us, bar none, having an awesomeness we can connect with.  This can help explain why photos taken of you by friends are often your favourites. Your friends see so much more than the outer. Friends often do #6 well too.

Remember that nearly 100% of the images you see in the marketing world are not true – they are fabrications designed to influence you somehow. See them for what they truly are and do not use them as a yardstick for how you should look or act.

Wear something to the shoot that you really love – something you feel great in. It’s simple but works.

Have fun and enjoy the experience. This one is big! If you’re enjoying yourself, the photos will take care of themselves. If it feels like pulling teeth, it will show. Keep it light, be playful and have fun. This explains why you often like candid shots of yourself, taken when you don’t expect or know they’re being taken. It’s you, being you, naturally. As soon as you have to face the camera knowingly, in come the expectations, we freeze up or put on some weird face. This is often where “I hate having my photo taken” comes from.

Drop all expectations of what the result will look like. Remember #2 and work on #4 and you’ll be just fine.

Pick a photographer that will hold you in a space of equality and care. One that doesn’t impose their expectations upon you and particularly one that you can do #4 with. Spoiler alert – All Is Light is a great option for this in case you haven’t worked that out already 🙂

Breath gently. This is a great panacea for pretty much everything in life. It really  helps us connect (#1), and get us ready for whatever we’re about to embark upon.

 truth is we actually love having a great picture of ourselves. One that reflects our true qualities and which we can proudly show in our facebook feed or on a resume. It’s the process where we come unstuck.

Follow our 7 steps and you can turn “I hate having my photo taken” into…“Watch out world, here I am!”