Be Confident on Camera - Lose your fear of being in front of the camera.
Models are brave people. They pose with snakes, on the ocean, get painted on and their hair gets cut off.
Of course, no one expects that from you, but if you take your photography seriously a little level of preparation is expected.
Being afraid to get on camera shouldn’t hold you back.
Shame and fear of looking bad are the biggest enemies of reaching your maximum potential.
Whenever you are scared, remember no one begins as a pro. The eye gets trained to capture beautiful things and the body gets trained to pose well. And training is nothing but practice.
You need to start doing. To do well.
– The Princientist
Also, you are your own person and the discouraging things people tell you aren’t necessarily true.
You can choose to ignore other people and do your thing anyway until you’re brave enough to stop asking for opinions.
About being confident on camera.
It’s 100% practice. There is no other way around it.
But having a method and being deliberate about the actions you take help you build the confidence to succeed.
Read my 7 top tips below:
1. Talk to yourself.
Before starting, during the photoshoot and after when you’re done. This is reassuring yourself you are doing well. It really helps.
Usually, you have other people tell you how beautiful you look or how well you are doing.
Those words of encouragement give you the confidence to continue.
Except this time, the encouragement comes from within and from yourself.
By saying positive things, you’re more likely remain positive despite setbacks and look for solutions to problems instead of giving up.
2. Be prepared.
If you are not a natural you can compensate with hard work. Prepare this in advance:
– Have inspo images. You can use Pinterest to help you with that. Create a shotlist so you won’t need to improvise.
– Pick 4-5 different poses from the inspo images. Train your poses in the mirror really well before shooting to help you know your angles.
– Choose the clothes and makeup to look good. The last thing you want is to feel self-conscious about your appearance.
If you don’t prepare any poses or ideas you’ll feel silly because you are not sure what to do.
But if you look good and take pictures that you know are going to look good you’ll feel confident.
Confidence shows. It’s okay to be shy. Shy people can still achieve good results. It is not a character flaw.
3. Start by Taking photos inside the house.
The best place to start is the most comfortable place where you can relax.
You can be as silly as you want and play with poses and angles to see what’s best for you.
You can photograph yourself, or ask someone to take your picture. After you mastered this step, its time to get out of your comfort zone.
Take those 4-5 poses that you know for sure look good and go outside. Don’t procrastinate. Pick a time, a place and a day.
It makes it more real and more likely for you go forth with the plan.
Choose a street where people don’t know you and barely have any people passing. Bring your photographer and start.
4. Know what you want
Tell the photographer exactly how you want the picture. In fact, take a test shot.
How? Pose the photographer where you want to see yourself and take a picture of him/her.
And then tell him/her that’s how you want yours. Easier showing than telling.
If you are taking photos of yourself take a test shot with a self-timer and adjust.
5. Begin.
Tell the photographer to – 1,2,3, shot – you so that you don’t miss the shot or move. Photograph your go-to poses.
Check the photos and adjust the angles and photographic plan. Try again. Don’t stop until you get the shot you envisioned.
Confidence comes from success, so having little victories goes a long way to keep you motivated. Don’t forget tip 1 and keep the encouraging words coming.
Beware that not everyone has the patience for it and you may end up feeling bad/annoyed because they don’t care as much as you do. So use someone that is patient and willing.
Ask your photographer to compliment you when you do well and the picture looks nice, and to say something good first before pointing out your mistakes.
This will make you even more confident and bold. Positive reinforcement works better than criticism.
6. Bring sunglasses.
I have taken so many pictures outside but I always forget you can’t control the sun.
Those squinty eyes, because the sun is in your face, are not pretty. Sunglasses help a lot and look good.
7. Don’t be hard on yourself
Give yourself room to make mistakes and grace to not let mistakes defeat you. Keep the positive words coming at every step.
Replace negative words with positive. Instead of “I look bad in that photo” you can say “I can do better next time” or “Let’s try again, but better”.
Beat the imposter syndrome. Whenever you feel you are not good enough, keep going.
Pushing past the doubt builds self-confidence. You really have to be your own biggest fan and encourager.
Final Thoughts
Confidence is the belief that you are capable of achieving positive results despite any problems.
A lack of confidence is a mental block you cannot overcome by just thinking about all the things you could do differently.
You have to try as much as you can, and then change what you dislike.
As you can see most tips are about changing the way you approach photography and mindset to provide you with a system you can use every time you want to take photos.
It is the good photos that will convince you that you are capable. Not the other way around. You won’t feel capable until you have good photos.
So start with the little confidence you have, and build yourself to meet those high expectations.
Part of being comfortable comes from being in control. You can take photos of yourself before working with someone else to take your pictures.
Read the self-photography guide below to help you get started.
Self-photography allows you to take control of every aspect of the picture and make it look exactly how you want it.
Disclaimer: This article is informational only. I am not a professional photographer so the knowledge presented is from my experience throughout the years. All the picture examples in this article were a result of self-photography and cannot be used without the creator’s permission.
You Might Be Interested In
Self-Photography for Beginners – Article Series
How To Be Confident on Camera? It’s 100% practice. There is no other way around it. But having a method and being deliberate about the actions you take help you build the confidence to succeed. Read my 7 top tips.
Smartphone or Digital Camera? Probably one of the most asked questions amongst beginners in photography. Use these five criteria to decide: Quality, Convenience, Time, Money and Ability.
Learn how manual/pro mode works in smartphone cameras, as well as how different smartphone camera settings affect the photos you take – ISO, Aperture, White Balance, Focus and Shutter Speed.
Sometimes you don’t want to find a location, take all your equipment and props and photograph there. I advise you to try at home photography. For the best results, here are my 6 most useful tips.
