Dear reader, I’m calling you out today: You probably don’t love looking at yourself in photos*. Am I right?
Well, there’s a reason for that. And it’s not because you’re unphotogenic.
*If this does not apply to you, I salut you! We should all have your level of confidence 🙏🏻
No, the reason why we are so judgemental when we look at images of ourselves is that most of us just don’t have enough of them.
We don’t get photographed enough.
I’m not joking!
If we continuously see ourselves in photos, we get desensitised to them. This applies to anything in life – if we see or hear something often enough, it becomes less exciting/scary/unfamiliar and more of a fact, truth or just reality.
So if you want to love yourself in images more – or even if you just want to have a neutral reaction to your pictures – have more of them! I promise, it works.
I speak from personal experience (still working on it though).
It’s one of the reasons why I now book a photo session for myself or my business at least every 2 years and why I stopped hiding from the camera in general.
Another reason is that I need to put myself in the shoes of my clients who are understandably nervous about booking a photo shoot for themselves or their families. And yet another reason is that I want to visually exist in the memories of my life.
My point is, in order to accept the way you look in photos is to just have more of them. And not just filed away on a hard drive but printed in your home – in albums, on the shelf, as part of a gallery wall so you can see them regularly.
Oh, and of course there’s also the mirror-effect that keeps us doubting images of ourselves. The way you see yourself in a mirror is different to how someone else sees you – because the mirror is a reflection, an image is the opposite of that. I asked the internet and can’t find an accurate word for it. But I’m sure you know what I mean… Basically nobody else sees what you see. So a photo will always look slightly “off”.
If you want to dive further into that topic, feel free to read my article about Mirrors, selfies and the truth about portraits.
So, maybe it’s time to face the music and start to acknowledge, accept, and maybe even appreciate the way you look by getting a new set of images of yourself
The more you appreciate yourself in photos – or at least if you stop criticising your photos and have a neutral reaction – the more this will spill over to others. Especially if you have children.
I’m sure you don’t want your kids to grow up scrutinising their bodies. But part of it is learnt behaviour and it’s on us to be positive role models for younger generations. And the most beautiful “side effect” of this desensitisation is confidence.
Photography has a massive impact on self-worth – and it goes both ways. But my mission is to shift that into a positive reaction.
I do that by photographing you as you are the way I see you. It’s honest, it can be raw but it’s real. I’m not asking you to change the way you dress, move or act – I take you as I am and show you the beauty I see in you.
Wanna try?
Apart from Family and Personal Branding sessions, I also offer Portrait Shoots that come without an agenda that goes beyond taking beautiful photos of who you are at the time of our meeting. Because we’re constantly changing and before you know it, you’ll long for what you had in the past.
