5 steps to help you feel more confident when you view your business portraits for the first time.
Unfortunately, it's pretty common for people to struggle with confidence around self-image. But this can be a real biggie when it comes to having a photoshoot. What really saddens me though, is how many talented business owners and professionals struggle with the confidence to show off what they can do for others, because they are too caught up about their physical ‘imperfections’. As a brand and headshot photographer, I see this with clients a lot so I’ve already written a few blog posts about ways you can build your confidence before a photoshoot.
Today though, I want to focus on the part after you brave your photoshoot, when it’s time to review your new photos for the first time.
When you receive your client gallery, you might be excited, you might be nervous, but either way, you’re sadly most likely going to self criticise the moment you open it and view your new photos. My clients tend to gain more confidence over their brand photos once they begin to share them. Once they receive encouraging comments, and start to see an increase in engagement. And then, when clients return to me for another photoshoot, they are much more at ease with being in front of a camera by this point.
This is one of my favourite things about being a personal brand photographer. I love helping my clients gain confidence to show themselves off. And I love seeing clients transform from being camera shy to enjoying their photoshoot, and then actually liking their new photos and taking pride in sharing them. This significant change is when they can make the biggest impact. Because once you have strong portraiture alongside strong messaging, and you’re confident in sharing it, you’re much more likely to reach and appeal to your ideal customers. And that’s when your business will start to grow.
So, how do you get past the self criticism on opening your client gallery, to being confident enough to share your new brand portraits with your target audience?
Well, here are my 5 steps to help you feel more confident when you view your business portraits & personal brand images for the first time.
Step 1 - Remember that you are your own worst critic.
When you view new photos of yourself for the first time, you’ll probably notice all the physical things that you don't like about yourself. Whatever hang-ups you have about yourself though, I can guarantee that isn't what everyone else sees. So it’s important to first acknowledge that you are probably seeing yourself in an overly critical way.
So if you feel yourself doing this, pause. Close your eyes and take a deep breath and then try to come back with a more open mind and be kinder to yourself.
When you’re ready, you can also show the photos to a trusted friend or family member to see what they think.
Step 2 - Ask yourself what your photos actually communicate.
So now that you’re hopefully looking at your new photos in a more objective way, it’s important to ask yourself some key questions.
Does this person look professional?
Does this person look friendly?
Does this photo show off my skills or something interesting about who I am and what I do?
If you can get past the negative self-thoughts that are holding you back, you might actually start to realise that your worth is not based on your appearance. And you might actually notice what it is that your audience will really see in your new brand images!
Step 3 - Familiarity leads to comfort.
In Anuschka Rees’ book ‘Beyond Beautiful’ (which I highly recommend by the way for building confidence around self image) she explains that
“There is actually a perfectly simple explanation why the majority of people dislike themselves in photos.”
She says that we simply aren’t used to the way we look in photos. We are more familiar with how we look in the mirror. But when we see our reflection, our image is not only inverted from left to right, but we also subconsciously tend to pose a certain ‘flattering’ way.
“When the way we look in a photo doesn’t match the mental image we have of ourselves, the differences become exaggerated and our face seems distorted and just plain strange.”
So to overcome this we need to build more familiarity with the way we look in photographs. This is why I always tell my clients to let themselves have their initial reaction and then come back to look at their photographs again the next day and again the day after that. Each time you view the images you should feel more familiar with them and hopefully a bit more confident about yourself in them. (This also applies to how often you have your photo taken. Each time you have a photoshoot you’ll feel a bit more comfortable in front of the camera!)
Step 4 - Remember it's ok if you don’t like all your photos.
Even if you start to feel a bit more confident about your photos it’s natural that there will be some that you prefer over others (this is why we shoot so many!) To be quite frank, I’m not expecting you to use every single photo you receive in your client album, and that's why my larger photoshoot packages include plenty of images to make sure that there will always be loads that you can and want to use.
But it’s important to remember that physical attractiveness is not a fixed value. One ‘bad’ photo doesn’t define your beauty. There are so many things that can affect the way we look, like lighting, angles, poses, make-up, outfits, time of day and how you’re feeling at the time. We are all capable of looking both great and dreadful, both in photographs and in real life, and of course this is all totally subjective anyway. So even if there are a few images that you really don't like yourself in and don’t think you’ll be confident enough to share, don’t let it get in your head when you look at the rest. Each photograph is its own image and is not linked to how you look and feel in another.
Step 5 - Focus on the memory & reason.
If after all the other steps you still feel yourself getting caught up on your physical appearance, and you’re struggling to find the confidence to share your new brand images, try to redirect your attention.
Think back to the fun you were having during your shoot (because I know you enjoyed it at least a little bit!) Instead of hating on your smile lines, think back to what you were smiling about. Were we sharing stories about how much we love working for ourselves? Were we discussing how much you’ve achieved so far and all the exciting dreams you have for your business? Or were you just laughing at my crazy photography poses? (cos you’ll know I’ll get anywhere to get that shot!)
Now this is a big one. Redirect your focus to the reason for the photos. These photos are to make your marketing stand out. These photos are to help your audience get to know you and what you can do for them. These photos are to help your business grow!
To finish up I want to share some more wise words from Anuschka Rees:
“Sometimes we run or hide [from cameras & photos] not because we fear the judgement of others, but because we ourselves don’t want to be confronted with how we look. When we [review our photos] ... there is no one there to judge us but ourselves, but that doesn’t mean the judgement isn’t just as painful, perhaps even more so. We know that hits to our self-esteem hurt and that they make everything else in our life harder, so we try to protect ourselves as best as we can. Regardless of whether you are worried about your own or other people’s judgement, the steps to overcoming an avoidance habit are the same: question your logic, then face your fears by climbing your way to the top of a confidence ladder.”
So my lovely self made friends, look at your new photos again and again until they are no longer the scary thing you've made them to be. Focus on what they communicate and what they could do for your business. Then, get those photos out there. Show yourself off, and help your business thrive!
Do you want to feel confident enough to show off how amazing you & your business are?
I’d love to help!
As your personal brand photographer, my aim is to bring out the best in you and show off your unique personality & your specific offerings through the beautiful brand images we create together.
I also want to give you more confidence to show up for the people who need your help, so you can build a strong and recognisable personal brand.