blocks and fears of having your photo taken
This is for YOU if you
want to boost your confidence
have a special birthday approaching
have never had a photo of yourself you love
feel negatively about yourself
rarely take time for yourself
want to celebrate this stage of your life
think you can't do this (you can!)
have always wanted to do have your photo taken but haven't got round to it
think you are not photogenic
think you are too old
want to have a fun, empowering experience
BODY POSITIVITY FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND SIZES.
You are worth celebrating. Beauty is NOT about a number - a size or age - it comes from within. Take some time for yourself and celebrate this time in your life.
Do you remember when we had to wait two weeks for rolls of holiday film to come back? It didn’t matter what you looked like because the excitement of reliving that memory was all you wanted to see. The only thing that seems to comes close to that now are wedding photos.
Try and take that feeling into today’s fast paced world. Think about when you look at them again in a few years or more and the happy memory that comes with it. It’s so easy to instantly snap, delete or not be in a moment at all now and then they become regrets. And with the society were in it’s so easy to be made to feel you’re not worthy of being photographed.
Let’s change your mind on that…
The Key reservations we all have; Time and Money.
Time: We all say we don’t have time. It probably feels like an effort to spend a few hours having your photo taken. But you can always use a day off from work and commit to giving yourself this time you deserve to give back to yourself. You know the feeling when you’ve accomplished something you didn’t think you could do or had the time for, you feel pretty chuffed afterwards don’t you?
Right, thats time now on your side.
Money: Of course this is super important. But money comes and goes in life and those life moments, celebrations and how you feel don’t. They disappear in the moment to only have photos and memories to revisit. When you want something that bad, you always find a way of getting it. Focus on you, put some money aside and go get what you deserve.
These reservations are put up first to cover the real reasons. I want to help eliminate those real blocks and fears for you.
4 blocks I hear on a regular basis:
“We’re not photogenic”
“I feel ugly pregnant”
“Maybe when the kids are older”
“I need to lose weight”
“We’re not photogenic”
I hear this probably 9/10 with my clients. Or at least it feels like it.
Want to hear the truth? No one is and everyone is.
What I mean is, it takes a few photographic ingredients to create a great photo, but that’s from me not you. You - just need to bring the confidence within yourself.
I’m not just talking about a photo shoot, this is any time someone whips out a camera or phone.
Step 1. DON’T RUN FOR COVER!
Step 2. Embrace what’s happening, for a quick moment in time is about to be captured. And that moment is to be captured exactly how it looks, don’t be awkward or freeze. Create that connection with the camera or whoever is around you. And let it happen.
All of that in a split second – it’s all over. Nothing to worry about. Because next you’ll be desperate to see that photo and smile when you do and every time you see it thereafter.
But if you ignored Step 1 and bolted as soon as that camera was held up in front of you. That moment is lost, forever. It can’t come back. You’ve probably made the person taken the photo feel a bit rubbish and wish they hadn’t. But most importantly YOU have missed out on your mark, your place. If you keep running away from something that preserves you and the person you are, there won’t be anything to say you were here. It’s not just for those around you, it’s for you. To look back at what you’ve achieved, the experiences you’ve had and how much you’ve grown. A simple photo of you can take you back to a place in time that can bring you so much joy. Why would you want to run away from that?
It may be hard to hear the truth but just take a moment to take that in. And when the opportunity next arises, grab it and see how it makes you feel.
“I feel ugly pregnant”
This is down to two things.
1. You’ve never seen your body like this before, of course it’s going to feel strange and maybe even ‘ugly’, to you at first. I guess it can be quite scary changing so dramatically, physically and mentally – adapting to this new way of life. But hopefully that moment of uncertainty about your body disappears and you start to embrace your figure as it’s only changing because of the incredible thing you are taking on! That’s not ugly – that’s a very beautiful thing.
2. Society. It’s certainly getting there, but if more women were shown in the media being pregnant of ALL TYPES of women. I’m sure women would find it a lot easier to show off their bump and not feel like they should hide it. Each to their own though. I understand it’s a long road ahead in pregnancy and perhaps you want to keep it quiet until the baby arrives. Absolutely, you do that. But don’t let that stop you from preserving this incredible moment that your body is going through. Take pictures, document it for you and your baby. No one else needs to see them if you don’t want them to. But how amazing for you both to look at those photos in 10, 20 years time. Knowing that your grown child was in that photo with you and the glowing smile your showing in that photo just explains every ounce of excitement, power and joy you are feeling.
Here’s a film of a maternity studio photo shoot I captured. At first she bolted and rejected the idea when we first spoke but I encouraged her much like I’ve mentioned here. And she came round to the idea, the idea happened and the photos she now couldn’t live without.
“Being in front of the camera is a huge step out of my comfort zone so I was really nervous going into the day but knew that capturing my pregnancy bump was something I would thank myself for later. As soon as I arrived I felt at ease. Emma is so lovely and has a calming presence. Having my hair and make-up professionally done felt like such a treat especially whilst being pregnant. It boosted my confidence and made me feel ready for stepping in front of the camera.
Not only does Emma take amazing photos she is clearly so experienced in making a person look their best. She gave me lots of posing and posture guidance throughout that provided me with confidence and comfort. (As I normally feel like a complete Wally when I’m in front of a camera and even forget how to stand!!)
I am so happy with the final photos. I look very glam and I’m so so glad I’ve got some incredible photos of my bump which will become even more sentimental to me once my baby has arrived. Pregnancy is such a special time and I believe even if you don’t feel like photos it’s so important to capture this moment in your life even if you plan to keep the photos private just for yourself. Plus the pampering and empowering experience of the photoshoot is worth it alone!” - Charlotte
“Maybe when the kids are older”
Sure, but where are the photos of them as children with you?
Some of the best photos are when you look back at photos of yourself as a child with your family. Asking questions as to “what was happening there?” ”Why did you dress me in that?” “Look at Dad’s tache!” “Wow, mum is that you?!”. This strikes up memories and conversation. Taking an interest in the life you’ve built and you can say to your children this is what we looked like and what we did back then.
Imagine not having that…because instead you said no and stood on the sidelines while the kids were being photographed. Holding the camera and missing out on the moment with them. Choosing to wait until they are older and then older comes and you’ve been out of the ‘frame’ for so long it just becomes a habit and it never happens. Maybe at a wedding and that’s it. So you’ve maybe got a photo of you holding baby and then a 25 year gap of the next photo stood next to your 6ft son on his wedding day. But what happened in between!?
So no. Don’t wait. Choose now and archive every milestone you can with your children with you in the frame!
“I need to lose weight”
And the ultimate reservation is here.
“Don’t get me in the photo, I’m too fat.”
“No you don’t want me, I’ll beak the camera”
“No I need to lose weight to get into my dress”
Sadly alll things that I hear regularly and are hard to hear too. It’s again society having it’s way on what’s right and wrong to the eye. We only feel this way because were believed to think so. I want to see and photograph all types of women. I’m drawn to capturing your personality not your size. And you should want to be captured at all times in your life at all sizes. If you truly want to lose weight for whatever reason, then I wish you good luck in your journey. But why wait until you lose that weight, you may never get to where you think you should be (because were always throwing excuses) so appearing in a photo may never happen! How about documenting your journey of weight loss – you might look at a photo of you now and realise ‘actually I look amazing’. But don’t hold back who you are right now. Because it’s all about the confidence and something that can give that to you – is a photo of yourself.