The clients who tell me they hate having their photo taken usually end up with the strongest images. I know how that sounds coming from a photographer. So let me tell you about a recent session.
She was nervous and over-prepared
A business consultant booked me for headshots and a personal branding session. She was upfront from the first email: she hated being photographed and was dreading the day.
But she'd worked something out before I turned up with the studio. She'd stopped thinking of the photos as pictures of herself and started treating them as marketing for her business. Once they were business assets, dreading them was no longer a reason to avoid them.
So she prepared like it was a campaign. By the time I'd set up, she had several outfit changes and different hair and make-up options ready, and she knew exactly where the images would end up.
What changed during the session
We started slowly, talking more than shooting. Then I coached her through small adjustments, one at a time, and she reviewed the images with me as we went.
That live review is the part that does the real work. She could see each change land on the screen in front of her, step by step, and watch herself come across as more and more confident. Nothing I could have said would have convinced her as quickly as her own photos did.
A little way in, we scrolled back to the first few frames. We both said the same thing. It was like looking at two different people.
Then she couldn't miss
Once she knew the look she wanted, she hit it again and again. Every outfit change came out with the same relaxed confidence.
By the time we moved on to the branding photos she'd forgotten to be nervous. And that's exactly what comes across in the final images.
Why the camera-shy do so well
People who hate the camera take the session seriously. They prepare, and they listen to direction, because they're not pretending they've got it covered.
The naturally confident often give the camera one practised expression and stick to it. A nervous client has no script, so what the camera catches is a real person relaxing in real time. That reads as genuine because it is.
If that's you
If you're dreading your own session, borrow her thinking. The photos are a working asset for your business, and planning them like one takes most of the dread out of the day.
And ask whoever you book to show you images as you go. Watching yourself improve frame by frame beats any amount of reassurance, which is why reviewing images live is built into every session I run.
If you duck out of every group photo, you're probably my favourite kind of client. Check availability and tell me what you need the photos to do. I'll bring the studio to you, and the nerves are my job, not yours.
