One of the scariest parts about learning to be a photographer for me has been how to seem confident during a photoshoot when you don’t feel like you have the experience to justify it yet. Now that I feel like I can stand in my own two feet during different types of sessions, I wanted to share a few things that helped me get to this point.
Take photos of people you’re already comfortable around
Whether it’s family or friends, putting someone you know well in front of your camera is a great way to start. You can practice how to pose a subject without worrying about the embarrassment! Blanking on poses? Mixed up your words? Not sure how to describe your vision? This is where you start to figure it all out in a low stress, low risk environment.
Find a mentor
Getting a job as a photographer’s assistant has been the best thing for me to build my confidence behind the camera. Not only do you get to see how they work so you can understand how to navigate a photo session but you might just get as lucky as I am and have someone who will let you second shoot and begin booking your own sessions with their clients when they’re too busy to take on more sessions.
Come prepared
Before you photograph people, get to know your gear really well. Become familiar with where your buttons and dials are so you can change settings quickly and practice shooting in manual mode so you understand as many features of your camera as possible. If you plan on using other gear like studio lights, practice with these as well. Knowing that you have the ability to handle the equipment that you’re using will take one more stressor off your mind and help you feel more confident in your abilities. During this process, you don’t even have to practice photographing people, photograph architecture or the closest tree, it doesn’t matter what you’re photographing, just that you’re using your camera. And if you’re worried that you’ll blank on poses during a session, come prepared by memorizing a few basic ones that you can fall back on (and have a Pinterest board for your session if you’d like).
Fake it ‘til you make it
Despite your best efforts, nerves might arise anyways so when in doubt, fake the confidence! Act like you’ve done this before and you’ll get the hang of it eventually.
Put in the reps
Practice, practice, practice! You’ll never get better by thinking about taking photos, you have to actually practice doing it and the more you practice, the more confident you’ll feel going into your next session. And with the confidence boost you gain from that session, you’ll have even more going into the next one; each session is like a building block to becoming a confident photographer.
At the end of the day, confidence as a photographer doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something you build with every session, every mistake, and every new experience you put yourself through. You don’t have to know everything or have years of experience to show up and do your best. Give yourself the space to learn, trust the preparation you’ve put in, and remember that even the photographers you look up to had to start somewhere. If you’re just starting out like me, don’t let the fear of not being good enough stop you from getting behind the camera. The more you put yourself out there, the more you’ll grow, and one day you might just realize how far you’ve come without even noticing.
