Do you get photographed often?
When was the last time you were in front of a professional photographer?
If you’ve had a good time, can you remember how the experience made you feel?
I absolutely believe photography is one of the greatest way for storytelling.
I believe this because I’ve taken portraits of hundreds people in10 years and seen how it becomes the most beautiful experience of self love or family bonding. Every Photoshoot is a fun creative time for everyone, and most of my clients we become friends with!
But prior to nearly every photoshoot I hear some self-doubt objections.
I’ve listed 7 most common ones and my thoughts on them.
#1 “Oh, if I was… slimmer” / “I Need More Time to Workout”
“The problem isn’t with your body. The problem is what you think of it.
And what you think of yourself.” - Unknown
While working on health and fitness is an important part of our lives, Losing Weight Doesn't Always Lead to Body Confidence.
It isn't a magic prescription for self-love and happiness. People who lose weight in order to boost their confidence usually do experience a boost in confidence.
But, sooner or later, the emptiness and deep insecurity set in because what they achieved was External confidence, which is driven by external stuff and is validation-fuelled.
Internal confidence is a type of confidence that’s sourced from within. It has nothing to do with external validation and status. This is true, real, deep confidence.
Portraiture isn’t simply about what the eye can see.Portraiture is about exploring, celebrating, and embracing who you really are.
Portrait photography can have quite a powerful therapeutic effect.
I truly believe that the experience you receive during a photoshoot, is one of the best therapy methods, boosting your confidence, self-esteem and becoming a solid ground for your further self-development.
Whatever shape, weight and size you are, I guide you through the photoshoot using simple,
but effective posing techniques to capture you from the most flattering angles and take off a few pounds if needed.
Don’t wait until you hit goal weight to enjoy your images. You are worthy today!
#2 “Oh, if I was… younger ”/ “I’m Too Old for This”
“You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty,
and irresistible for the rest of your life.” - Coco Chanel.
Ageing gracefully is another widespread self-esteem challenge.
What’s at stake here? Our happiness. Our self-confidence.
Our zest and sense of daily joy. Our life satisfaction.
It’s time for each of us to take pride again in everything we are.
Youth has its own beauty, its own advantages, its own joy, its own reasons to be admired.
So, too, does any age. In fact, every age is important and every age is beautiful.
How old are you right now? (Really, I don’t mean “29 again”.)
Whatever age you are, right now that is the perfect age for you - and the perfect age to be proud of.
Try saying something like this:
“I am pushing 50, 60, 70... (or whatever age applies to you).
I have lived years of happiness. I have survived years of challenges.
I have experienced years of personal growth.
I have learned so many life lessons from my trips around the sun (and I have much more to learn yet!).
I am ageing gracefully. I have thrived, mostly, during those years.
And I am proud of every one of them.”
Whatever age you are, a Portrait session is a great way to celebrate your life, your accomplishments, your wisdom, your growth, and your beauty. Do this for you and the generation to come after you. Leave a legacy.
#3 “I’m Not Photogenic”
Being photogenic generally means looking good in pictures.
Depending on the camera angle, how good is the lighting and how close the lens is to you, cameras can distort or highlight your best features.
But the main goal of portraiture is to show the character, to capture the person’s emotion and personality, to tell a story in an image.
I am a believer that a beautiful portrait isn’t about you being born photogenic – it’s about the photographer knowing how to bring out your personality, beauty and your story through styling, ambiance, lighting, and posing.
Let me show you that you can be ‘photogenic’ and capture the best photo you’ve seen of yourself.
#4 “I’m not a Model”
What is a model? It is simply a representation of something, somebody worthy of imitation.
In that sense, everyone is a model. One or another way we become a role model
for people we interact with - for our children, family, friends or colleagues. And like any role model we can have either negative or positive impact.
Only we, ourselves, choose what to believe in and to translate to others - our insecurities and negative attitudes OR self-confidence, positive vibes and actions.
Businesses use professional models
to translate their messages and to connect with public, to promote a lifestyle or a product.
In terms of look, days of skinny pretty models are going away. With more women demanding
to see models who better represent what "real" women look like, the fashion and advertising industries have responded.
There is no such thing as the ‘perfect face’ in professional modelling anymore. In demand are models who have more specific looks and represent a broader variety of age and shapes. Their only distinction from real people is that professional models are those who mastered a skill of posing.
For your Portrait photoshoot you don’t have to have ANY type of experience and neither do you have to be a professional model. Having worked on many advertising campaign sets, I’ve learned how photographers pose professional models. Yes, most of the models are also need to be posed!
For many years I was using those wonder techniques with my “not-a-model” clients to get the best photos they ever seen of themselves. I guide you through the ENTIRE photoshoot
with posing and directions from eyebrows to toes and you simply need to follow.
You will love the experience and will feel and look like a professional model.
But what is more important, is that you will be a super role model for your friends and family looking at them from your beautiful photos with confidence and power, regardless of what age or shape you are.
#5 “I don’t have time / a budget for this”
“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” - Ralph Hattersley
Every person has different values and priorities. This objection usually
comes up when people don’t see the VALUE in offered product/service.
Now days most of us have big screen TVs, smart phones, cars and other possessions which are costly, but decrease in their value quite fast. Nevertheless we still buy it. Why? Because it has some non-monetary value for us – either it's social status, or personal comfort or something else we value.
Photography generally is more about sentimental, emotional value in form of a physical print, wall art or an album.
A photograph is a moment, an emotion, an experience and a memory.
There will be better and newer technology, cars and other things, but a photograph is the only less-than-a-second moment, preserved in time, to remind us of that moment, which can be more valuable than anything else.
Photos are treasures to be passed on to generations long after we’re gone.
Most of our clients, value photography in general and choose their portraits to be taken by professional photographer and printed and/or framed professionally to preserve the high quality and value.
We, at Storytrend, treat each our client as VIP.
How much you want to invest in your portraits is entirely up to you. We have options for every budget. But regardless of your budget, you will receive the highest quality service and the final product, that will become your heirloom.
Life is too short to not honor yourself and your life with beautiful photos of you and your family. Don’t wait to be photographed. If not now – then when?
#6 “My phone takes good enough photos”
Smartphone, apart of its main function to make calls, is just a type of camera.
Does it actually matters with what type of camera your images are taken and who took them?
In the end it comes down to two main things:
1. Has it met your expectations of image quality and its essence?
2. What you’ll be doing with your images once you've taken them?
Portrait photography is quite an accessible genre overall, and can be taken with any camera, but capturing emotions and the essence of a person, can take a lifetime of work.
Just like with any profession, it takes years and a lot of hard work to hone photography skills.
Professional photographers spend a lot of time and money on educating themselves
and mastering their skills constantly to make your photos the best they can be.
Why professional photographers print and/or frame images and what is their real value?
Pictures are memories.
Do you have That awesome feeling when you go through old albums and childhood pictures? It’s something which couldn't be described through words. Pictures are a recording
of the times of our lives, which we are able to pass to our descendants to tell them our story.
For the very same reason professional photographers print images on premium-quality
photo paper or museum-grade fine art paper using archival ink and frame them professionally for the image to be resistant to weathering and fading and to last for a long time. Protection and longevity are a key here. Additionally, custom framed images increase the value of the art or picture itself.
And so it comes to the final question - Are your smartphone images good enough
to frame and hang them on a wall or pass it as a Heirloom to the next generation?
#7 “Oh no… not me / … Just kids
Often, many of my clients are coming in for a shoot for someone else. It could be for their friend, significant other, their kids or parents.
I always ask them to jump in for at least one photo taken of them together.
What I end up hearing almost all the time at the end of the shoot, is: “I wish I would be prepared and do it from the beginning”.
Having that experience of your photos taken and seeing the result makes you feel excited, confident, and worthy existing on photographs.
You must celebrate your life. You are valuable. You should be remembered.
You are good enough to be in a family portrait.
You are good enough to be photographed with your kids.
You are good enough to have your own portrait.
You are good enough to exist in photographs.
Your loved ones also deserve to have a visual record of you alone and together with them.
In our modern world of endless selfies and cell phone pics, the decent visual legacy of your existence is important.