Most of us know a branding photoshoot is vital. It captures the essence of your business and shows potential customers who you are. But it can be super nerve-wracking to be in front of the camera. 

Let’s face it, most of us don’t like it.  I used to be an actress and speak with years of experience on both sides of the lens. I’ve met many who feel this exact way. Often we’ve got years-old criticism of ourselves that runs deep and can manifest in procrastination, perfectionism, and at times, paralysis. 

I  kept ignoring my inner voice reminding me I needed new photos, allowing my negative thoughts to stop me from following through. But I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself and decided to prepare myself mentally and emotionally. Everyone experiences doubt and fear from time to time, but it can be difficult to move beyond these feelings. The key is to recognize the power of your inner critic and use positive thinking and affirmations to overcome it. By recognizing our own self-doubt, we can start to build resilience and confidence in ourselves. We can also use tools such as journaling and visualization to help us stay focused on our goals and take steps toward achieving them. But you’ve heard all this before?  

I decided to stop faffing and get on with it. Sometimes we can wait, and make excuses and sometimes we need to act on our instincts. If you’re not ready for a professional shoot yet, maybe ask a kind friend or partner to help you. In this case, I called upon my self-timer as I couldn’t delay much longer, making more excuses.

It was hard. My negative chatter was alive and, well chattering. I felt close to giving up and then I remembered to breathe. Cliched but true…it all starts with the breath. 

Taking deep breaths is vital for lowering anxiety and fear. We’ve all heard that. But it’s true. Dropping and centring moves us away from flight fight. As simple as 5 big deep breaths actually does work wonders. Or my fave….breathing in for 4,  out for 6…keep the out-breath longer than the in will slow yourself down, close your eyes to lessen distraction. 

Breathing with Sandy is amazing and I highly recommend this one for a quick win.

Doing this multiple times helps to move us out of adrenaline-fuelled states. 

Use it in preparation for the shoot, during the shoot, and when looking at the images afterwards. 

Remind yourself that by taking action, you are becoming a more confident person..see these blogs for further info on this topic.

Thanks for reading, I’m Nicky a photographer and creative based in Sussex UK. I take photos for small business owners and creatives who want to increase online presence but hate having their photos taken.