Thoughts | On Finding Confidence In Front Of The Camera

Body confidence has never been my forte; far from it. I've always been much more at home behind the camera than in front of it;

This is something I regret if truth be told. Photo albums from family holidays during my teenage years can give the impression I never made it on the plane and I wish I did have all of my wonderful holiday memories in photographic form. 

Blogging has also highlighted my lack of confidence in front of the lens. A significant part of blogging is upholding a solid profile on social media, especially on the likes of Instagram, and it's been well proven that the key to a successful following is flooding your feed with flat-lays and 'candid' photos of you exploring the world. That's easier said than done when your self esteem is below parr.

But this Summer I've set myself a challenge: I want every other photo on my Instagram feed to be a photo of me.

When setting myself this challenge I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park. It's early days still but so far so good, I haven't stressed over clicking publish half as much as I expected to. There is a number of things I've done to boost my confidence in posting portraits on my Instagram which have all contributed in their own little way and today I wanted to share them with you.

One thing that has helped massively with this is getting the right editing routine going on my phone. I've found a number of apps which have found a special place in my heart and each make all the difference to photos. I'm making an effort to not over-edit any of my photos though, as that will have the opposite affect on my self-confidence to what I am aiming for. I simply brighten the photo and add a small hint of a filter when needed. I'm tempted to write a post on how I edit photos to help those who are as clueless about editing as I was before now!

I've also started taking photos at times when I'm most relaxed. I love taking my camera out with me when I take my dogs for a walk so I can snap photos of the scenery and of them, with the option for photos to be taken of me should the timing be right. Having 'blog photoshoots' as spur of the moment things that just seem right in the moment makes them much more chilled; there's not that pressure to get perfect photos as you're just taking them in opportune moments whilst you go about your daily life. It is when you're at your happiest and most relaxed that you can be your true confident self and this shows in the photos that are taken.

Another thing that can help to boost your confidence in front of the camera is getting to know your body and which your 'best side' is. I love shots where I'm playing with my hair, or looking to the side of the shot. I also love candid photos of me with my dogs or just off for a stroll. Now that I have discovered a preference for these kind of shots, they are my go-to during photo shoots and I feel automatically feel more confident in doing them.

I also don't add the confidence-barrier of shooting photos in busy spaces. As I said, I like to take photos when on a walk where there's pretty open spaces and lovely scenery. These places tend to be pretty quiet which helps me to not stress about other people seeing me being all posey. The similar summery natural backdrops have also helped me to begin to build a theme on my Instagram, which gets me extra blogger points.

I'm going to keep writing posts reflecting on my progress towards becoming Instagram-confident. As I said, I've got a long way to go until I can be one of those girls who flounce about the streets of London snapping posey photos like it's nobodies business, but every little step is one step closer.

How to you find the confidence to pose for Instagram photos?

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