Most people I photograph say some version of the same thing before we start.
"I hate photos of myself."
Or: "I'm not photogenic."
Or: "Good luck with me."
I hear it almost every time. And almost every time, they're wrong.
It's Not You
There's no such thing as not photogenic. That feeling usually comes from a specific moment: the wrong light, the wrong half-second, never quite knowing what to do with yourself.
When you hate a photo of yourself, here's what actually happened: you were caught mid-blink, or mid-sentence, or you stiffened at the sound of the shutter. You didn't know where to put your hands. You didn't take your time.
That's not a you problem.
Cameras are unforgiving with tension. They catch the exact half-second before your body decides to relax. You'll look exactly like how you felt: frozen.
What's Happening When You Look Stiff
Most unflattering photos aren't about how someone looks. They're a record of how someone felt.
The tight jaw is anxiety. The forced smile is trying too hard. The arms that don't know where to go are what happens when nobody tells you. The eyes that look a little flat are someone holding their breath.
Your body knows when it's being watched. It braces. And the camera catches that.
How I Work
I don't rush. That's most of it.
I give people permission to take their time. There's no countdown, no pressure, no sense that we need to get somewhere fast. When people feel seen, heard, valued... and in a safe place, they open up. The camera becomes almost irrelevant. I just happen to document that.
When I meet a client, I start talking about life: their work, their business, their dreams, wherever the conversation wants to go. Just talking.
The session unfolds from there. Relaxed. Unhurried.
And somewhere in the middle of it, the photos happen.
What My Clients Say Afterward
Almost every client who walks in saying "I hate photos of myself" walks out saying the same thing.
That it was actually fun.
That they were just walking around and talking... and the photos were almost a side effect.
That's the goal. When it's working, you forget a camera is involved at all. You're just present, in a conversation, and I'm there to catch the moments that come out of that.
If You've Avoided the Camera for Years, You're not the exception.
Most of the people I photograph have been putting this off for a long time.
Some needed photos for their business and kept delaying. Some had one bad experience they couldn't shake. Some just never felt like themselves in pictures.
They still came in. And most of them had fun, even when they didn't expect to.
Ready When You Are
If you've spent years saying "I hate photos of myself," let's find out if that's actually true.
Check my portrait photography to learn more, or just send me a dm to start the conversation.
