Confidence and the Key
“I can’t shoot “mood””
If Confidence is key, your head is the door.
Too much means you’re cocky.
Too little means you are weak.
Too much means you under think.
Too little means you miss out.
Too much means you intimidate.
Too little means you’re not taken seriously.
I set out with a goal to move through the lows a little quicker and enjoy the highs. Take away self pity and doubt and you are on your way. Gaining needed skills, and techniques comes with practice, but having the attitude of not giving in makes up the largest part of the equation. Once you get to that point of confidence, let it ride, don’t worry about the speed. Take a brake check on occasion and keep moving.
As someone who is less than confident most of the time, this practice has been extremely freeing. At work and with my camera I have seen great strides, but where I have focused most of that energy is with my kids. Teaching a five year old to ride her bike without training wheels, showing a three year old how to skate without a bar, or throwing both of them in the lake and telling they really can do it, has helped the most. In trying to teach others confidence, mine has started to build up. It has come naturally for me to be encouraging to them, to have them remove doubt. But doing that for myself has taken a lot longer and will continue to need work.
Here are some images from a year of getting out of my head, removing fear and pushing away doubt.
Unsurprisingly, some of my favourite images to date.
“You can shoot mood, and you will feel it”
“She’s modelled a lot… I am wasting her time? Will it be a disappointment?”
“They’ll be unique and she’ll be excited with a new look”
“Am I going to embarrass myself in front of a close friend?”
“She’s just as nervous as you are - have fun with it and learn!”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to portray her story”
“You can, and you did.”
“It’s ridiculous to bring “wardrobe” on a camping trip”
“You know she’s excited to be a Fairy Princess for an hour and she can’t wait to go run around”.