How to be More Comfortable in Front of the Camera

If you’re like any of my couples, past, present or future, this is your biggest fear. You hate, or at least strongly dislike the camera, and fear you will look awkward, and feel likewise on your wedding day. First of all, don’t beat yourself up. It is so common to feel this way, that I almost don’t believe when the occasional person tells me they are not nervous. Feeling comfortable in front of the camera is a journey, not something that just happens though. So how do you do it? How do you ensure your wedding photos are perfect, something you can look back on proudly for the rest of your life? Easy…

Firstly, get to know me. I am going to be there for the entire day, you don’t want me to be a stranger do you? Getting comfortable in front of the camera is all about feeling like it’s your friend behind it. That’s where I come in. You will either come in to me one of two ways. First way, and the most common way is via an engagement shoot promotion. The second is via a website enquiry, or a social media enquiry. Let me go through them both separately below, as they are slightly different.

For those who are thinking of coming through on an engagement shoot, well, the hard work is over for you. Why? Well in order to get comfortable in front of the camera, we usually need to meet face to face. Now this meeting is usually a coffee, or a beer, but the purpose of it is the same. I will aim to get to know you two, and allow you to get to know me. If all goes smoothly, and we are a great match, I will get you guys booked in on an engagement shoot (highly advised, do not skip this). But the good news is, you already got yourself booked in for an engagement shoot. So you can breathe easily. You will get a chance to shoot with me, which automatically helps you get more comfortable in front of the camera (practice makes perfect). But further to this, we will have a chance to sit down and chat afterwards, even if it is over a cold beer from the back of my Forester.

For those of you coming to me via a web enquiry, or an enquiry off Facebook or Instagram, the first step is to schedule in a face to face meeting if possible. This will ensure we get that chance to sit and get to know one another. It will give you an opportunity to get to know me, and me you. You can ask questions, and really get a sense of the vibe between us. If all goes well, and the banter is flowing, we would then organise an engagement shoot. From there, we follow a similar path as above. As you can see, the overall goal is to sit and meet, either before or after an engagement shoot. This way you get minimum 2 touch points to start getting comfortable with me, and in front of the camera.

Something that many people do overlook is that it’s not just about practicing in front of the camera that helps. Yes, the engagement shoot is so important, but just getting on a ‘friend’ level with me will help even more! In order to feel comfortable in front of the camera, you need to be comfortable with the person behind it. I always make an effort to become friends with my couples, and if you check out my reviews, or speak to any of my past couples you will see, that even 2 years later, I am still actually friends with many of them.

When you add all of this together, you end up in a position where you are comfortable with me as a photographer, and comfortable with the actual act of being photographed. So if your overall goal is to be comfortable in front of the camera, then my friend, you got this!