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Is anyone else not looking forward to pictures?

sarawifenowsarawifenow member
First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
in Wedding Photography and Videography Forum
So I have come to the realization that I really don't like having my picture taken...FI and I have our engagement pictures this Saturday and I am completely dreading it! Our photog is amazing, but I just hate the idea of being in front of the camera. Anyone else out there experiencing this anxiety? Any tips to help me relax in front of the lens?
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Re: Is anyone else not looking forward to pictures?

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    emmyg65emmyg65 member
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    Yep. But our photographer was such a joy to work with. Hopefully, you've hired someone you like, personally. Be sure to let him/her know that you don't like having your picture taken so they can help make you comfortable. Also, once you get your pictures back, you'll probably feel a lot better. Personally, doing the engagement shoot made me so much more comfortable in front of the camera.
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    SmileDamnitSmileDamnit member
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    FI haaaaaaates having his picture taken so it's certainly not something he's looking forward to. I think it'll help that the photog we hired is an old friend of his anxiety level won't (hopefully) be as high. We've not done our engagement shoot yet, though, so we'll see. 

    Good luck on Saturday! I believe you are in CO, and if I'm correct, then you are in for a beautiful day. I've no doubt they will turn out wonderfully!
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    Emmy1493Emmy1493 member
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    Honestly, yes. My bridal pictures. I just hate the thought of possibly getting it dirty. Plus, I don't want to have them up at the ceremony. They're going to see me in like a few minutes anyway, whats the point..?
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    photokittyphotokitty mod
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    Yep...there's a reason I am a photog...if I'm taking the photo, I'm not in it!! ;-)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

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    JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
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    SaraBrideSoon said:
    So I have come to the realization that I really don't like having my picture taken...FI and I have our engagement pictures this Saturday and I am completely dreading it! Our photog is amazing, but I just hate the idea of being in front of the camera. Anyone else out there experiencing this anxiety? Any tips to help me relax in front of the lens?
    Yes!  I had lots of worry leading up to the wedding, and it all came down to pictures.  I was afraid they'd be awful.  The pictures by our photographer and the ones guests would take of me!   I realized as soon as my hair and makeup were done (professionally), that it wasn't going to be that bad after all.  Then, once I had the dress on with accessories, I felt stunning.  I loved having my picture taken and every one I've seen from that day is beautiful.  

    After the wedding, I really wished I'd have known how good I would've felt and how the worry over pictures was for nothing.....I was really anxious about it for months before.

    My best advice is to have your hair and makeup done professionally.  It'll make you feel good about yourself and that will show through in photos.  I think the engagement session is good.....it'll help you get comfortable in front of the camera and get to know your photographer.  We didn't do that (again, because I dreaded pictures!)  Good luck!
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    Ven&RadioVen&Radio member
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    I was definitely nervous about our wedding photos!  H and I had been together for about 5 years when we got married and I only know of a couple photos of us together from that time.  A good photographer will know how to take shots that flatter their subjects.  Try to relax and have a good time.  I found the wedding photos we look the best in are when we were doing things that we'd normally do, rather than poses suggested by the photographer. 
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    beachyone15beachyone15 member
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    You should relax knowing you have a good photographer. FI and I had some "free" engagement pictures done that turned out HORRIBLE. Supposedly we had "won" a free engagement session but FI thinks the photographer told that to lots of people to try and expand her business. Wouldn't surprise me. We looked so uncomfortable and awkwardly-posed in almost all of the pics. I was glad we had them done though, because we found a MUCH better photographer who puts me at ease and makes me feel confident that we'll have some great shots on the big day.


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    SmileDamnitSmileDamnit member
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    edited April 2014
    Soooo, how'd the engagement shots go, @SaraBrideSoon? Were you as nervous as you thought? 

    *edited because spelling continues to be a struggle*
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    sarawifenowsarawifenow member
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    @Niccirf, I think they went pretty good. I let my photog know how much I was dreading this and she made me feel really comfortable. She had me and FI hang out for a lot of it and just shot pictures of us being natural, so that was nice. I only got to see one "sneak peak" pic on her website, but should get the rest by the end of the week!
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    SmileDamnitSmileDamnit member
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    SaraBrideSoon said:
    @Niccirf, I think they went pretty good. I let my photog know how much I was dreading this and she made me feel really comfortable. She had me and FI hang out for a lot of it and just shot pictures of us being natural, so that was nice. I only got to see one "sneak peak" pic on her website, but should get the rest by the end of the week!
    I think that's the sign of a good photographer (...unless you want the super staged kind of shot, and you don't strike me as the micro-managing type who would pre-select poses). Glad you survived and I'm sure they will turn out beautifully!
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    sarawifenowsarawifenow member
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    Niccirf said:
    SaraBrideSoon said:
    @Niccirf, I think they went pretty good. I let my photog know how much I was dreading this and she made me feel really comfortable. She had me and FI hang out for a lot of it and just shot pictures of us being natural, so that was nice. I only got to see one "sneak peak" pic on her website, but should get the rest by the end of the week!
    I think that's the sign of a good photographer (...unless you want the super staged kind of shot, and you don't strike me as the micro-managing type who would pre-select poses). Glad you survived and I'm sure they will turn out beautifully!
    Haha I hope so! Yeah, I definitely don't want to micro-manage anything about my wedding. Sometimes I think my mom (who is helping me plan) gets mad because whenever she asks what kind of details I want, I am just like, "whatev". LOL
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    cms519cms519 member
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    I'm so glad your shoot went well. Like you, I do not like getting my picture taken but we did engagement photos because they were part of our photography package, my fiancee really wanted them, and I thought it might make me feel more comfortable on the day of the wedding.

    We did a few things to try to make it better:
    1. We did a skype meeting with the photographer before the engagement shoot so we could talk about how uncomfortable I am with posing for pictures.
    2. We picked a location I loved. We wanted something personal to us. I knit literally every single day so we asked our local yarn store owner to let us take pics there.
    3. I took a xanax. No, seriously. I have anxiety issues and I really thought I was going to have a panic attack. That definitely helped.

    Our photographer is wonderful and the pictures turned out great. You can not tell how uncomfortable I was during the shoot. She kept talking to us. She got my fiancee to make me laugh. Here's a link to a blog post featuring a few of the pictures.

    http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2014/01/engagement-michelle-christy.html

    After we got them back, I was so happy we had done them. I really was not all that pleasant throughout the process but we have great pictures and I love them. She really captured us.

    The thing that made me more nervous about the engagement photos than the wedding ones is that the engagement shoot feels like taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures which I never do. I understand taking pictures during a wedding. We're going to try to limit the posed pictures that day and mostly do candids since I feel much more comfortable that way. Finding the right photographer is key. I am so thrilled that we chose Tara. I hope your pictures turn out wonderfully!

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    sarawifenowsarawifenow member
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    So we got the pics back. I love them!
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    emmyg65emmyg65 member
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    Yay!!
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
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    Cool!

    I hate posing for photos too.  But I'm more worried about what let's call the "serious amateur photographers" in my family who are always trying to get people to pose for photos and can be counted on to try to co-opt professional photo groupings to take their own shots with their own cameras, or to ask the pros to take shots just for them.  Of course they'll be spending the ceremony shooting photos right and left with their smartphones.
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    JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
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    Jen4948 said:
    Cool!

    I hate posing for photos too.  But I'm more worried about what let's call the "serious amateur photographers" in my family who are always trying to get people to pose for photos and can be counted on to try to co-opt professional photo groupings to take their own shots with their own cameras, or to ask the pros to take shots just for them.  Of course they'll be spending the ceremony shooting photos right and left with their smartphones.
    Jen - We had a couple like that in our family.  In the end, one of the photos the "serious amateur" took ended up being one of my favorites!  We also had a good photographer who kept things moving and was firm in his direction and didn't let anyone derail the photos when we took the group ones.  The photographer is being paid by you, not the guests, so he should have it under control.    I think letting your photographer know this ahead of time could help the situation.  
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