My First Professional Photo Shoot
First of all, let me just tell you how uncomfortable I am with attention. Attention makes me squirm. My stomach turns and my mind races with thoughts I wouldn’t wish on an enemy. Compliments, eye contact, touch, and endlessly more examples all qualify as attention. So, to say that a photo shoot is a hard thing for me to do, is an understatement. Also, it is something I am working to get more comfortable with! There are many things that contribute to someone’s aversion to attention but, for myself, I know that it is a lack of confidence thing. To work on it, here are a few things that I do with some amount of regularity to help:
Mindfulness in anxiety - Shifting your perspective is powerful. Did you know that anxiety presents in much the same way as excitement? It is just a matter of perspective that determines how it is expressed.
Meditation - I don’t know about you but my mind is a noisy place! I have found that meditating helps quiet the mind. I use the Headspace app to assist many of my meditation sessions. The app helped me realize that it’s not about shutting it all off but about recognizing thoughts and being more intentional with them. When my mind races, it’s usually that I am checking off the to-do list or that ugly voice in my head is lying to me again about how good I am not. When I learned that I can be more intentional with my thoughts and recognize when the liar is talking, I also realized that this is the moment I can best implement tools I have learned with CBT.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) - I have been using a CBT app called Bloom for about two years to help me reframe thoughts surrounding emotions triggered by everyday circumstances. Whether I am dealing with stress, lack of motivation, frustration or anxiety, the app offers sessions geared towards helping to reframe thoughts that can hold me back from reaching my potential.
Exposure - Putting myself out there. This blog and website, social media, photo shoot… Being a creative without sharing my creative expression does no one any good. One of the most effective means of learning and growing is stepping out of the comfort zone… in baby steps. 😂
Read - I read a lot. Currently in my book stack (there is never just one 🤷♀️): How to Meet Your Self by Dr. Nicole LePera, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk M.D., Coming Alive and The Tools by Barry Michels & Phil Stutz.
I have been in desperate need of photos for my website for quite some time and my friend is growing her photography business. It seemed kismet. Misti helped me be as comfortable as I possibly could be and returned a great selection of pictures that turned out pretty great.
If you are in the OKC area and are in need of a terrific photographer, get in touch with Misti!
