Building Confidence In Your Photography
Shoot with confidence and see your photos improve!
Do you lack confidence to share your photography?
Does it even impact you on getting your camera out and taking photos?
Do you love your photography, but find comparing yourself to others is having an impact on you?
This is something that I have struggled with (and continue to do so at times) so you are not alone. I thought I’d share some ideas that have helped me – hopefully they will help you too.
I would love every photographer to feel confident through their journey. To be in the right place, at the right time, and having an idea what they are doing with their camera. To be present and enjoying the experience, while feeling happy with the photos they are capturing.
“Confidence comes not from always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong”
~ Peter T McIntyre (New Zealand Artist)
Perhaps you want to create photos that you can print and hang on your walls, give as gifts to others, or sell. Or maybe you just want to share on social media with family and friends, or grow a new audience. Whatever the reason, I think we all should feel confident in sharing the photographs we create.
We live in a world that is full of imagery and videos (many of them much better than ours) on social media. Instead of being inspired to improve ourselves, we can find ourselves comparing. This can lead to us being overwhelmed and losing confidence to share our photos even with our friends and family.
Here are my favourite ideas to help boost your confidence with creating and sharing your photography (even if it’s only with yourself).
1 – Just be You
There is absolutely no one out there that will take photos the same as you – you are unique. Three people can stand side by side in the same location, and even if there settings are the same, all of their photos will be unique. That is one of the amazing things about photography. Each camera will shoot differently, your composition won’t be the same and how you edit will make it uniquely yours.
We all have our own unique story, our own way of seeing things and our own way of expressing ourselves. This is true whether it be writing, music, cooking or photography.
If you’re not happy with your photos, the first question to ask yourself is are you taking photos of things that make you feel joy. Or are you just taking photos for the sake of it?
When I first started, I would try and photograph EVERYTHING (well, except people of course) and that was great. Over time I discovered what I really enjoyed photographing was landscapes and seascapes. For me that was far more interesting than birds, flowers or buildings. It’s not that I won’t photograph them at all. They just don’t fill me with happiness like the feeling I get at the beach at sunrise, or at a waterfall.
So, if you know what you prefer to shoot, do more of that to start with. You will naturally be more creative which will in itself produce better images. And the more you work on what inspires you, the more the confidence in your photography will build.
2 – Study and Practice
To start with it is important to always be learning to improve your skills. Then put these new learnings into practice. Expect to make many many mistakes along the way, but as you practice and improve your keep rate will get bigger.
There are so many courses and tutorials out there, it’s really just a matter of finding those that you like the style of. These range from articles to Youtube videos to paid courses. Read on below see more about learning in person.
My favourite inspirational photographers to give you a start
You can find all of these on Facebook, but they also all have their own YouTube channels that I watch.
Brett Wood (also offers fabulous tours – info below)
Michael Shainblum
Gavin Hardcastle
Nick Page
Adam Gibbs
Mads Peter Iversen
But please don’t fall into the trap of spending all your time ‘studying’ (AKA binge watching videos), that you don’t actually get out with your camera. Trust me, I’ve done that, so make sure you set limits on that and then get out there and play with your camera.
When I got my first ‘proper’ camera, a basic DSLR, I honestly thought the camera would do all the work for me. I would just choose the right settings and the camera would do the rest. I have been on a serious learning curve ever since, and I hope to never stop learning.
Really the best thing is getting out, playing and making a million mistakes. I really wanted to learn how to shoot those lovely milky waterfall photos when I first started. I read about long exposures and figured if ¼ second shutter speed was good, then 5 seconds had to be better! Needless to say I did come home with some very overexposed photos that day! I did also play and get a few that I was very happy with at the time – focus was another issue lol.
I was so proud of this image and even printed and framed it and showed it proudly in my home. Never mind that it’s terribly out of focus and the composition is somewhat lacking. Now (even though it’s no longer displayed in my home lol), I can still look back on it with fondness. It was way better than previous ones I’d attempted, and now it’s a great positive reminder of how far I’ve come.
This also includes becoming really familiar with your gear. It doesn’t necessarily mean reading your manuals from cover to cover. Start with learning where the relevant settings are for your camera when you’re trying something new before you head out.
And never doubt that you could in turn be an inspiration to someone else, who isn’t as far along their journey as you. This not only gives you a bit of a boost to your confidence, imagine what your inspiration is doing to that other newbies confidence.
3 – Set or take part in a Challenge
This can take many forms. One I remember learning from early on was joining a Facebook group that had a different topic each day that you had to share a photo of. This was purely a social group, but it certainly helped get the creative juices going. There are plenty of ideas if you google or search Pinterest for ‘photo challenges’
You can of course also set yourself mini challenges such as black and white, only shooting in portrait or landscape, having a ‘camera date’ once a week where you go somewhere different. Give yourself an hour to take photos of whatever is there, taking self portraits, or taking one photo every day.
This can really help you grow as a photographer. It may give you new ideas and introduce you to a whole new stream of ideas. This is always a good boost to giving you more confidence in your photography.
4 – Stalk (I mean study of course) photos of other Photographers whose work you like/admire
This can be a great way to find what sort of photography that you like. Then try and learn what it is you like about their style so you can learn about it. This is definitely not to say to copy them. But it can be a great way for you to start your learning and then you’re on your way to developing your own style.
“Finding your own style is not easy, but once found it brings complete happiness. It gives you self-confidence, always.”
~ Yves Saint Laurent
You can also reach out to other photographers that you admire and ask questions. Most photographers are only too happy to help – and if one isn’t, there will be ten others that will.
The trick here is not to fall into the comparison trap, which can in turn cause your confidence to plummet. If this is the case for you, stay away from this kind of social media scrolling. I know I need to take a break from this, or manage what I’m watching, from time to time.
The more you scroll and share, the easier it will become. You will undoubtedly receive some love and positive feedback on your images That can only help give you a boost of confidence along the way.
5 – Join a Club or Social Group
One of the best things I ever did for my photography was join a local sunrise photography group. I’ve learned so much from the other photographers – they are usually so happy to help.
Not just this, the friendships made, and being around like minded people is invaluable and can do wonders for your confidence.
I’ve also had opportunities to share some of my photos privately with members to receive advice and suggestions for improvement. Of course you need to find the right person for this, but this has really helped me, and I’ve also helped others in return. You don’t have to be a professional or charge fees to share knowledge that you have. I’m always mindful to not answer something I don’t know the answer to, or refer them to someone I know can help.
I’m yet to join a camera club (it’s on my list of to-do’s) but have heard so many good things from those that have found a good supportive club and seen their photography soar.
To find groups and clubs, Facebook community groups are a wonderful place to start, or ask at your local camera shop if you have one.
Focus is the one I’m an active member of and shoot leader for.
Head here if you live between Sydney and Port Macquarie (including Central Coast and Newcastle) and I’ll happily share the details of the ones that I’m aware of.
The more that you surround yourself with other like minded photography lovers, and receive some encouragement, the more your confidence in your photography will build.
6 – Do Workshops and Tours
This was without a doubt the number one game changer for me in regards to my photography. I feel that tours can help you grow exponentially – and I still go on them regularly.
Reasons that tours are incredible for learning and growing your confidence –
- Organisation – all the planning and thinking is done for you so you get to focus just on the locations you’re at and improving your photography
- Locations – a good leader will make sure you get to the best locations at the right time to get the conditions to improve your photos
- Learning – you not only get to learn from the leader, but also the others in your group
- Community – all the same reasons I mentioned in joining groups and clubs. I’m still in touch with people that I did my first tours and workshops with when I started over 5 years ago
- Safety – nothing like safety in numbers if you don’t have anyone to go out with regularly otherwise.
Recommended Workshops
Brett Wood – Hosts boutique tours in NSW, Great Ocean Road, Tasmania, New Zealand and beyond. Brett and his partner Lisa are committed to ensuring you get to unique locations and come away with photos that you are proud to not only share with friends, but actually print and hang on your wall – large!
These are usually multiple days (4-6) and are landscape focused. They include sunrise and sunset each day, plus plenty of other photography opportunities during the day.
I’ve just booked my 6th tour with him and cannot recommend him more highly. Brett’s tours usually sell out in advance so get on his list here to check out his tours and sign up to be the first to know.
Christine Bernasconi – runs 1 day workshops in various locations around NSW including Kiama and Sydney, as well as occasional longer tours further afield. Christine is an excellent teacher that has a way of breaking down the technical aspects of photography so you can actually understand them and implement them as you go.
I discovered Christine’s workshop when I very first started my photography journey in 2017 and have lost count of the number of workshops I’ve attended – her tutoring and support has been incredibly valuable and I’m sure I’ll be attending many more to come.
Sign up here to stay up to date.
I also recently attended one of her Vivid workshops in Sydney and highly recommend you get yourself on one of them if you have the opportunity.
How does this help with confidence I hear you ask? Well, the more you learn and get to new places enjoying beautiful scenery, the more you will like your photos and want to share. Also, as you will learn from others in your group, you will be sure to offer help to others along the way, also increasing your confidence.
7 – Ditch the Idea of Perfection
It is so easy to get hung up on the concept of perfection that the important details of a photo can be disregarded and might never see the light of day. This is probably more true in photos of people as many of those special family moments will never be repeated. Most people won’t notice an error in composition for example, if you captured a powerful emotional moment.
Learning the fundamentals are absolutely essential, but if you focus too much on perfection it can lead to a sense of failure. While you need to review your work and assess where you need to improve, it’s equally important to acknowledge what you did achieve in your efforts.
Give yourself credit where it is due. Bonus points for recognising the time, energy and effort you are investing in your art. Be honest with yourself about where you can improve, but also note the aspects that you did like and by focusing on that, you will find your confidence growing.
Regardless of what you like to photograph, keep going. Keep learning, and seek inspiration from anywhere you can and avoid the comparison trap. Learn from your mistakes, aim to improve, but don’t get hung up on perfection. Enjoy your photos and, most importantly, the process of creating them.
Most feedback was very positive and encouraging which of course helped my confidence. I have every belief the same will happen for you. At the end of the day, even if your photo is not ‘perfect’, you have captured a moment in time that will never be repeated. This alone will spur you on and you will appreciate what you have recorded.
Final words
Confidence doesn’t come easy to many of us, and nor is it constant. It will ebb and flow like creativity and motivation, but if you keep working at it, it will build.
I remember feeling like I was never going to get it right – my images were either out of focus, wrong shutter speed and poor composition – or all of these combined. There was always something ‘wrong’ but somehow I was still excited to be learning so wanted to share it with friends and other photographers on Facebook.
As you do this, your skills will grow, you will create more photos that you are proud of and prepared to show, and your confidence will skyrocket. This in turn will result in improvements followed by more confidence – what a wonderful cycle to be a part of!
Do you have any other confidence building tips? If so, please share them in the comments below.
That’s it for now – Keep clicking and stay caffeinated
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Note – This post does not contain any sponsored or affiliated links. All suggestions and opinions are mine. Unless otherwise stated, all photos are mine and remain my copyright images – Sam Wilson Photography.
