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Help! I feel self concious when i'm in public and..? As a keen amateur photographer, i'm often out and about in towns, cities and parks photographing any interesting things that I can find.
However, I find it really tricky to focus on what i'm doing when people around me stop and watch if I bring out my camera. It's a brand new digital SLR, i can see it looks pretty flash to those who aren't used to seeing camera equipment but it really puts me off the shot and makes me loose focus.
I'm not the most confident person anyway- hence why i like being behind the camera and not in front of it. How can I become more confident and take photographs in public places with crowds walking past? How can I 'block them out'? | Hi Buddy
I would like to share this answer with you that I have answered to another person's question that is related to confidence and at the end of it to add in my specific views to cater to your specific needs:
======================================…
I used to be like you having a self esteem and
confidence issue.
I am not sure about you, but I have an issue to even
pick up the phone to order for a pizza delivery. It
was that bad. Serious.
The incidences that happened subsequently helped me
to raise my self esteem and confidence level one step
at a time.
1) Working part time at a market research company
It was the holiday period and my friends wanted to earn
some extra spare cash and so they got me along. Little
did I know part of the job scope if to pick up the phone
to call and to conduct surveys.
You bet it was jittery the first few encounters, I would
literally feel the shiver within my voice.
However as the days go by, it just came naturally to
pick up the phone to call and conduct the surveys.
Ever since, after this short stinct at the market
research company, ordering pizza is a breeze =)
2) That's over the phone, like you, I have all the butterflies in the world felt deep within my guts when it comes to presentation.
You may be taught to treat your audiences as trees
or just look over their heads and just treat as if
you are talking to yourself.
Physiologically, my legs just goes soft by itself
when it is my turn to speak and present. Can you
feel that?
Your legs are weak and you have to manage your tone
of voice because they seem to jingle together.
Anyway THIS WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH...
>> I approached the President during a medical congress
What a coincidence, I was working part time to raise
funds for a charitable organisation by selling calling
cards. We were told that the President was going to drop
by our booth.
We were preparing and were anticipating his arrival when
he did a U turn to the reception area and miss our booth
totally.
Confession over here, I did not know what got into me
but I mustered my courage to go near to the reception
area, obviously I was stopped by his guards and the
event organisers.
And then I took out my notepad and wrote a short note
that I am representing this charitable foundation to
raise funds and would like him to take a look at it.
Call me naive or whatever.
I was rejected first by the even organiser. BUT i was
adamant and told the event organiser to pass it to his
personal assistant. I am glad that at least he did me a
favour by passing the note to him.
Then this uniformed personnel came out and say that he
will stop the President for me when he is leaving the
reception in a moments time and suggested I should take
a photograph with me.
That moment was it.
A gush of elevated confidence and self esteem filled in
every cell that was present in my body. I walked up to the
President, presented the calling card to him and I did not
have a camera with him, but the flashes kept coming from
event photographers and the National Archives.
Even though I have to purchase the photographs from the event
organisers and National Archives.
That was the day that I breakthrough. It was the new benchmark
that I set for myself that resonate within me till now.
Whenever I hesitate to approach somebody, I will tall myself
this, "If I have the courage to approch the President, who is
XXX to stop me, I can do this!"
What I want to share with you is this, step out of your comfort zone,
do something really crazy, approaching the President is
a really mad thing to do for me at that time.
More importantly, you need to find a way to set the new benchmark
for yourself to breakthrough.
======================================…
FOR YOU:
This is my personal add on views.
Recently I learned about the term called the
"Imaginery Audience" whereby we think that people
are observing us but in actual fact they are not.
For me, I used to be a neat freak, the moderate kind,
where I am very mindful of how my blouse needs to be
tuck in evenly and during meals I will ensure that there are
not even a single bit of splatter.
If there is a drop of sauce, even a mini puny one that my friend claims that nobody will ever take notice of it, I FEEL IT.
I will feel uncomfortable and doubt myself and my confidence level just dips.
In your case, it could be Imaginery Audience and it could be a real audience who is really genuinely impressed with your camera.
What you can do to increase your focus and confidence level is this:
You mention that you love photography and I believe you will want to take the most accurate shot that you can get whenever you see something interesting.
Let that spurr you to take good pictures, give a quick smile at your audiences, and focus entirely on taking good pictures to share.
If you lose your focus, remind yourself that if you are going to let their gazes affect your shot, is it worth it?
Treat it as a stepping stone, I believe you will proceed to professional photography in the future, where you will be the point of attraction and other photographers are going to compete with you for the best spot to take the shoot.
You wouldn't even have any time to think about audience, you just want to focus on the shot.
Take a deep breath and count from 0 to 10, close your eyes and do it when you feel self conscious.
Get used to the crowd.
It is not going to be an overnight courage boost but definitely one step at a time, you will become better and better and who knows, you could initiate a chat with your audience discussing about your shoots and your latest equipments =)
Let me know if this helps.
JY Chia
Your Self Help Motivator
www.SelfHelpMotivationBlog.com |
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