Backstory:

I’m currently sitting on my couch for a few hours until I need to leave for a maternity photoshoot at a beach down in San Diego. I was feeling so excited about the shoot this morning! I scouted the location a month ago and found a beautiful, secluded beach. I’ve checked the tides and chosen a great time of day. My camera batteries are charged, SD cards formatted, and everything is packed and ready to go. I’ve even showered! Everything was going great… until I checked Google Maps, and traffic looked extra lousy today.

 A nervous flutter started in my stomach. 

I text my sister-in-law, who is going with me, that we may need to leave earlier – no response. She has a 3-month-old baby at home, so there was already some apprehension about leaving him behind with Dad. Now, with traffic, the trip is slowly creeping into a good 6-6.5 hrs adventure. Much longer than she anticipated. Will she cancel going? I don’t blame her because baby anxiety is real! The shoot is with her brother and sister-in-law, who I’ve met, so it’s not a huge issue if she doesn’t come, but we’ll all miss her, and we’re excited she’d be there to take some videos and spend time with everyone. 

All of a sudden, my well-laid plan is looking iffy. And my anxiety levels are rising. 

So, what can you and I do when we start feeling the jitters before a photo or video shoot?

Look at Your Portfolio

Go open your client gallery, website, Instagram, or files on your computer of previous shoots. See what you’ve accomplished and what you’re proud of! 

Before spur of the moment writing this blog, I was working on a different one about Joshua Tree and sun haze. I added photos from the session into my document, then took a second scrolling through the rest of the gallery, and…dang. Even the RAWs were beautiful, with great poses, sun, and emotion. I felt calm as I realized I had taken these beautiful photos. 

Find those photos that tell any imposter syndrome you’re feeling to shut up and remind you of your talent and what you’ve done before. Then place those photos somewhere where you can easily access them. Create a new album in your phone’s camera roll so you can scroll through it anytime and look at your favorite pieces.

Deep Breathe

I work at a mental health company, and we frequently do meditations and breathing work. One simple meditation I do whenever I feel my heart start to race is:

Breathe In

One.

Two.

Three.

Breath Out

One.

Two. 

Three.

Repeat this pattern as often as needed to get grounded and focused on something other than your thoughts and feelings. 

Get Introspective, Then Have a Plan

What’s causing your nerves? Take a second to think about it. 

A lot of nerves and anxiety can come from the unknown of things. So do your best to plan what’s needed and then plan for what to do if things get messed up. Do you have backup batteries, SD cards, or even a full backup camera? If you do, great! Let your mind ease up, and know it will be okay; you’re prepared. 

Last week, I visited the beach location I’m going to today because I was worried about the tides. My Tide app told me it would be medium, but I had no idea what that looked like. Would there still be sand, or would it be all water? Is it safe for a kid to be near? I was annoyed I couldn’t ‘go with the flow’ and just wing it the day of the shoot. I could already feel I was anxious about these questions, so I drove the hour and a half down to the beach to see what it looked like at the exact time I wanted to shoot. In the end, visiting the beach made me beyond excited for the shoot, and I felt so much peace knowing what to expect. 

Along with planning for the actual day, prepare a shot list or inspiration list for how to pose the client. 

Positive Self-Talk and Hype Yourself Up!

I know this is hard and can feel dumb. But I’ve been learning recently it really is about what you put out in the world. Being grumpy and pessimistic makes you more irritable and negative. Focusing on the positive and speaking more positively does change your outlook and, honestly, feels better. It’s refreshing not to feel like you’re under a rain cloud. Thinking, “Everything is going to go great!” “I will adapt to anything that happens” and “My poses and ideas are great!” put you in a mindset to do well. 

If you need help getting in a positive mood, put on your best hype-up music. The songs that make you dance, calm down, or feel like you can take on the world. Or play a podcast or audiobook. Thinking about something other than the shoot could help your brain and body regulate. 

Embrace It

Nerves happen to everyone. I once randomly came across a quote from Reba McEntire that she said in a MasterClass course. My mom is a huge Reba fan, and I grew up listening to her, so she holds a special place in my memory. 

“I still get nervous when I go on stage, especially if I’ve got a new outfit on [or] if it’s a new song and I’m worried about remembering the words, but it’s the adrenaline that I get that I really like. Not only are you nervous, but you’re excited to go back out there…For anybody who’s watching, dreading live performances because of nerves, accept that as a gift…Turn that into anticipation. The adrenaline that you get from that nervousness makes that positive. Make good out of bad…”

If Reba still feels nervous, we can feel nervous too.

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I know this has been a very “inner self” focused article. It’s because that’s where these nerves generally stem from: internally.

I often say I have high-functioning anxiety, so it’s hard to tell what are valid worries vs. over-worrying vs. typical pre-” performance” nerves. I know nothing can truly make any of these feelings go away. Above are some tips I’ve found to help lessen the effects and make sessions more joy-filled rather than anxiety-ridden. 

And if you’re invested in how my day went: it ended up fantastic! My sister-in-law came, the mama-to-be looked gorgeous, and we all had a blast running from the waves and playing on the beach.