Are you someone who shies away from photographing people?
I this article, I want to share with you some of my journey and four tips to help you become more confident photographing people. I went from being fearful of photographing people to absolutely loving it.
Portrait of an Asian woman with a Nikkormat FTN film camera - 4 Tips to Help You Overcome the Fear of Photographing People
She’s holding the same camera and lens I used to take the next photo in this article.
The fear is real
Many photographers who join our workshops tell us they find it a real challenge to photograph people. Whether it’s people they know or complete strangers, so many people struggle to photograph others. I think this my be one reason selfies have become so popular.
When I bought my first camera I was 19 years old and very shy. I had a small group of friends and a few places I enjoyed socializing. But beyond that, I preferred not to interact with others. I loved taking photos – landscapes, flowers, still life, but not people. I could not bring myself to do it.
My sister encouraged me. She said she loved my photos, but they would be better if there were people in them. So I started photographing her.
girl on the beach in the morning - 4 Tips to Help You Overcome the Fear of Photographing People
One of my favorite photographs of my sister when we were on a camping trip in 1986. Shot with the Nikkormat camera above.
Build your courage and confidence
She was a reluctant subject, which gave me more of a challenge. We used to hang out a lot together with a few other friends, and I started photographing them as well. Slowly my confidence built.
Sometimes I would sneak candid photos of strangers. I had bought a zoom lens which made this easier. Being separated by the distance the long lens gave me, I was not as uncomfortable.
After a while I packed my camera and bag and headed off. When I traveled overseas I found it easier. Somehow being a tourist changed things. I became more confident. Even so, there were many people I connected with along the way that I did not photograph and now regret that I was not bold enough.
Asian woman with a camera - 4 Tips to Help You Overcome the Fear of Photographing People
The story continues
I returned to New Zealand after only six months. My sister had died suddenly so I went back. Thankfully, I have a number of lovely portraits of her.
Not long after I landed a job at a daily newspaper in the Illustrations Department. No, I wasn’t doing drawings, this was where the editorial photographers worked. The task of an editorial photographer is to illustrate the story. Hence the department name.
man holding a photo of himself - 4 Tips to Help You Overcome the Fear of Photographing People
There I learned many things very quickly. The most challenging thing I learned was that most photos published in newspaper stories include at least one person in the image. If I was going to make the most of this lucky break I needed to overcome my fear, quickly. I knew I would not keep my job long if I returned from an assignment with no photos of people and an excuse that I was too shy.
It has not been easy and it has taken a long time to really be confident photographing people, most of the time. But not all the time. Sometimes I can’t do it, as I am still essentially a shy person.