Picture Perfect
A few weeks ago, we were required to have our professional headshots taken for work. We had a professional photographer come to our office to take the pictures. The room was set up nicely and lit properly with all the accouterments you’d expect at a professional photo shoot. Joanna is seriously one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and she’s wonderful at making you feel comfortable.
Despite the atmosphere, I didn’t want to have my picture taken. I’ve never been photogenic and pictures usually make me feel like I’m faking a smile. My smile is crooked and my eyes practically disappear when I give a toothy grin. These insecurities are never more prominent than when I have a professional photo taken of just me.
So at this mandatory photo shoot, I of course waited until the last possible moment to get my picture taken. We got twenty-four hours advance notice, and I picked an outfit I liked and styled my hair and makeup. Even with the extra level of thought I put into my attire and grooming that day, I still felt awkward. When I took my turn in front of the camera, I posed extremely awkwardly and gave my best cringe-worthy smile until I broke out in hives. Joanna told me to relax and gave me some motivational advice about being a strong woman and being proud of my job and my family. I did try. I just really have a hard time conveying those emotions on camera if I’m the sole center of attention.
Due to my camera shyness, I have precious few photos of myself with my kids. We never did newborn pics for either of our children, and we only have one professional family photo from five years ago. (My son wasn’t even born at the time). It does make me sad when I think about my absence from pictures with my kids. My husband doesn’t really make too many appearances either, mainly because he gets impatient. I get super self-conscious with a camera on me and I don’t think this took place until after I became a mom. I don’t look like my twenty-year-old self anymore and I guess that bothers me.
Apparently, not being in photos is somewhat of an epidemic with mothers. And I get it. I rarely feel “camera ready” for anything. I dress up for work but then when I come home, I’m in relax-mode and I’m not feeling the whole “take my picture” thing.
But Joanna’s pep talk got me thinking, and I’m going to make an effort to put myself back in the photos and let someone else do the picture taking or at least start taking some selfies. (I know, I loathe the selfie culture but I promise I won’t post myself online every five minutes). These photos will be mainly for our family archives.
I’ve spent six years avoiding the camera when it comes to family photos. And now I’ve decided I don’t want to be the one always taking the picture, and I don’t want to be a ghost when we look back through photos many years from now.
So this is for you, Joanna Ng. Thanks for inspiring me to put myself back in the picture.
Amanda Scott-Program Coordinator for the Liberty County CVB
The Right Blend Blog is written by two different authors employed by the Liberty County Chamber/CVB. As we are able, we rotate weeks and each writes about our individual experiences, opinions and let our writing reflect our personalities and creativity. All content provided on The Right Blend blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.
