Self Esteem is self love is self care
It happens a lot, you are not alone, you are not the only one that feels that way. If i could just (fill in the fix to your insecurities here). When I ( fill in the fix to your insecurities here) I will do the thing that will make me the happiest. I will do the thing that will bring me joy. Its what you tell yourself, but it hardly ever seems to get done. I hear from potential clients all the time, Im going to come in for a shoot I just need to lose this weight first! Don’t feel attacked! It’s not just you. Even Cindy Crawford famously once said she wished she looked like Cindy Crawford. Most of us suffer from some form of self esteem issue at some point. I don’t know ANYONE thats 100% confident 100% of the time. Truth is you don’t have to be, what you have to do is trust the process. Allow yourself to the space to be a tiny bit vulnerable. I know it’s a scary concept, but give yourself permission to be open to the possibility that if you step out on faith amazing things can happen!
9 ways to impove your self esteem
- recognize your own value as an individual
- reject negative messages from the media and society in general
- accept and embrace all your emotions, both positive and negative
- break down self-criticism with positive affirmations
- focus on self-appreciation
- be mindful and compassionate to yourself
- be forgiving, both to yourself and others
- focus on personal growth
- recognize your own potential
Dove soap commercial: men vs women
kintsugi
Society has sold us on the notion that we can not love and or accept ourselves for who and what we are. Ive seen it a lot in headshot photography. Women seem to be over critical of themselves, as if they are breaking some cardinal sin to say, hey thats a good picture of myself. A lot of initial reactions are full of self doubt. Occasionally I nail it right out of the box and they cant deny the beautiful image staring back at them. Of course this isn’t all women, but when I do get a self doubter I tell them the story of the dove commercial. Two woman speak with each other , and then with a sketch artist. With out knowing whats going on they are asked to describe themselves, and the woman they spoke to previously. Each woman described their partner fairly accurate, but described themselves like monsters. Was it because they saw themselves that way, or was it “ societal politeness” dictating that if they love themselves too much , if they describe themselves as beautiful, they are vain. I say it is ok to love yourself, in any and every way possible. Are you perfect? NOPE, no one island it really is the our imperfections that give us character and beauty. its the practice of kintsugi, meaning to join with gold”, a reminder to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate the flaws and missteps of life. Allow yourself to fall if need be and learn from the mistake. I guarantee you will be better for it.
The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.― Kahlil Gibran
Photography can lay bare your insecurities, but it can also highlight your features. how you choose to see it depends on how you choose to see yourself.
