Take the Dang Photo
You won't regret it
How many times have you been in a situation where you wanted to take a photo but didn’t want to come off as annoying or shallow or - god forbid - a tourist? You let the moment pass and later find yourself forgetting moments and wishing you had more photos of them.
Alternatively, how many times have you looked through old photos and noticed how happy or young or distinctly themselves the people look? The photos bring back waves of nostalgia for the events or people that are captured, or even just that season of life.
When I started getting into photography, I went into downtown Chicago often to practice setting my camera manually. I was initially self-conscious about taking photos in the middle of the city while thousands of people walk by, scared that each person was judging me like they all knew I wasn’t a real photographer. When I saw a nice composition of the L tracks winding around the skyscrapers, I was hesitant to take my camera out to capture them for fear of looking like a tourist. When I was hanging out with friends, I wouldn’t bring my camera and I wouldn’t take photos on my phone because I didn’t want to be annoying.
Here are some tips for getting over the self-consciousness that comes from taking photos:
People are not judging you
Whenever you pass somebody on the street taking a photo, how much do you think about them? Probably not very much. Everyone has their own lives, everyone is in their own head, and they probably barely notice the person standing on the sidewalk with their camera capturing the L tracks or skyscrapers or their friends or a pretty flower.
Keep it moving
If you act awkwardly when you stop to take a photo, it’s going to look like you don’t know what you’re doing. Be confident in your skills and approach. If I’m walking around and see something I want to photograph, I’ll photograph it and keep walking. If I’m at a wedding and need to take candid photos of guests during cocktail hour, I’ll move to a few different spots so I can keep moving.
Hire a photographer
If you want to have beautiful photos to remember an event but don’t want to think about taking photos yourself, hire a professional. Fill your photographer in about the essential details, what you are most excited about, and how you want the day/event to feel. With this information, you can enjoy your event and we will deliver images that capture the excitement and emotion of the day.
Using these tips, you can record scenes in your everyday life or once-in-a-lifetime events so you have beautiful photos to look back on. At the end of the day, just take the dang photo. You won’t regret it.