Why You Need to Get in Front of the Camera
There is so much power that comes with being a photographer.
There's a reason for the adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. One of my biggest beliefs when it comes to photos is that it's not enough to just take pictures of the world around you. You actively need to harness the lens and use it on yourself.
Here are three reasons why getting in front of the camera will make you a better storyteller.
1. Pictures tell so much story.
A picture of yourself is not just a picture of yourself. It captures a specific moment in time that you can never return to. That photo shows where you were, what you were wearing, what you decided (consciously or not) to keep in the background, and so much more.
Capturing Personal Evolution: It might not seem like it, but we’re constantly changing. A quick picture of you is one of the simplest, most accessible ways for you to document you. It’s a great way to illustrate personal growth, going through hard times, and growing up as a person.
Contextual Richness: Selfies are incredibly important for grounding yourself in the greater world. All of the extra things in your photos -- the background, your clothes, the books on your shelf, the purse you’re leaving the house with -- are context builders. Not only are you documenting who you are, you’re also documenting what society looks like right now.
Emotional Connection: We’ve been doing self portraiture forever -- and selfies are no different. It’s a way for us to connect to ourselves, especially the parts of our stories that we love and want to celebrate.
It's not just "oh, this is me". It's, "this is me and this is who I am, where I am, and how I'm showing up in the world right now".
2. Visually document your ever-changing life.
You are changing, and the world is changing around us more than we like to admit. One of the quickest, easiest, and most accessible ways to tell your story, especially on a repeating basis, is to take pictures of your life and yourself.
Ease of Documentation: Your most accessible camera is almost definitely on your phone, and with lenses on the front and back of your phone, it’s easy to take front-facing selfies. Just pop out your phone, snap a photo of yourself in whatever situation you want to document, and then go back to what you were doing. It’s also simple to print, edit, and share from our phones now too! So lean in to the ease of taking selfies on your phone.
Chronicling Daily Life: When we make getting in front of the camera a priority, it’s less about ‘the way you look’ and more about the reason why you’re taking the photo. Maybe you want a book selfie with your new read, or you want a selfie during your lunch hour. All these photos tell little stories of our everyday lives, which is such a big part of who we are and what our lives really look like.
Progress and Transformation: Contrary to what you might think, selfies are a great tool for when life sucks and you don’t feel like documenting your current stories.
Taking photos of yourself during the hard times is important for so many reasons:
Your life is still worthy of documenting even if you don’t want to dive into the details of your right-now stories.
These are hard times, they’re not hard forever. Having photos of yourself during the hard times can show how far you’ve come when things start turning around. They’re a testament to your resilience and the person you are.
You are documenting your life -- you get to choose how that looks. Snapping a selfie (even shoe selfies, book selfies, or other selfies where you’re not sharing your full self) is a great way to just capture a bit of yourself in a tumultuous time, do it in a way that feels good for you. .
The important part: We all carry around very decent cameras right in our pockets on a daily basis. If you can get in the habit of snapping photos of yourself, your storytelling will be that much richer for it.
3. Other people want to see photos of you.
There are other people in this world that value your story and also value the photos of you as well. This doesn't mean that you need to go out and start taking snapshots for the male gaze or worry about how hot/cute/beautiful/sexy you are in a particular photo. These photos are about reminding yourself (and the world) that you’re here and you matter -- especially to other people!
Building Connections: Like I said at the beginning -- a picture is worth a thousand words, which is why they make it so easy to tell our story and share it with friends or family. I’m so much more likely to snap a photo and send it to my friends, then to write out a few paragraphs about my adventure. And like we talked about above, sending photos to share your story means that everyone gets to see the extra stuff in the background, and that gives them more context to the stories you’re telling.
Authentic Representation: Getting in front of the camera about more than just curated perfection. This is about us documenting our real lives, not something that we’re trying to perform for the rest of the world. You’re gonna have days where your skin looks bad, days where you feel gross, days where you are having an amazing time, but look a little ridiculous doing the amazing thing. We want to see those! No real sane person expects you to look like a perfect professional model while you’re out there doing amazing things!
Inspiring Others: Be the change you want to see in the world. If you want to see more pictures of your friends, your family, and your peers, you need to do it first. If you’re even considering a selfie right now (and how can you not at this point), then I’ve inspired you -- pass it on.
These photos are about seeing you show up in the world.
The best way to get in front of the camera more is to make it part of your routine. To keep myself accountable, I created the #Thursday3 weekly selfie challenge.
#Thursday3 invites you to snap a selfie and jot down three right now things going on in your life each week. You can share on social media using the hashtag #Thursday3, or join us over at my free feminist scrapbooking community: The Awesome Ladies Project and share your photos in a safe, encouraging, and empowering space.