So you have booked a 50 Over 50 shoot and its giving you all the feels…
Thought it might be helpful to talk a little bit about what you might be feeling in the lead up to your shoot.
I imagine the thought of having a shoot just for little ol’ you is a touch daunting and/or cringe worthy or to put it more accurately, terrifying.
I imagine some might feel more than a little scared or weird or have a bit of a ‘What the AF am I doing?’ vibe. Let me reassure you that this is a given for literally everyone. I am yet to have a woman walk through my door and say ‘Get your camera ready, woman, I am good to go!’ Not many of us are ‘Samantha Jones’ but if you are, bring it on!
Lets chat a little about that fear…
Is it fear? Maybe its anticipation or excitement for a new experience! Isn’t that a good thing to be experiencing? Doesn’t it mean, wow here is something I haven’t done yet in all my years! How exciting is that?!
But if you decide it is actually fear, then what are you scared of?
Scared you might not like the photos?
Scared of the attention being on you?
Scared you will embarrass yourself?
Scared you wont like how you look?
Scared you wont know what to do?
Scared you will prove yourself right about something?
Scared others will think you are a dork or worse?
Scared you are wasting time on something frivolous?
I could go on, but you get the gist and here are my thoughts on that pesky fear!
That fear is possibly your negative thoughts telling you horrible things, and you are, for some reason, believing them. But they are simply thoughts not facts! You are perfectly imperfect just the way you are, just like we all are. And you have every right, no correction, you have an obligation to take some time to just be you, to exist in photos, so you have some evidence of your existence, and to feel real good about that! You can think all the mean things you want to about yourself, but that doesn’t make it true. If you haven’t already stepped into a more positive way of thinking why not take a moment and see how it fits.
Understand that as women we can have some negative beliefs and unworthiness lots of which we may have been dragging around for years. Let me remind you who you are! You are YOU that’s who, and you are fabulous. That’s right fab-u-lous!!! Just ask your friends and family they’ll tell you… <3
Having reached the age of at least 50 you know a thing or two by now! For starters you are strong and capable and wise without even trying. You have spent years becoming the woman you are, be proud of her!
Your shoot is a time for you to enjoy being you and to let your guard down and consider you might be worthy of love and you might actually look good and who cares if you think you have a few extra kilos or if you haven’t touched up those greys. You are not your thoughts. I repeat, you are not your thoughts!
Another ridiculously important aspect of your shoot is the fact that you are contributing to your legacy. Yep that’s a thing we all should accept as a thing and take some time considering it. Your legacy is what you leave behind when you are gone. Taking some time to think about how delightful that is will give your shoot more meaning and will possibly encourage you to do some other new things too. I love looking at old photos of my ancestors. I don’t know them, but I am so glad they bothered to take photos. And one day future generations will think that about you too.
Oh and did I mention the delicious joy to be gained from seeing a photo of yourself you just love!! That cannot be underestimated ;)
