In Front of the Camera

I don’t consider myself photogenic – I never have. In addition to this, I have always had a self-esteem issue in that I really don’t have much self-esteem whatsoever. This has gotten better over the last decade or so as I have surrounded myself with a loving and supportive group of friends (not being in high school anymore was definitely a bonus to my self-esteem too). And although it is cliche, not really wanting to be in front of the camera was in fact one of the reasons I started operating the camera to begin with. It started so long ago and has continued so persistently that I struggle to find photos of myself when I write my annual updates as it is rare that I document myself in my adventures. It is something I have noticed, and am working on.

I also ran into trouble when it came to including a photo of myself for my About Me section both here on the blog and on my website. The old shot was one taken by my friend Chris when she was taking a photography course at school. It was simple, but I actually liked it, which is rare for photos of myself. I have used it for a few years now, but decided it needed to be updated, so I got all prettied-up and asked Dave to takes some photos of me.

We went to the Ottawa Arboretum, which I love (and used for one of my favourite client shoots just last year). I found myself rather uncomfortable with the whole shoot, but it was a little easier being in such beautiful surroundings (and even easier when Dave allowed me to have my camera).

I think Dave did a wonderful job! I say this because I don’t think it was easy for him (I kept giving him instructions throughout the session). So, I am sorry that I wasn’t the best subject to work with Sweety, but I really appreciate your hard work and I really do think you did a great job.

As a side note, Dave has told me that the last photo here is my genuine smile and not my school portrait smile. He worked quite hard to get me to smile this way throughout the shoot.