When I was young (particularly in my secondary school and JC years), I hated the camera.
Why? The thing is my photos would always turn out ugly and unlike me. My face would always look much broader and chubbier and my body, stubbier than it actually was in real life. I would also look unhappy and morose, even when I wasn’t trying to be.
Take for example, my class photos (mine is the only face not mosiacked):
Primary school class outing (I was from Rulang). My face somehow always appeared rounder on camera.
Secondary school class photo (BPGHS). Looking stern and morose, even though I wasn’t trying to be. <.<
JC class photo. Same issue of face appearing broader and rounder than it really was. And goodness, my fringe always had a way of looking awkward on photos!
And the thing is, I actually looked okay here compared to other photos of me at that time! Some, I couldn’t even recognize myself!! It was as if it was a different person altogether. Even my friends would ask me why I looked so different in photos compared to IRL, which I didn’t have a response to. <.<“
Many times I would look at my photos and wonder, Is that even me? Why do I look so different/ugly here when I don’t look like this in person at all?
That the guys (AND girls) in my schools would look at photos (neoprints were the trend then) and yearbooks to check out girls and compare who was the prettier one over the other didn’t help. It made me scared of being in photos because I didn’t want to be objectified for my looks inside (or lack thereof).
Hence, whenever someone so much as suggested taking a neoprint/photo, I would weasel my way out of it. For inevitable photo taking sessions like for class photos, I would panic from before the photo was taken all the way till I saw the shot, after which I would feel depressed because I didn’t look good in it. I would then deny the photo’s existence by not looking at it, stashing it away, and/or destroying at some point later.
Hence, I don’t have many photos of my adolescent years. If you were to ask me for photos of myself between 12 to 18, I don’t have many — if any — to share, because I had either opted out of the photos or destroyed majority of my photos from that period.
Breaking Out of My Camera Resistances
After my teens though, I began to warm up to the camera. I was subconsciously tired of hiding from the camera and not having nice photos to remember my life by when my friends and classmates had no such issue.
So, I conquered my fear/resistance, one step at a time.
I started off by taking self-shots with my camera phone. (I was using an old-school Nokia phone then and later a Samsung flip phone. The flip phone with a frontal camera was great for self-shots.) This helped me to learn my good/bad camera angles and gain camera awareness. Seeing that I could actually look nice/good in photos for once built up my camera confidence.
Slowly, I developed the habit of taking photos, especially during my business trips which were frequent in my previous job. (I was in my early 20s then.) After all, who gets to travel to a different country every month? I didn’t want to let these memories pass me by as I rarely traveled before that (my parents always felt traveling was a waste of money). While I was taking mainly environment shots and less of myself, it was a big step forward for the camera resistant me.
Then slowly, I warmed up to the idea of taking photos with me in them. With good friends and for important events such as birthday celebrations, new year countdowns, and my farewell party when I left my ex-company, I would be game for photo taking since it was the best way to remember the day by.
With my ex-boss during the last day of my internship. (2005)
During my 22nd birthday celebration with friends. (2006)
Annual countdown party with my friends as we ushered in the new year. (2007)
It got to the point where I became comfortable with not just being in front of the camera, but being on the media, being tagged by filming crews, and being on live national/regional TV where I would be seen by millions.
Live on Channel News Asia talking about setting new year’s resolutions. CNA is broadcast around the Asia Pacific region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, and The Philippines.
Live on Good Morning Singapore! on Channel 8, Singapore’s most highly viewed channel with 1.8 million viewers daily! (As of 2011.)
Being interviewed and filmed at my home by Channel News Asia (with Suzanne Jung)
Being filmed by MediaCorp in day-to-day activities. Here, I’m conducting a private coaching session. (This filming is for MediaCorp’s upcoming documentary on inspiring women; will share more when it’s airing!)
Today, I’ve reached the point where I’m entirely comfortable being before the camera, be it for photo taking or video recording. I take photos of myself and my life on a regular, daily basis: from my daily life, to my travels, to being with my loved ones.
Not only do I love taking photos, I also openly share photos (and even videos) of myself for everyone to see. I’ve publicly shared private photos of my travels, my proposal, my engagement shoots, and even shots of myself without makeup and with glasses on my blog (read by hundred thousands of people each month).
To me, photo taking is an important way to capture life’s precious memories and to share them with my loved ones (including you!). If you ask me, I wish I had overcome my camera resistance issues much earlier, because then I wouldn’t have to struggle so much with the camera in my teens and I would also have had more photos to remember my teenage years by.
Camera Shyness: It’s Not Just Me
The camera-loving person I am today is a far cry from my past self where I hated and resisted the camera. While I have addressed my camera issues, I thought that my past camera resistances were isolated to me, and hence never referred to it on the blog.
Until Dove reached out to me recently to involve me in their latest Camera Confidence initiative, part of their Campaign for Real Beauty. (Any of you saw their Dove Evolution ad before? I love that!)
For those of you who don’t already know, Dove is an international personal-care brand with skin care, hair care, and facial care products. I personally own a number of their products, from their shower cream to their hair conditioner.
As a brand, Dove is committed to inspiring women to celebrate their own beauty and helping them recognize they are more beautiful than they think. These are philosophies which I vehemently believe in and regularly write about on PE.
Dove’s team shared their global research statistics on camera shyness1 which I found quite appalling. Apparently…
- 77% of women are ‘camera shy’ (i.e. have hidden from camera before or feel self-conscious in front of the camera).
- 63% of women have destroyed a photo where they didn’t like how they look. Even photos of fun events and important life moments are prevented/destroyed by ‘camera shy’ women, hence causing them to lose precious memories! (How many of you can relate to this?)
- 65% of women are more anxious about their looks when having their photo taken/uploaded than if they were speaking in public (47%), going on a first date (44%) or going to a job interview (41%)!! (What??)
- 41% admit to altering their photos before posting them online, from cropping out a part of their body (19%), to retouching to erase a facial mark (19%), to removing wrinkles (10%).
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of women describe the way they look in photos as too fat, while only 5% think they look beautiful. ( :( I can definitely relate to this.)
And more saddening…
- Only 4% of women would describe themselves as beautiful2. :(
- (If that’s not bad enough, the corresponding figure for Singaporean women is only 2%!)
- 55% of women are more camera shy today compared to 10 years ago.
- 19% of women do not have photos of a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, 14% of their wedding day and 17% of the birth of a child. :(
1 Source: The Real Truth About Beauty; Revisited – Dove global research 2010
2 Source: Camera Shy – Dove global research 2013, conducted among 500 women in eight countries around the world)
(Check out Dove’s Camera Shy video below: it went viral with over 17 million views within four months!)
Camera Shyness: What PE Readers Have To Say
I found the statistics a little saddening, especially the part about how some women do not have photos of important events such as a once-in-a-life-time vacation or even their wedding.
As you guys know, I’m getting married next year May, and getting a skilled photographer (and videographer) is one of the top to-dos for me and Ken right now. We feel it’s important that we get the best photos/videos of that day because it’s going to be one of the most important days of our lives.
Apparently the issue of camera shyness isn’t limited to just “women out there”. When I did a quick survey on my Facebook/Twitter asking if any of you have camera shy moments, I received similar responses:
Russ shies from the camera when the camera isn’t hers.
Leonardo dislikes the camera as he feels he looks fatter on photos.
Nafy hates photo taking because she looks different from others.
Mary avoids taking photos as she doesn’t like the way she looks.
Laurel is camera shy because photography doesn’t always capture her best side.
Charumati is camera shy as she doesn’t exactly know what to do when before the camera.
Rahana has always been camera shy but wishes she had more photos of her teens and 20s which are now past.
How to be Camera Confident
Unlike what many may think, camera confidence actually has little (if nothing) to do with how you look. You can look drop dead gorgeous but still be camera shy; I once met this girl who is very pretty but is totally resistant to photo taking or video recording for some reason.
Camera confidence comes from embracing your beauty inside and out. I’m camera confident today not because of how I look (as I mentioned above, I’m totally cool taking and sharing photos of me even without make up, wearing day clothes and wearing nerdy glasses), but because I’ve addressed my beauty anxieties, regained my inner power over the camera, embraced my beauty inside and out, and learned how to let my real self shine with or without the camera.
“Love the Camera, Love Yourself”: Join Me in Dove’s Camera Confidence Workshop!
In line with addressing camera shyness among women today, I’m proud to announce that I’ll be working with Dove on their upcoming Camera Confidence Workshop to help women overcome camera shyness and develop camera confidence! :D Because really, every woman is beautiful in her own unique way and there’s no reason why any of us should resist or hide from the camera. YOU are beautiful and you deserve to shine in your own light and beauty. I will help you to achieve that in this workshop!
Here are the details (oh, did I mention it’s free too??):
- Date: 30 November 2013 (Saturday)
- Time: Full day from 9am to 6pm
- Agenda:
- You’ll learn how to develop camera confidence with me in the first half of the day through my four-step camera confidence framework.
- I’ll teach you to break past any camera anxiety, regain your inner power over the camera, own your beauty (both inside and out), and let your real self shine in front of the camera! Many exciting things planned as with my usual workshops/courses, because you deserve nothing but the best! :)
- Following which, you will get a FREE Dove photoshoot with portrait photographer Suasti Lye, where you’ll get to apply the lessons you just learned! Hair-styling session and makeup will be provided free before the shoot, all courtesy of Dove.
- Prizes: Besides the free ticket to the workshop, you also receive the following exciting prizes:
- An exclusive Dove instant camera
- Dove goodie bag with S$200 worth of Dove products!
It’s a workshop not to be missed!!
How to Sign Up (It’s Free!)
Two simple steps:
- Visit www.DoveCameraConfidence.com and fill up your details.
- Share your thoughts about camera confidence (through the form on the site) and why you want to be a part of this workshop!
10 most inspiring entries will stand to win a free ticket to the workshop along with the prizes above!
This workshop is event is only for females in Singapore.
I’m personally very excited about the workshop and look forward to working with you there! :D Dove is a very inspiring global brand and I’ve always been a big fan of their Campaign for Real Beauty, which started in 2004. I can’t wait to work with you beautiful ladies during the workshop itself!
Submissions end on 12 Nov, but do fill out your particulars and send in your entry now as there are already many entries coming in!
Share Your Thoughts!
Any questions about the workshop?
What are your views on camera shyness?
Do you have any experiences or stories to share about it?
Sound off in the comments section! :D
Update: The workshop is now over and was an amazing success! Check out the photos at the workshop plus my feature in Dove’s Video Commercial!: My Dove Camera Confidence Workshop Photos and Feature in Dove’s Video Commercial!
This is a sponsored post in partnership with Dove. The post and content are 100% me. I will never write about something I don’t believe in.
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