Can you hate AND love a photo at the same time?
When it comes to the insights I share with clients…
…I walk the talk, as well.
A couple years ago, I worked with a photographer friend, Maurice, on a program geared towards teaching photographers how to create meaningful, non-jargony, non-crappy, online content.
It was called Screw The Metadata.
Charming name, I know :)
Despite living thousands of miles apart - he lives in the Netherlands and I’m in NYC - we were easily able to put together the curriculum and a plan to promote this service.
But capturing photos of the two of us together was a bit tricky.
Before we launched in 2018, Maurice was in town for a photography exhibition, so we decided to have a colleague shoot video and photos of us to use as marketing assets.
The above photo was a still image pulled from a video clip of us snapping some photos on the West Side Highway.
If I’m being honest, my first impression of this image was, ahem, not good.
Why?
I HATED my double chin.
And it’s all I could focus on. I was desperate to find another photo to replace this one, but unfortunately, there was none in sight.
Sure, we had plenty of other photos of us working together, including delivering a workshop, but none of them had the same type of juice.
What I mean by that is that while I hate the double chin thing, I LOVE everything else about this picture. And so did Maurice.
It’s a candid photo of us together smiling while looking at pictures. I mean, it’s a money photo despite my vanity issue with it.
So, I had to have the talk with myself in the same way I talk to clients who obsess over details that ultimately, in the grand scheme, are of no consequence to the viewer of their images.
I said to myself:
Our job is to create an online presence that attracts photographers who are struggling to position themselves as experts and need our help. Some of these people are ready to put their cameras down and quit, so they’re desperate for guidance.
They see us as a potential solution to their problems.
With that in mind, do you think that they give a shit about that double chin?
The truth is, the pep talk actually worked on me, too, because, guess what, it’s all true!
For viewers of the image, their initial takeaway was one of warmth, fun, camaraderie and expertise.
Which ties back to why I love that photo.
If I X-out the whole double chin thing, I see two close friends who are having a good time, doing the thing we do best. We look like a couple dudes that you could be in the same room with long enough to learn more about how we can help solve your problem.
I mean, what more do you need, right?
And that’s why this photo was used everywhere throughout our marketing - on the website, online content and printed materials.
I share this story with you because this type of vanity issue pops up all the time during client sessions. At the end of the day, we all have quirks and hangups about our appearance. And they’re magnified 1000x when we’re in front of the camera.
Just because this is the narrative you’ve been telling yourself for weeks, months, years or your whole life doesn’t mean that others are telling themselves that same story about you.
They simply don’t care about that.
They want to know what’s in it for them, and if they think your personality and disposition resonates with them in the process.
And sharing image assets that present you as confident, approachable, caring and knowledgeable will inspire them to look more into how you can help.
The value of creating this opportunity for connection is greater than your own vanity issues.
Long story short, get over it and yourself.
If I can, ANYONE can.
Question for you…
What are your feelings on vanity in photos? What are the minute details that you obsess over that inspires you to never step in front of a camera again? Please share in the comment section below.