How to Get Past The Fear Of Sharing Photos
Social media has made it considerably easier for small businesses to gain traction online, build a community centered around their work, and market their creative projects to their target niche. But along with the benefits of social media, there has also been the need to continually create new content aimed at promoting business across the various platforms. A brand that wants to stand out on the web must regularly post quality and fresh images, eye-catching ones. The problem is that in most cases, creating a professional image bank for a brand involves very high costs that most small businesses find difficult to meet. This is why more and more small business owners are deciding to take image creation into their own hands to save costs and fully controlling the visibility of their brand at Social.
However, if you are a blogger or a small business owner and you are just starting out, the thought of sharing the photos that you create for your brand online can seem a little daunting. Believe me, I know this from personal experience… In fact, all creative types would agree that it does take a lot of confidence and self-belief to put yourself out there. There are days when you’re excited about the prospect of sharing your work and then there are days when you’re just trying to keep it together while grappling with the fear of sharing your photos online.
But like everything else in life, even when it comes to the photos you take, the only way to move forward is to get out of the comfort zone. And I assure you that just as leaving the comfort zone can be stressful at first, it is also incredibly rewarding. The rewards that come with sharing your creative work with a community that appreciates your craft are simply intoxicating.
In this post, I'll share with you some simple ways to help you build confidence and overcome your fear of sharing your photos. But first of all, it's important to say that you don’t have to start sharing your photos right away if the thought of it makes you uncomfortable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The key is to take one step at a time and set small milestones that you can accomplish while tracking your progress.
Figure Out The Root Cause Of Your Fear
Gaining a better understanding of where your fear is stemming from can help you focus on finding effective strategies to overcome it. By identifying and acknowledging the root cause of your fear, you’ll automatically shift your internal focus towards reframing those negative feelings so that you can overcome this self-imposed limitation, that believe it or not, is probably holding you back from reaching your full potential.
The root cause of your fear can vary depending on what aspect you give more importance to. Some people are afraid of getting negative feedback, others are afraid of rejection or are simply paralyzed by the thought of what would happen after they click ‘post’.
Focus on shifting your perspective towards the aspects of growing and learning from your mistakes. It's not easy, but you should learn how to not have any expectations prior to sharing the photos that you create. Share solely with the intent of putting your craft out there in the world.
Knowledge Is Power
In most cases, a lack of confidence comes from feeling unsure about what you are doing. That's true with anything – from learning how to write to learn to cook! You start unsure, so you have to study the basics, understand how things work, and of course, practice. The more experience you get, the more confident you feel about the photos that you create and about sharing them with the world.
The thing that is probably making you insecure about sharing your photos is the photos you're currently creating are not as good as you want them to be. You feel that maybe you don't have what it takes to be a good photographer. But the truth is that there's a gap between what you want to create and the knowledge you have. After all, non of us was born with a camera in his hands 🙂 So what is the best and safest way to gain security and to close that knowledge gap? Make learning and education your number one priority!
If you want to make a start today, then sign up for my free training “My Secret Formula For The Perfect Picture” and get learning!
Plan Your Content Strategy
Channeling your energy into planning your content strategy instead of worrying about the outcome can be a great way to take your mind off of your fears and improve your chances of successfully gaining traction online.
Small business owners and bloggers often assume that the industry they are operating in is already saturated and they have nothing new to offer. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. True, there’s' a lot of competition online, but that just means that the content you need to share must be unique, relevant, and valuable to your target audience. Planning your content strategy ahead of time and focusing on how to best portray your unique message through your photos can be an effective way to improve your chances of getting noticed and ultimately making long-lasting connections with your potential clients.
If you are new to the art of photography and content creation, and you're not satisfied with the content you currently create, you should start learning photography in an orderly way (you can sign up for my free workshop “My Secret Formula For The Perfect Picture” here!). By embracing this growth mindset, you’ll automatically start channeling your fears into doing productive work. This will not only help you gain knowledge and improve your skills but will also help you gain more confidence in your skills and expertise.
You Are Your Own Worst Critic
There’s a quote by Andy Warhol that goes: “Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
This is probably the best advice out there for creatives. We can often be our own worst critics. We see flaws and mistakes when viewing our work that others might not even notice. In fact, more often than not, people don’t care as much as we think they do and they hardly notice the flaws that are so prominent in our eyes. It’s important to cut yourself some slack. Quieten the voice inside your head that tells you your work isn’t ‘good enough’. Instead, focus more on learning the tools and practicing, and over time your photos will get so much better.
Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People
Another great way to gain confidence and overcome your photo-sharing fears is to join a photography Facebook group that consists of other people who understand you, people with similar interests. There are communities that combine photographers with all kinds of experience, so you get lots of helpful advice from different types of photographers. In the group, you can improve your skills and learn more about the world of photography and visual content creation by participating in discussions, learning from questions that other members ask, and also by sharing your knowledge.
With a safe space for you to communicate and share your images, you’ll be able to see the impact your work has on other people. You’ll get direct insights from those in your community and you can use constructive feedback to improve on the areas where you lack. Moreover, you can also ask for specific feedback if you are unsure about a certain aspect of your work or want to learn something specific related to photography such as composition, exposure, or the ideal camera settings to use, etc. With that said, however, if someone criticizes your work online, do not take it as a personal attack. Try to view that feedback objectively and learn from it. Progress comes from acknowledging your flaws and working on improving them.
Final Thoughts
Remember, that the fear of sharing photos is completely normal, especially if you are a
beginner. You don’t have to start putting yourself all out right from the get-go. Instead, you can take some time and learn your craft, improve at it, get feedback from a trusted social circle, and then take your work public.
If you're a small business owner, blogger, or a photography enthusiast, I invite you to join my free video workshop where I teach the formula I use to create professional and quality images for both my brand and my clients.
