PHOTOGRAPHY & CONFIDENCE - How portraits can change the way we see ourselves
Maybe confidence isn’t about looking better. Maybe it’s about finally seeing yourself differently. There is a moment during a portrait shoot that I really love. I show someone a photograph. Not just any photograph. The best one I’ve taken so far. And I watch their reaction. Sometimes the eyes light up. Sometimes there is a little silence. And then: “Wow. Is that really me?” Yes. It is. Maybe they just haven’t seen themselves like that before.
01 – Seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes
Most people know themselves from the inside. They know their insecurities. They know the things they don’t like about themselves. They know the face they see in the mirror every morning. But I see something different. I see the way the light falls across their face. I see their expression. Their posture. Their presence. The way they move. The power they have when everything suddenly comes together. And sometimes I see something in a person before they see it themselves. That’s one of the most fascinating parts of portrait photography for me. For a moment, someone gets to see themselves through my eyes.
02 – Look how good you look
When I see that moment, I don’t keep it to myself. I show them the photograph. And I tell them what I see. “Look at your presence.” “That’s amazing.” And I mean it. I’m not giving someone an empty compliment just to make them feel better. I’m showing them something I genuinely believe. Because I know what happens next. They look at the photograph again. And suddenly they have evidence. Maybe I really do look like that. Maybe I really do have that presence. Maybe I really am beautiful. Maybe there is more power in me than I thought.
03 – Confidence can start with photograph
I don’t think a photograph magically creates confidence. But it can give someone a glimpse of something they already had. That’s an important difference. I’m not putting confidence into someone. I’m trying to reveal something that is already there. The photograph becomes a kind of proof. Not proof that they are perfect. Proof that this version of themselves exists. That they can look like this. That they can carry themselves like this. That other people can see them this way. And sometimes, that’s enough to change the way someone looks at themselves.
04 – My job is not juts to make people look good
This is probably one of the biggest things I’ve learned through photographing people. My job isn’t simply to make someone look good. It’s to bring something out of them. To interact with them.To get them out of their reserve. To make them feel safe enough to stop thinking about how they’re supposed to look. And then, at some point, something changes. The person relaxes. The eyes become different. The posture changes. The expression becomes real. And suddenly there is presence. That’s the photograph I’m looking for. Not the perfect pose. Not the perfect face. The person.
05 – You can’t teach everything
I’ve thought a lot about whether this part of photography can actually be taught. Of course, you can teach lighting. You can teach posing. You can teach camera settings. You can teach composition. You can teach someone how to create technically strong photographs. But there is another part. The feeling for people. The ability to sense when someone needs encouragement. When to push. When to slow down. When to make a joke. When to show them the back of the camera. When to say: “Wow. Look at you.” I think some of that comes from experience. Some of it comes from personality. And some of it is simply the way you see people. That’s a big part of my photography.
06 – I learned this from the people infant of my camera
For years, I did workshops. I taught photographers how to create photographs. But eventually I realized something. The biggest changes rarely happen in an eight-hour group workshop. They happen when you work with someone individually. When you spend time with one photographer. When you see where they are. What they’re struggling with. What they’re already good at. What they don’t yet see in themselves. And then you work from there. Exactly the way I work with the people in front of my camera. I meet them where they are.
07 – From models to photographers
That realization changed the way I teach. What I learned from photographing people is now also at the centre of how I work with photographers. I don’t just want to show someone how I use light. I want to understand how they see. I want to stand beside them while they photograph. Look at the images together. Give them honest feedback. Encourage them when they doubt themselves. Challenge them when I know they can do more. And sometimes show them something they haven’t seen yet. Because maybe photographers need exactly the same thing as the people they photograph. Someone who looks at them and says: “Look what you’re capable of.”
08 – Maybe confidence is early about being seen
The more I photograph people, the more I believe that confidence has something to do with being seen. Really seen. Not judged. Not compared. Not corrected into someone else. Just seen. And sometimes, when someone sees a photograph of themselves and says: “Wow. That’s me.” I think that’s one of the most beautiful things photography can do. Because the photograph hasn’t changed the person. It has changed their perception of themselves.
09 – This is why I photograph people
I still care about beautiful light. I still care about technical quality. I still care about creating a strong photograph. But ultimately, I’m interested in something beyond that. I want to create a photograph where someone recognizes something in themselves. A strength. A beauty. A presence. Something they might not have seen for a long time. And maybe that’s my real job. Not to create a better version of someone. But to help them see the version that was already there.
10 – Photography & Confidence
Maybe confidence isn’t about looking perfect. Maybe it’s about seeing yourself differently. Maybe it’s about having someone stand in front of you who genuinely sees something in you — and is able to show it back to you. That’s what I try to do with the people I photograph. And that’s increasingly what I want to do with photographers, too.
„Meet them where they are. See what they already have. Help them see what they haven’t seen yet.“
Because sometimes all someone needs is another pair of eyes. Someone who looks at them and says: “Wow. You look amazing” And suddenly, they believe it. Maybe the most powerful thing a photograph can give someone is not a better image of themselves — but a new way of seeing themselves.
