Hate having your picture taken? I feel you. I’ve been a photographer for ten years, shooting mainly weddings and portraits. My passion is photography, my career is built on the value of pictures… but the idea of stepping in front of a camera can fill me with dread. Over the years I can’t count the number of events where I’ve hidden from being in photos - I’ve kept a vice-like grip on my camera when people have said: “let’s get a shot of you!” I said I wanted to be the one to document things and as I tried to convince people around me that I was happy with that, I knew that I was really trying to convince myself. The sad fact is that when I look back over pictures from the happiest of times: Christmases, birthdays, trips to the beach… you’d never have known I was there. No matter how much I had that feeling of dread, no matter how much I felt self-conscious or hated the result I realised that I had to overcome it in order to avoid being the invisible woman. I can’t promise that I will take away all of your fears about being photographed in one blog post… but I’d like to share some tips that might help to build your confidence with time.