How  I  Became  Confident  Shooting  in  Public

Happy Monday! Today I’m sharing how I became confident shooting in public. I’m often asked how I’m so confident in taking photos of myself in public. It has become quite a question from a lot of people and even my family. I thought about it and I realized I have become more confident since I started my blogging journey more than 8 years ago. So I thought I would dedicate a whole blog post about it. Last week I blogged about how I wear a tulle skirt for everyday and tips on how to style it if you missed that you can read it here. That sort of started that post a little bit because I was wearing that while I walked down the street in it for everyone to see. Of course I got stares and attracted looks but I went with it. That’s why I wanted to give tips on how I grew confidence especially considering how out of place my outfits normally look. Now that’s the topic I’m writing about today and keep scrolling to see how I became confident shooting in public and you can too.

Outfit Details

First before we jump into the post, I thought I would share my outfit details as it is a very extra outfit and deserves some more information about it. After seeing the pictures I noticed they have a bit of a 50’s style to it and you know how much I love that era. I started off with one of my favorite tops this year. It is the cold shoulder with ruffles blush pink sweater top. It is amazing and looks good dressed up or down, for nights out or running errands. It’s my favorite top I’ve bought this year overall. Again with another tulle skirt because why not. It’s again custom made but I found a similar one for $20 here if you want to copy this look. Then for my bag, I went with a pink sequin one because I wanted it to be more extra than it is. My shoes are very pretty and great for pictures as they make me look like I can do anything. I left them in Manila when I moved but my dad brought them over again because he thought I would need them. I left them in the first place as they are extremely tall and kinda hard to walk in. So they are only good for taking pictures in and then off they go. They are very pretty and loved them with this look though. Lastly, I threw on this suede moto style jacket and it made the look more edgy which I like switching up my style every so often so I thought the girliness would look great with the black jacket.

Shop My Outfit

Let me just start by saying, I’ve been doing this for more than eight years. Well technically I’ve been posing for the camera and in public since I was months old. There are a billion pictures of me as I guess I was always a camera snob and loved posing for the camera. My mom just found my first bikini pictures where I was wearing the new bikini she bought and me posing in the living room where I set up a beach scene with a beach chair and umbrella and a lot of my mom’s towels. It’s kind of embarrassing but super cute however not sure if I would share them any time soon. It’s nice to see that I always had this passion and was I remember as well that I also was the one taking pictures of my friends too so I loved both sides of the camera.

So I think I guess I always had the confidence. However, when I grew up I started to lose it and became self-conscious. I didn’t have the perfect body or the right style so I lost that magic. I had to gain it back again. When I first started fashion blogging, my first ever outfit shots definitely were something to be honest. It’s still up so if you want to search then go ahead and see how awkward, uncomfortable and moody I look. I started in my bedroom and then in front of my parent’s house then it grew to going to malls and now wherever I find pretty. The most outrageous was taking pictures in the middle of a street in New York City so I have come a long way.

I’m a shy person. I’m very shy and such an introvert when you meet me so I don’t know why I have this passion for being outgoing and fun in my pictures.

So how did I become confident?

Over the years, I got more and more used to taking them. I began to develop a set of poses and learned  different ways to position my body so that it would look good. I found my angles and how not to look too big in pictures. Don’t worry I’m still learning but I am much better than I was. Fashion blogging is kinda like modelling and I just think I’m a fashion model. It’s weird but mentally preparing yourself and getting in a good mind set can literally change your mood and make it come through in pictures. I guess the saying fake it till you make it will work. So at first if you fake your a great fashion model and know what you’re doing then it will follow. Remember don’t be too cocky though or it will backfire so find a happy balance and stick to it.

I think the main way to gain confidence is really just through practice. I think I just practiced over the years and it came more naturally to me. I now enjoy it and if I didn’t stick to it then I wouldn’t have the confidence to do it now. It’s a journey and a fun one at that.

I do believe that taking outfit photos is something that requires a lot of patience especially depending on where you live. I’ve lived in two countries and have adapted to it. It’s so different and I would love to compare them in a separate blog post later on if you’d like to see that.

As for the staring and the looks I get while I’m posing in public. Well that’s something that never really goes away and still happens to me. I got stares shooting this outfit and my last one. In LA however, it’s more common and they know about it so I get more compliments now. I was so used to stares and people coming up to ask what I’m doing but the compliments have thrown me off. A cute guy walked by as I was shooting my spinning poses and said I looked really pretty and with those heels I almost fell over and made an even more embarrassment out of myself. So it’s quite different now but it’s nice getting some acknowledgment now more than blank stares and judgey eyes.

I got stares when I first started and got them more when I was in Manila. It was pretty bad over there but I adapted. I can’t tell you how many times I got looked at like there was some kind of showing going on. It’s like they’ve never seen a girl in a puffy skirt twirl around the street before. I mean to be fair I did look out of place but I owned it. I had people come up to my photographer at the time who was either my cousin or my aunt and they would ask what I’m doing. They never came up to me because they were always intimidated and I think it was either me being a different nationality which I’m half Filipino anyway so I don’t know why they thought that or I was super famous and knew they couldn’t talk to me. I only found out that information because it was one or the other when they asked my relatives about me. I was standing right there by the way and could understand what they were saying. I mean I’m flattered they thought I was a celebrity or something.

I find the best way is to just laugh it off, ignore it and keep going. I didn’t see a lot of those people again so I didn’t mind. I was making money with what I was doing and if I needed a million pictures in front of this cute display in the middle of the mall then I was bound determine to do so no matter what.

I don’t even bat an eyelid anymore while I’m shooting and making a fool of myself spinning and jumping  or looking up at a closed door to get the perfect bow shot. I just don’t care anymore and over time you learn to ignore it. As long as you enjoy what you’re doing and not harming anyone or their property then keep taking outfit photos. Having a “I don’t care” attitude really grew my confidence really.

Another thing that grew my confidence and made me love this was the positives that came out of it. I made a career out of it and that passion I had as a child really came out again. The magic I had in me was lost but I found it again. Speaking of childhood magic, I love when little girls come up to me or stop in the tracks to stare. Now those I don’t mind because I can see how happy they are to see me. I guess I resemble a princess some times and they just love how I dress. I’m in this princess outfits and have bows in my hair I guess they just relate to me. I hope I inspire them to keep dressing that way no matter what. I know I got bullied for how I dress which I touch upon in next Monday’s blog post. I always see little girls stop in their tracks to see if they just saw what they saw. A distinct memory was I was shooting Halloween content and dressed like Minni Mouse. It’s this outfit here if you want to see what I looked like. She stopped and pulled on her mom’s hand and pointed at me. I know before that would have made me feel insecure but as she passed me she said “look it’s Minnie” and I smiled so big and gave her a little wave.

A lot of those moments happened after that and it always made what I was doing worth while to make someone smile. Another time was when I was shooting Christmas photos and I was in the town square by a school. I thought I came early to get the shot but I guess school was half a day and got out early so out ran all the students. While I was happily posing away I hear comments about I’m some kind of model and I work for TV. I ignore them but a group of little girls come running up and say I look very pretty. I smile and they ask for a picture with me. I kindly agreed to stop and get a picture but again their mom calls them over so we didn’t get one but it made me happy to think someone wanted one and I made their day. I guess the culture is a bit different in the Philippines and they tend to get shy but the slight glimmer in their eyes and the way they light up always make me happy. That outfit shoot was this one here. I have a lot of these stories and I try to include them in outfit posts if they happen as it’s nice to look back on. So I guess that grew my confidence as well. I mean how couldn’t when a little girl looks up to you.

Tips On Growing Your Confidence 

A lot of people ask for advice in taking outfit photos so I thought I would share a little of how I did it.

Honestly, the biggest piece of advice I can give is get out there and do it! You’re never going to improve if you don’t keep practicing and if you never try then you’ll never get better. Go out and practice. Start small and maybe go to a location that doesn’t have too many people or is more deserted during the day.

Think you can do it. Just don’t think negativity. Go out with a positive attitude and think you can do it even though you’re just starting out. If you think you can then you can.

Ignore the stares. I know it is hard but just don’t mind it. You will never see them again. They are just curious and will forget about it after they see you. Trust me it affects you more them then so just ignore it because they are unbothered by it.

Last is a strange tip but totally helped me. Pretend you’re a tourist. It works. I’m telling you pretending to be a tourist and taking pictures works. That’s what I did and it helped me. A lot of tourists takes pictures so if you have that mind set then it will grow your confidence. I know it’s a weird tip but trust me it is as crazy as you think.

That is how I became confident shooting in public! I have come leaps and bounds over the years taking photos. I have learned to love who I am and how I look while doing it. Yes I might dress a little over the top but that’s just my personal style and I’ve learned to embrace it and share it with the world. I don’t mind wearing this while walking down Melrose Ave. two weeks ago. Yes I got stares and I got a few compliments. I’ve grown so much and I wanted to share that with you and write this blog post. I would 100% encourage you to do the same and get out there and just do it! You don’t know until you try it. If it’s something you want to try then go ahead. I totally recommended it. Take it from a shy and quiet girl. I get so much happiness and joy taking pictures like these and I hope it comes off in all my photos.

I hope you have been enjoying this fashion/lifestyle series where I express my feelings about topics like this and share my knowledge and what I learned. Last week was wearing a tulle skirt and next week is being a girly girl so I hope you come back for that. Now that is all for how I became confident shooting in public. Let me know if you were inspired or it gave you the push to do it or if you already mastered it. No matter what level I hope you enjoyed reading this!