Overcoming Hurdles

Holding off self-doubt is exhausting and can leave you feel full of inertia. Allowing negativity and poisonous judgement seep into your consiouness triggers deep-seated fears.

We all have an inner voice sitting on our shoulder, distracting our attention away from what is good and happy and joyful. It’s so easy to listen, even though we know the whispers are personal fears voicing our insecurity, and it’s so hard to tune those harmful messages down.

I don’t think I’ve met a single person that doesn’t talk themselves down at some point or other. Most of the time, we’re able to tut and shake our head, dismissing our self-doubt as adrenaline fuelled excitement at the start of an important shoot.

Take the photographs below. I was all of a judder, beyond excited to work with Lulu (an internationally published model hired by the wonderful Studio 2 in Ryde for our model days). Arriving too early, I first had the lonely drive home mournful that I’d got the wrong day. 24 hours later, I was so focused and driven during the shoot, I left saying ‘goodbye’ to Lulu only to discover I’d miss-timed the session and finished a full fifteen minutes early. And I’m still looking for the lost lens cap and suspect it might be in the bottom of the model’s suitcase somehow.

During all my mistakes, I simply smiled and laughed at my silliness. Working with Lulu was so important to me that I mentally shrugged off my insecurities and reframed my thinking. Just because self-doubt seeks to erode my confidence doesn’t mean I have to listen. Trusting my instincts, sticking to my shoot plan and drawing inspiration from Lulu’s intelligence, creativity and sensibility I adored my time in the studio.

Self-doubt is a permanent part of my personality, but it doesn’t always have to BE my life. I choose to act on my dreams and goals, in fact I was determined to be the most experimental ever in the most important shoot of the autumn.

You are much more than your insecurities and you deserve to treat yourself with kindness. Get in touch if this resonates with you, I’d love to work with you.

Join my vision – Luxurious photography for everyone.

 Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: info@amandaherbert.com

 

The secret to using the best studio on the Isle of Wight

Photography is always in the back of mind. It’s that quirky joy of my life that allows me to express love, creativity and joy all through the bleak winter months.

I’ve worked with female models and photographers wherever I’ve lived and one thing we all have in common is that guilty surprise at our own success, even though we’ve worked hard to achieve it.

I met a model / muse last weekend, one whom I’ve not seen for quite some time and I thought to myself, “if only she knew how much I admired and respect her.” I nearly turned back to express my admiration for her photography which is full of joy and laughter, just like her personality (but the parking meter was ticking and the evening was drawing in).

And it struck me again, sometimes we simply don’t feel we are worthy or worry that our own shame will linger, casting a shadow on our life.

It got me thinking. If I was brave, I’d send emails to everyone I’ve worked with to say, “You are amazing, stop talking yourself down.” I’d send dancing gifs of myself pointing to a billboard that read, “You are good enough.”

My truth is that I often listen to my niggling self-doubt that freezes my creativity and holds me back from acknowledging my creative strengths. I let my past dictate my future, ruining any chance I have of happiness and progress.

Your truth is hidden deep in your heart. Look passed the fear and the shame, follow your dreams and honour yourself. Let go of the past if it is holding you back; it doesn’t have to be your future.

Which is why Studio 2 in Ryde is also on my mind LINK.

It’s the single place that has allowed me to blossom, take risks and feel a tiny bit more confident when working with studio lighting. And I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve met lots of models, photographers and other creatives that benefit from Studio 2’s quiet support and encouragement.

So if you are ready to explore your own vision in portrait photography, want to learn studio lighting or need a helpful face to ease your fears, I can recommend Studio 2 and their house models.

Life is too short, every second you doubt yourself is a step away from happiness.  To help you move forward I’m sharing these helpful posts:

• 5-minute tips for beautiful Isle of Wight portraits
• Telling the Ryde photographer why you hate the pictures 
• The importance of posture

Learning to love yourself and make the changes you desire is hard. So I’m giving you permission to be true to yourself.

Get in touch with the one thing I can help you with.

Ryde photographer Amanda Herbert with first time model

I wrote this blog post just for Kriszta.

Yes, Kriszta because she’s fast becoming a wonderful muse and radically superhuman creative that has a wonderful life mapped out ahead of her.

The key reason I support young adults is because I understand the damage self-sabotaging can do. Empowering others is my way of preventing others thwarting their own progress in life.

We’ve all been there, right. Do you remember all the times you’ve blocked your own happiness and success, getting in the way of your own ambitions?

[Read more…]

Life’s a beach. The sun always shines. Our jobs are easy. And we have plenty of spare time to spend with family and friends.

The key difference between Pinterest and life? It’s just not true. Life is a helter-skelter of frazzled demands on our time and with it, our creativity falls. Spiralling down along with doubt, self-judgement and an inner critic nestling comfortably on our shoulder, whispering toxic messages.

If you’re like most models, photographers or simply someone who likes pretty pictures, you’ll be curious how I create the below photographs whilst juggling a full-time job.

Planning for my photoshoots involves a lot of head-scratching whilst I figure out the right model for my mood board, struggle with how I’m going to style my model and use a storyboard to plan how I’ll direct the poses and expression to create fabulous photographs.

I know when I’m close to success when I start to find the right person because they bring so much value to the session.

Getting the right person is electrifying. But does it happen naturally? Never. So I work hard to connect with aspiring models that are eager to work with me.

And when I want to produce beautiful imagery I get quietly determined. I turn up the heat. The thing I really like is nattering about a plan that combines colour, style, textures and luminous lighting.

The portraits in this blog present a fabulous, internationally published model Helen Diaz LINK. Working with someone at her calibre enabled me to finish the summer holidays on a high.

I’m always flattered when I read my reviews and Helen and Jessica from last week LINK summed me up perfectly: a bit quirky, full of energy and determined to produce the very best that I can.

To understand the true value of my photography, you need to recall why I picked up my first camera. I knew in my heart I wanted to reach out and connect with people upon my return from Asia (a short story about how I started photography). I just didn’t’ realise just how rewarding this hobby would become.

Although I’m always super scared of setting new goals and going after my dreams. Taking a big leap is exhilarating, especially when my plans come to fruition.

Summer is coming to a close. If you’ve enjoyed these photographs, tell me why. I’ll be planning my next mood board in the non-too distant future. I’d like to get a revolution going – natural, beautiful portrait for everyday people.

Join my vision – Luxurious photography for everyone.

 Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: info@amandaherbert.com