The real reason you get so uncomfortable in front of the camera

I was 7 years old the first time I held a camcorder. 

It was my Uncle’s, and we were visiting him for the first time (family separated across the world, anyone?), and he had one of those old sony silver box-types camcorders. 

I was curious. I’d never seen a camera that close before (my family’s point-and-shoot-film camera was uncomparable to this magic). I remember him giving me his camcorder to hold and showing me how to flip out the screen. That “W” means “wide” or “zoom out,” and “T” means “Telephoto” or “Zoom In”. 

He showed me how to lift the eyepiece, and which button to press to start recording.

For the entirety of the trip, I remember feeling super happy whenever the camcorder was in my hand —  even though I’m fairly certain all of my footage was just me zooming in and out of my sister’s face (...I was 7, okay).  

But man, did I ever get comfortable with that camera. 

But I know that’s not the case for everyone. 

In fact a lot of people are uncomfortable when it comes to being in front of a camera. And that’s okay — in fact, it’s normal. Your fear of cameras is your instinct kicking in if you’re not used to them.

That awkwardness that comes the second a camera is staring at you? 

That’s your brain trying to process the fight-or-flight response that’s happening in your body and make sense of it. 

And that’s okay. 

But what if I told you there is a way to navigate that, and move from seeing the camera as a foreign item, and instead as one of the most powerful tools to telling your story, in today’s market? 

You have it in you. I know you do. 

And I’ll help show you how. 

Because when we master the stools that we actually have access to —  for the first time in, well, ever, we can use them to make our voices loud, AND seen. 

I want you to have the power to harness that. 

Which is exactly why I’m hosting a workshop to teach you all of the Video Essentials you need so  you can start creating, And then use those tools to tell the story that your communities are yearning to hear. 

So what do you say? 

Help me, help you create something incredible? 

Yeah, I can’t wait too. 

P.S. Here’s one time for my Uncle who treated me like an adult and instead of infantilizing me, showed me how a camcorder worked — and trusted me with it way back when. We foster the creativity in children when we allow them to ask questions, and receive mature answers instead of patronizing their ability to intake information. For that —  I am grateful for my Dad, my Mom, and her family for always staying true to this. 

P.P.S. As Oprah once wrote:  

“Whatever your calling, it’s already rooted within you, and those roots can be trampled or tugged at but never removed. They grow stronger only when tended, nurtured—and, most important, shared with others.” That’s all.