How do I deal with the fact that I hate what I see in pictures?

A question I have been asked quite fair bit as someone who suffers from body dysmorphia is “how to deal with what I perceive as negative emotions when I see myself on a picture” or in other words, “how do I deal with the fact that I hate what I see?”

Check in first

Before you book a photoshoot make sure you are in a stable enough mental state to handle it. I have had clients cancelling photoshoots because of bad self image. I tend to be flexible and understanding, but before you actually take the time to reach out, ask yourself if your need of pictures is urgent enough to bypass a bad bout of body dysmorphia.

Work with your cycle

If you are someone who menstruates, take the time to get to know period things and your own cycle. I am not an expert but I know enough to recognise that sometimes how I feel about what my body looks like might be because I’m at a certain time of my cycle. It might mean you schedule around times of your cycle where you feel at your best, or you have that knowledge within you to know that you feel a certain way because of certain hormones spiking or plummeting.

Don’t force yourself

Getting your picture taken is never a matter of emergency, never a matter of life and death. Whilst it is useful for your business, it is also frivolous. If the very idea of being in front of the camera sounds like an ordeal, don’t put yourself through it just yet and focus on healing a bit more first.

My only credentials are my mental illnesses and my experience as a photographer, please take what I say with a pinch of salt.