Once upon a time, this Raven was terrified of cameras. Nothing could make me disappear faster than the glint of a camera lens. My heart-rate would go up, my palms would sweat; “Say Cheese!” … and there’s another picture of me, looking like a deer in the headlights.

When my husband, Todd, decided to start taking his photography seriously, he thought it would be a great idea to use me, endlessly, as his subject. And it got worse when he bought his ‘real’ camera; he was aiming it at me every five minutes. “Hold still a minute; I need to test this setting.” “I want to see how you look in this light.” “I want to try out my new lens … come outside and pose for me for a few minutes.” Aarrgghh!! It drove me nuts.

And then; I had to see the dozens and dozens of digital shots of myself, on the computer, as he sorted through them. I looked stiff and awkward and miserable. I hated looking at them.

Those dozens of lousy poses were teaching me something, though, without my realizing it; I began to figure out what looked good on camera, and what didn’t. Slowly, but surely, my photos started improving. We made friends with a few people who knew photography, about this time; they gave both Todd and I pointers. And then, the photos started getting really good. My blood-pressure no longer went through the roof every time I saw a camera pointed my way. I learned to quit dropping my chin and making bug eyes. I stopped being afraid.

Gone are my days of being camera-shy. Now that I know what to do in front of a camera, I’m all over this! It really is true; the best way to get over being terrified of something is to just do it. I have all kinds of new confidence lately; and not just in front of the camera … though I know, facing my personal demons regarding the camera has had a lot to do with it.

There are other bonuses, as well: Being an artist and costumer, it’s so awesome to have a photographer handy! My portfolio is starting to look killer. I have all these professional shots of my artwork, now; and I love them. Best of all, I get to make jokes about ‘sleeping with the photographer,’ when people ask me where I got my pro shots done.

As if all of this wasn’t good enough, Todd and I are having a blast, together, on all the photo-shoots he plans (we always have a good time together; but it’s really great to mix it up, and try new things!). Whether we go out on a shoot just the two of us, or shoot with a group, we invariably wind up having a fantastic time. Each shoot is an adventure; we both learn something new every time we go out. It’s just the kind of work/play that artistic types crave, and it’s very satisfying.

Lately, Todd has been playing with the theme of Chicks With Swords; I’ve been playing with the idea of wrap tops (I just got back from a Costumer’s Guild West convention, where I learned all kinds of new fun things to do with yardage!). We’ve been putting both of these ideas together in the last few shoots, and the results have been pretty awesome. Check out Todd’s latest photos and see for yourself! And, after that; go out and do something that terrifies you. You may just wind up having more fun than you thought possible.

-Jen Raven