Do You Get Pre-Shoot Anxiety?

We talk a lot about how to ease the anxiety of our subjects and make them more comfortable in front of our lens, but being behind the camera can cause just as much anxiety. This great video discusses the topic of pre-shoot anxiety and dealing with it as a creative. 

Coming to you from James Quantz Jr, this important video discusses the topic of pre-shoot anxiety. This is something that I think does not get discussed enough. Certainly, this is something a good amount of us suffer from. I have been plenty nervous before important shoots before, enough that it sometimes negatively affects my mental health. One thing that helps me quite a bit is to really work on preparing, even to the point of over-preparation. I can then take a bit of comfort in knowing that I have done everything I can to give myself the best chances of success, which always helps me to feel more confident when I arrive to the event or walk onto set. And of course, just basic self-care like getting a good night of sleep, eating properly the day of the shoot, and the like make a huge difference. Check out the video above for the full rundown.

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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