I wouldn’t say I grew up a shy child; our home videos paint a picture of a loud, bossy 6-year-old putting on performances for anyone who looked her in the eye, belting out the lyrics to Little Girls from the ‘Annie’ Soundtrack. I had zero shame & was clearly thirsty for the spotlight.

With age, I grew increasingly self-aware and somewhat insecure of myself – as most teens and young adults do. It probably started as a result of innocent middle-school bullying – by innocent I’m referring to petty teasing; nothing permanent or detrimental to my lifestyle today. Nonetheless it was enough for me to feel uncomfortable whenever several pairs of eyes aimed in my direction, for whatever reason.

..Hilarious that I used to fear attention during this time in my life, only to end up in a career that demands it!

So when I started my blog and began focusing on it as a business, one of the bigger things I knew I’d have to overcome is my insecurity of taking photos in public. Living in any major city means not having the luxury of locations to yourself. If I wanted the shot, I’d have to prepare to be captured in front of a crowd of bystanders, tourists, and attempting photo bombers.

There are still times when I feel insecure taking photos, especially when people around me stop & stare or make comments about what I’m doing. But at the end of the day, my goal is to get the shot at all costs. So I had to come up with a strategy to mentally get myself through the insecurity in order to see the job through.

Here are my tricks to feeling more confident about posing in public for street style photos:

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EVERYONE TAKES PHOTOS IN THE CITY

The number of selfie sticks and tourists taking pictures is uncountable. You’re not the only one trying to capture the moment.

NO ONE IS THINKING ABOUT YOU & WHAT YOU’RE DOING AFTER 3 SECONDS

Ask yourself if you’ve thought about someone you saw being photographed for the rest of your day. Chances are you completely forgot about him/her less than a minute after walking past them. The same goes for the people walking by you; they truly don’t care.

PEOPLE STARE BECAUSE THEY THINK YOU’RE IMPORTANT

For the people that stop & stare, most often it’s because they think you’re part of a professional photo shoot or something alike. If they take pictures of you on their own, then it’s probably more a precaution for them to have proof they saw you getting photographed before whatever publication they think you’ll be in comes out. Similar to if you see a celeb on the street casually walking by, you just want the photographic evidence you saw him/her in that moment. My advice: OWN IT.

YOU’LL NEVER SEE THESE PEOPLE AGAIN

There’s a 97% chance you’ll NEVER see these people watching you get photographed again. It’s not like high school where you’ll constantly run into someone and be reminded of a weird pose you did (or if your dress blows up with the wind…lol) So don’t let little awkward moments get to you if they happen; most of the time they do & you can’t do anything about it. So own the shoot, be daring with your poses, and treat each photo session like it’s your last – because it technically is for that current audience watching you.

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What are your tricks to posing in public? I’d love to hear what works for you in the comments below!

Tweed Top: Zara | Denim: Frame | Loafers: Sam Edelman | Bag: Furla | Earrings: Kendra Scott – color above coming soon