On a recent shoot, my client – expressing how nervous she was being in front of the camera – asked me if I was nervous as well.
I was caught off guard for a moment, because no one has ever asked me that before a shoot, and it isn’t something I’ve thought about for a long time.
I’ve become so comfortable with my craft, and helping my clients to be comfortable in front of the camera, being nervous about shoots myself hasn’t crossed my mind for years.
I film with people almost every day who see me pull out the camera and immediately become more tense – but I find as soon as we start talking, the nerves settle and the camera is forgotten… well almost. As forgotten as it can be while it watches from the corner of the room.
However, the thought has been on my mind ever since; about how most of my clients feel when being on camera is completely new to them. I wanted to share what a film shoot is like from the other side of the camera…
When I first started this journey I used to feel as though I wasn’t as interesting or important as the amazing people I had the opportunity to capture on camera. People with skills or wisdom way beyond anything I could achieve. I saw everyone as so much grander than myself.
But they would always ask me for my advice as they sat in front of the camera – the most seemingly confident person could falter. They would ask; how did they sound, how did they look, did the words they spoke make any sense at all…
As time went on and my experience grew I came to realise that they saw me as an expert in my field just as I saw them as an expert in theirs. Thinking back, it seems almost silly I couldn’t see this before.
This shift in mindset completely changed how I worked with clients.
When I arrive for shoots now I suppose there’s a sense of nerves, but those nerves come from a place of excitement rather than apprehension.
I believe everyone knows something we do not.
I always come into a shoot expecting to learn something from the person I am interviewing. I come in with genuine interest about their life, area of work, field of study, personal craft… whatever it may be. They are the expert, and for a few hours I am their student; documenting all they have to tell.
I am often told that having a film crew come visit for the day is the most exciting part of someone’s week – on the flip side, being invited to see the inner workings of someone else’s industry, business or expertise is equally as fascinating to me.
There really is nothing like listening to a person talk about something they love. Their voice changes. Their eyes light up. Time stands still for them. It’s mesmerising.
It is a gift to receive someone’s story. To be granted the trust to tell it on a much larger scale is another thing entirely.
My answer was no, I wasn’t nervous about the shoot, because for me, bringing my camera out is a chance to use my passion to help someone share theirs.