‘Oh my God, you look KNACKERED! … are you okay?

…Is what someone said when I popped over to their house to drop a gift off once. I wasn’t tired, I was just being a middle-aged woman standing under a very unflattering porch light. The eye bags, the marionette lines… harsh light & dark shadows exposing all the flaws in my ageing face.

I will never complain about getting older. Ageing is a privilege (better than the alternative). I don’t have to love all the BS that comes with it, though. I’m just going to come out & say it - losing your looks isn’t that fun. On the whole, I am happy with the way I look, & I work hard in the gym to keep it all going, eat healthy food, mostly (so that I don’t feel guilty when I eat the naughty stuff). It’s all good. No one wants to look old and tired, though.

I know how important it is to show up in your business, to show your face. There’s plenty of data (and experience) that proves people engage with you more - and are more likely to buy your services -  if they know your face and trust what they see. I preach this. I help people with this. I’m scratching a living from photographing people so they can show up in their personal or corporate brand photography… but I’ve been aware that I haven’t been showing up myself. Which is crazy considering what I do.  ​​

So when I had a few minutes spare this week, I threw together a quick lighting setup at my kitchen table (a bit of the old ‘Rembrandt lighting’) & did some self-portraits. The first few shots I took were… not the best. God, things are worse than I thought… ageing is cruel. But then I smiled! I smiled with my eyes, I thought of love and all the good things in my life, & bam - I got shots of myself that I’d be happy to share with the world… or at least my limited social media following.

So the moral of the story? Yes, ageing can be annoying - but just keep smiling. You’ll look great.

I still absolutely hate it when people tell me I look tired, though.

Kitchen Table Self Portrait October 2025