How to Have Confidence and Clarity on Camera

I recently caught up with my makeup course student, Hatha Yoga Expert, Ellie Smith. Our conversation was filled with insightful tips on how beginners can start their yoga journey with more ease and clarity.

During our talk, we also touched upon her transition to teaching yoga through video and how she initially struggled with feeling self-conscious on camera. She shares how Makeup for Media 101 has helped her feel more confident and given her a step-by-step process for preparing for on-camera appearances. Here’s a sample of our conversation about how her newfound confidence has led her to create more videos and reels for Instagram, which has resulted in increased engagement and positive feedback from viewers. Watch the full interview here.

Q: Can you tell us about yourself?

A: I have been living in Japan for 17 years, and currently teach at a local university. On the side, I help yoga beginners get into the realm of yoga without too much confusion. I work on helping people start yoga with a little bit more clarity and ease.

Q: What is one thing you would want a beginner to know about yoga?

A: Yoga is so much bigger than we first assume, and it’s important to take it slow and steady.

Q: I noticed that much of what you do is digital and through video. What was the transition like to teaching yoga through video?

A: It was a bit awkward at first, as I was used to teaching online to university students who just wanted to get off the call as quickly as possible. I felt self-conscious and was forgetting the purpose of the class, which is to focus on the student.

Q: When it came to being on camera, what did you want to feel like versus what you were feeling like?

I was always concerned about how I looked and whether what I was saying was landing on the students in the class. I didn’t want to worry about my appearance so much and take the focus off me and put it back on the students. Makeup for Media 101 helped me take that load off and gave me more confidence to focus on my teaching.

Q: What was your experience like with Makeup for Media 101?

The course exceeded my expectations in terms of the depth of information it provided. One thing that stood out to me was the emphasis on skincare routines, which I had always avoided in the past. But the course made it clear that good skincare is crucial for a successful makeup routine, and I ended up buying a skincare set that I now use twice daily.

The course also provided resources like a brush guide and PDF downloads, which I found incredibly helpful. I took these resources with me when I went shopping for makeup and was able to make quick and confident decisions on what to buy. This was a huge change from before when I would spend the whole afternoon testing different lipsticks on my arm and not buying anything.

How has your camera approach changed since taking this makeup course?

Since taking the course, my approach to being on camera has completely changed. Before, I didn’t really have an approach – I would just turn the camera on and hope for the best. But now, I have a clear step-by-step process that takes me about 15 minutes to complete before being on camera. This is a huge time-saver compared to the hour and a half of procrastination I used to do before.

Overall, I’m much more confident in my makeup skills and my ability to present myself on camera. I’ve even started making more videos and posting them on Instagram, which has led to increased engagement and positive feedback from viewers. I’m grateful for the knowledge and skills I gained from Makeup for Media 101 and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their makeup and on-camera presence. If you look at my Instagram, you’ll see that the last couple of weeks it’s all reels now because now I’m not worrying about it so much. I can focus more on what I’m saying and less on “Oh God! Is that what I look like on the camera?” when looking back at myself.

What has showing up more in video done for your engagement?

I have noticed more engagement with reels anyway because of the Instagram algorithm. I also received a lovely message from a friend earlier who was saying that it’s looking a little bit crisper on Instagram. So, I think it’s being noticed, and it’s adding a professional element to it where there wasn’t one before. I think that’s making a difference.

What would you say to someone who is maybe considering or on the fence about joining this makeup course?

If you’re nervous about being on camera in any way, then do the course because the course is going to give you confidence and clarity, and you’ve got lifetime access. For me, it’s a no-brainer. The confidence that you’re going to get at the end is invaluable.

What’s next for you, and what can we look forward to with you?

I am working on building up Instagram, building up the Facebook group, and hopefully putting together a little starter course for yoga beginners. I’m in the planning stages of that, but I will be hopefully filming some of that in the second half of this year.

Ellie, it is obvious that you are passionate about helping others and finding innovative ways to share your expertise with the world. Thanks for lending such great insights about the benefits of yoga and how makeup and on-camera skills can help build confidence and reach a wider audience.

To learn more about Makeup for Media 101, visit salinabeasley.co.