A Hara The Label feature
Notes on being camera shy and tips on how to get featured in publications.
Last November, Georgia Hilmer came to hang out with me in Naponach, NY. I was spending the month alone in a friend’s upstate retreat, in desperate need of the type of healing that could only be accessed through solitude.
Georgia was there to photograph me on behalf of HARA, who wanted to feature me in their Hara Earth Woman series. The whole thing felt…. serendipitous.
For starters, I’ve been part of the Hara ecosystem for years: through gifting, campaigns, and hanging out with Ali (HARA’s founder) when she visited NYC a few years ago, I’ve been able to cultivate a real relationship with the brand. Not to mention, I’m honestly just a fan of the world they’ve built. Ethical, sustainable, and naturally made/dyed, HARA creates clothing that is in partnership with Mother Earth, which directly supports my own views on fashion and sustainability.
Secondly, I’ve been a pretty big fan of Georgia’s for a few years. I discovered her work on Instagram, and immediately added her to a list of photographers that I’d like to work with. You can imagine the joy that shot through me when I found out she would be the photographer for the feature.
I’ve spent a good amount of time in front of the camera over the span of my career, but this would be my first time being photographed by anyone other than my own self in almost a year. I was rusty, nervous, and felt extremely awkward. Candidly, I think there’s something deeply unnatural about being photographed. There is an intuitive hyper awareness that activates when the lens is pointed at you that I don’t think I will ever overcome. I am in awe of the people who do it effortlessly.
Nonetheless, we moved through the shoot with relative ease, and when I saw the final photos I felt nothing but confidence.
Although HARA is the latest interview I’ve done, I’m no strangers to being featured in publications (Forbes, Rolling Stone, Essence, Huffington Post, Paper Magazine, and many more) I am often asked: how do you get the opportunity to be interviewed or featured by brands and publications, and while I do not have a one-size-fits-all formula, I’ll share my thoughts on how I think I may be maintaining visibility.
Be interesting. And I don’t mean in a gimmicky way. People are magnetized by uniqueness. It breaks up the monotony we are so constantly inundated with. When you live a life full of interesting ideas, thoughts, people, places, and things… people genuinely want to know more.
Meet people. Again, not in a manipulative way, but be genuine in how you interact with others. Build relationships and actively be part of communities. The more visible you are, the more likely someone who knows you may want to feature you.
Put yourself out there. Don’t be afraid to pitch yourself to the publications or brands that you want to feature you. Shoot your shot, you literally don’t know what may come from it.
Anytime I am interviewed or featured I feel a rush of gratitude. Grateful that the work I do is revered by like minds. Grateful to be seen, heard, and understood. And grateful to be celebrated for who and what I am.
If you’re interested in reading the full interview as well as seeing the rest of the images, they can be found HERE.