Part 1: Becoming the Woman Behind the Brand
This is the story of the internal and creative shifts that led to me being seen.
This was originally created as a free newsletter through my conscious creative business, Substance. I don’t usually repurpose content, but I felt called to share this here on Substack. If you’d like to receive our weekly newsletter of stories, offerings, and behind-the-scenes from Substance, you can sign up here.
—
This is part 1 of a 3-part series where I take you behind-the-scenes of our most recent brand campaign portrait shoot—through the lens of a conscious creator.
When I first started my journey as a creative entrepreneur nine years ago, I thought “making it” meant producing a big, overly-produced brand campaign shoot. I thought it meant faking it until you make it. I thought it meant looking the part.
I believed that if I could just create the most inspirational aesthetic — editorial, styled, and aspirational — it would prove to the world, and to myself, that I was valuable. Worthy.
So, I did just that. I booked the big house. Wore the rented clothes. Posed for the perfect images. The result? A beautiful, aspirational, non-embodied campaign shoot.
The complete opposite of what it means to make something of substance.
Even now, when I look back at those photos (image above), I see a version of myself trying to be something I wasn't — ultimately avoiding my truth. I was trying to control everything. I booked the hair and makeup artist. I booked the stylist. I had lost too much weight. I was in an unhealthy relationship. I was wearing rented clothes.
In every area of my life during that shoot, I was trying to be seen for something outside of myself to prove my worth. I learned a lot from that shoot. So when it came time to do the Substance campaign shoot, I did it differently.
The focus of the shoot was to capture images of our muses — the creative, visionary women we support. The brand is more than me. It's about the women we serve. But deep down, I knew I wasn't ready to be the face of Substance.
The only photos of me on the website were from two earlier shoots — one of which was that overly produced, overly polished version of myself, shot in a Venice home that wasn't mine. It didn't reflect my real life or real style. It was the version of me I thought people needed to see in order to believe in my work.
The other shoot (pictured above) came during a different kind of moment in time. I had just left a 4-year relationship. I was living in a sublet, trying to rebuild my life, and endlessly looking for a place for my dog, Henry and I to call home. I was in the depths of sadness, but also incredibly hungry to get out of survival mode.
By the time the website launched (July 2023), I was navigating chronic pain, mental illness, and the grief of having to leave that apartment — a place I couldn't maintain because of how sick I had become. The reality was: I was not in a good place.
The truth is, I wasn't ready to be seen. I didn’t want to even take a photo with me in it. I wasn’t ready. But, the crew on set, insisted on me being in a few photos. I barely post them, because I know that I was not in a good space. I wasn’t ready (image below).
I didn't feel the way I feel now — as the embodied leader of Substance.
I had to become the woman of Substance in order to be the face of it.
Over the past eight months, I've been on a deep journey to come home to truth. And this past season, I finally felt ready — ready to be seen for who I really am. No hiding. No shapeshifting. No performance.
Just me. Needing nothing from the outside, because I have it all inside.
This portrait shoot was simple — the way I want to create moving forward.
Shot in April while I was in LA, by my best friend Paula, in my other best friend's photography DTLA studio.
I wore clothes from my actual capsule wardrobe. No stylist. No hair and makeup artist. Just the pieces I wear every day — the ones that feel like me.
We built the shot list around simplicity: close-ups, mid-length, full body, details.
Every element was chosen with a clear intention — to reflect who I am, today.
And that's exactly what the shoot captured: my essence.
This is the kind of creative direction I now bring to the brands I work with.
If you're ready to create a brand campaign that feels like you — one that reflects your truth and your embodied essence — I'd love to support you in bringing that to life.
Book a discovery call to begin crafting the creative direction for your own brand campaign shoot here → Schedule today.
Big shout out and thank you to my creative collaborators who helped bring this vision to life: Paula Bartosiewicz, film & digital photographer, and Hannah Mills, founder of Sungold Studio, where we filmed and shot all the content in DTLA. I am so grateful and appreciative of both of your gifts, talents, and vision.
x Amanda
—
Amanda Chase is the Founder, Creative Director, and Editor-in-Chief of Substance—a platform empowering female creatives with the tools and resources to build a life and business that reflect their inner dreams and desires. Through conscious creative mentorships, group coaching programs, a global online community, workshops, creative partnerships, podcasts, and editorial content, we educate and inspire all creatives to bring their dreams to life.
Loved reading this. Loved your vulnerability and can so resonate with your inner journey. Thank you
loved reading about your process! and loved every stage you shared <3