Making space for vulnerability - personal branding session with Chante Harris
Chante Harris is an urban sustainable growth consultant and a founder of the Women of Color Collective in Sustainability. She comes from a family of civil servants, and grew up with public service in mind. After working with a variety of stakeholders and sectors over the years, she is now in a place where she is working with mission-aligned individuals and entities to advance economies that are sustainable, regenerative, and inclusive.
From the beginning, I loved Chante’s commitment to her own story, to being herself and expressing where she is right now. We talked a lot about her family and the influence they had on her, and her vision for her life in the future. The session was going to be about transformation, about capturing the confidence and power of a woman who is comfortable in her own skin.
In this interview, we talk about how Chante and I worked together to bring out that confidence, comfort and vulnerability in her session.
What was your intention behind this session?
I spent a lot of my life trying to portray myself as someone or something I thought. needed to be, in order for people to either invest in me or believe in me or take me seriously.
Now, I’m at a point in my life where none of that matters any more. It’s more about, “Do I see myself? Do I invest in myself? Do I believe in myself?”
This [photo session] came at an appropriate time in my life where I’m — not reinventing — more re-accepting myself. Giving myself the space to appreciate who I am and accept myself fully.
As someone passionate about urban growth and sustainability, I also wanted to incorporate the built environment and transportation in my shoot, which is why I was drawn to DUMBO as a location.
What was the process of creating a Mood Board for your shoot like?
I had created a storyboard for a photo shoot in the past, but this time it was very different! It was less about who or what I wanted to look like, and much more about my journey and story.
We started with the emotions and feelings I wanted to convey, which was made easier because the process had this vulnerability and openness baked in from the very beginning. I’ve never had a shoot where the emotions and story was so key. You sharing your own story at the beginning of the process set the stage for it.
Chante’s Mood Board had a lot of photos of Tessa Thompson, who also happens to be one of my favorite actresses (I love WestWorld!). Link to the Board.
While creating the Mood Board, I appreciated that this was the story of who I am through my own journey and story, and not wanting to just portray or copy someone else. It’s so easy to spend all day on Pinterest and just want to look like Michelle Obama or Angela Bassett, but the process let me fully elucidate where I am and depict that.
I didn’t even think of Tessa Thompson until I saw a photo of her and I was like, “Oh, right, that’s how I feel! That is where I believe I am in my own communication with myself”
What were some of the values you wanted to convey through your photos?
The most important thing for me was to capture a sense of comfort in my own skin. Tessa’s photos on the Mood Board reflected that to me, along with some others, such as the one of Julia Roberts in a comfy sweater.
I also love how Tessa and others show confidence, but not in the typical aggressive manner. It’s a softer, gentler, more feminine confidence that I’m drawn to.
I wanted to different sides of me: my joyful, happy smiling side as well as my thoughtful, contemplative side.
And of course, we had talked about how I wanted to incorporate an urban environment with transportation; bridges, trains and so on.
How did the actual session feel for you?
It was almost a form of discovery for myself!
Upto that point, we had talked about so much, and finally the session let me actually exhibit that story!
In the beginning, I wasn’t really sold on my ability to communicate the things I wanted to. But as the shoot went on, I felt more comfortable and okay with being vulnerable and putting myself out there. It felt really great to have a session where it wasn’t just about looking beautiful, but about really communicating who I am.
Even as we were taking the photos, you were reminding me about my Mood Board and what I wanted to reflect on. It made me feel that you were really listening to me every step of the way and using that to capture what I really desired. That made it feel emotionally safe to be vulnerable.
During the shoot, you shared about some challenging and difficult experiences in your life. What do you think helped you feel emotionally safe sharing that?
I did feel comfortable! The most important reason was that the entire process itself kind of started with vulnerability. Any time you enter into discussion with someone willing to be vulnerable themselves, it opens a door for you to feel like you’re seen and its ok to share. Our initial conversation laid the groundwork for being really open and committed to sharing.
Also, I feel that you have a really great gift of listening. It feels like when I’m talking, you’re really hearing me.
That was my experience throughout the process, but definitely during the shoot! I never felt rushed during the process. Even when we were taking pauses, there was real conversation. It felt like you encouraged me to go into my story to the extent I was comfortable, without pressuring me, but just making enough space to go as granular as I wanted. I appreciated that!
Would you recommend this experience to a friend? What would you tell them?
I’ve already shared it with friends, and I described it as a gift you give to yourself; not just the photos but the entire experience. It feels like what you are doing is really about showing the humanity of people. The experience made me reflect on the vision I have for my life, how I communicate and who I am. And of course, I love the photos. Even though I didn’t change wardrobe much, it feels like different settings, environments and ways of capturing who I am. That’s really exciting and beautiful to see.
