Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Claire.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
To be honest, it’s something I feel into somewhat by accident. During my doctoral program, I desperately needed an outlet that was fun and creative, and as I’d always loved makeup I decided to start a beauty instagram page. Play is an under appreciated aspect of well-being, and entering into the online beauty community really helped me regain a sense of playfulness that I had been missing during my studies.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There was (and continues to be) such a learning curve. As I mentioned, I am an academic — my background is in philosophy. I did eleven years of higher education to earn my doctorate, and not once during that time did I learn skills like negotiating rates, writing and reviewing contracts, pitching to brands and responding to inquiries. I’ve really had to figure things out on my own, and I have definitely made mistakes along the way! Social media and content creation are incredibly unregulated industries, so it’s very easy to get taken advantage of, and over time you learn to see warning signs of bad actors. You’d be shocked by how many brands (to this day!) try to get creators to work for free.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a beauty content creator, meaning I create photo and video work that features makeup and skincare products. My speciality is actually macro lip swatch videos (think very close up footage of lipstick application) — which is honestly such a funny thing to say! “Hi, I’m Sophia and I apply lipstick for a living.”
I definitely consider myself to be more on the content creator side of things as opposed to the influencer side, as I don’t sell to the camera. Instead I create really aesthetic visual representations of products in use, the type of stuff that you might see on a brand’s website. Polished, high quality, professional. It’s definitely what sets me apart, and I think it’s why brands continue to seek me out in an over-saturated industry.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Huge shutout to my husband, who is a fine art photographer. When I told him back in 2017 that I wanted to start a makeup page, he immediately went to work finding the right equipment for me to use, and is definitely my biggest fan. But — and let me be clear as people often assume otherwise — I do all of my own camera work and editing! That being said, having someone with his knowledge and experience in my corner is an invaluable asset, and I am so grateful to him.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sosodoesmakeup
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sosodoesmakeup
