This is What Happened When I Decided to Be Seen How personal branding became my power move, my spiritual practice and my greatest act of self-trust

Jul 9
3 min read

Updated: Aug 4

By Raez Argulla

Back in late 2021, I had just quit my social media job to focus full-time on my brand photography business and to plan my wedding. I thought I’d feel free, creatively on fire, living the dream. Instead? I was tired. Stuck. Drowning in Canva carousels, blurry phone selfies, and way too many “shoulds.”

I was promoting everything—product shoots, personal branding, lifestyle content—casting a net so wide I was practically catching air. And yet none of it felt like me in the slightest.

Post-wedding, I had time to breathe. Time to listen. And what I realized during a 2AM journal sesh when I couldn’t sleep was this: it wasn’t my strategy that felt off. It was my energy. I wasn’t actually showing up. Not as myself, anyway.

I’d spent years managing social media for other brands, essentially cosplaying as different people online—channeling their voices, their stories, their personality. And I was good at it. But when it came time to show up for myself? Nothing. Crickets.

I realized I’d become fluent in everyone else’s brand but lost my connection to my own. That hit hard.

I was furious. Mad that I’d over-delivered for others and under-recognized myself. Mad that I had real talent but had handed my power away for... applause? A paycheck? I was seething that being visible—for me—felt so damn hard.

Once the anger settled, I decided: no more. I was going to take everything I knew—branding, content, voice, visibility—and use it on myself. But it wasn’t just a mindset shift. It was nervous system work. Identity work. Spiritual work.

I had to unlearn the idea that personal branding was exhausting, performative, and not meant for me. I had to get honest about how scared I was to be seen. Because once you’re visible, you can’t hide behind your perfectionism anymore. And that’s vulnerable as hell.

So I started small.

I turned the camera on myself instead of hiding behind the graphic text slides I designed for my stories. I made silly trending Reels. I did a photo swap with another brand photographer so I could finally see myself through someone else’s lens.

And guess what? People responded. In fact, they LOVED it.

Now, it’s literally my job to help women step into their own spotlight. I don’t just take pretty pictures. I walk my clients through a full visibility process that’s part strategy, part embodiment, part hype-woman-in-your-corner energy.

Most of my clients show up to their first shoot nervous. Not sure what to wear. Unsure if they’ll look “on brand.” Terrified they’ll look awkward. (Spoiler: they don’t!) But after planning every detail together, with me guiding the vibe, the visuals and the energy—they show up differently.

They exhale. They soften. They start to see themselves.

And when the final gallery hits their inbox? They’re not just looking at “great photos.” They come face to face with the woman they’ve been becoming this whole time.

This is what visibility really is: not a performance. Not a “hack.” It’s embodiment.

It’s remembering that your future self already exists. She’s out there doing the thing. She’s thriving, showing up, being fully seen. So you might as well start moving like her now.

You can stay small. Or you can be seen. Choose wisely.

Because every day you’re silent, someone with half your talent is getting opportunities just for being louder.

You’re not just the face of your brand.

You’re the main character and the author!

So write your story.

And star in it.

Connect With Raez