I was so excited when my friend Sophia El’Rae agreed to come on the podcast because I knew she would be open to sharing so many tips for editing and transforming ay feed in to an aesthetic and cohesive work of art. In the last two years, she has released 15 presets and nearly tripled her income and sales (all while honing in on her purpose within her own content creation and making a move to empower women worldwide).

You can purchase Sophia’s gorgeous presets at the following site:

http://cultivatemotherhood.com/presets/?afmc=2b

(Heads up- its an affiliate link but hey if you’re going to buy these gorgeous and affordable sets anyway, you might as well support this little podcast endeavor so I can keep giving you more and more free advice!)

Notable timestamps:

3:00- How Sophia got started and how she got her first 10k followers

7:35- Why the current slow and stagnant growth trend on Instagram is turning in to a positive for the content we consume (silver lining)

9:45- How Sophia was able to transition her content and voice gracefully and what the response has been

18:10- Sophia’s money mindset and how she is diversifying her income (which is so super important for anyone working in this space. Instagram could be here today and gone tomorrow- what’s your plan?)

26:10- Are aesthetic feeds still important?

26:45- Sophia’s top tips for an aesthetic and cohesive feed

31:45- Why batching content is so important as a mom

33:10- Why presets are move valuable than just how they transform your photos

37:10- Rapid fire questions (and find out what gear Sophia uses!)

Where to find Sophia:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophia.elrae/
Blog: https://cultivatemotherhood.com
Sophia El’Rae presets: http://cultivatemotherhood.com/presets/?afmc=2b

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Christy Keane: 00:44 Mamas, I am super excited to chat with today’s guest. She’s an influencer, entrepreneur and just all around powerhouse mama Sophia El’ Rae. And not only does she have one of the most aesthetically inspiring feeds that I personally have seen, she also has the confidence to use her voice and platform to empower women through real and raw discussions. Um, so Sophia, I for one, have gotten to see you grow and transition your voice and your purpose in this space. And I am so proud of you and I am so excited to chat with you today. And why don’t you tell listeners a little bit more about who you are and what you do.

Sophia El’Rae: 01:19 Okay. Well Wow, what an introduction that was so thoughtful and kind. Um, thank you so much for having me. I’m, I’m a really happy to just share my heart on here today and gave some insight and hopefully some valuable tips for editing and preset stuff. And um, so yeah, my name is Sophia. My middle name is El Rae and I go by Sophia [inaudible] on my Instagram. We live here in Minnesota where it’s a winter most of the year. Oh my gosh.

Christy Keane: 01:52 And I love your accent. So

Sophia El’Rae: 01:55 that’s funny. Like I don’t hear an accent but I do hear that from people that like I love your accent. I’m like what accent bare. And it’s adorable. Yeah, my husband was recently deployed for a year, he just came back two weeks ago. So we are just kind of finding our new normal right now with our daughters. Um, Eloise is two going on three, Beatrice is six and we are overjoyed to have him back and just about to just enjoy summer.

Christy Keane: 02:24 Yes. And welcome home to your husband. I am a military wife as well and the deployments that my husband does are not nearly as long as that one. So I just give you so much credit. It is not easy and everything and doing it by yourself like you deserve a trophy momma. And we are just, I personally am so grateful and thankful for everything your husband does for us

Sophia El’Rae: 02:52 in our country. Man. Thank you. I really appreciate that. That’s very thoughtful.

Christy Keane: 02:56 Let’s dive right in. Like how’d you get started in this space and how did you get your first 10,000 followers?

Sophia El’Rae: 03:02 Yeah, so we um, moved down to Alabama about, uh, four years ago for my husband to do his helicopter training for the military. And while I was down there, um, I was away from my friends away from my family and I just had kind of this passion to start writing my motherhood journey because I wanted to find some community and support. I was feeling a little bit lonely. I’m just trying to kind of find my village down there in a whole new place. So I started my blog and Instagram, which started out as cultivate motherhood. A lot of people still know me as that. Um, and I started my blog where I just started writing about the beauty and struggle of motherhood in hopes to connect with more women. Um, we’re really not thinking anything of it other than Oh, it feels really good to get this out in writing.

Sophia El’Rae: 03:57 And out of that I just started connecting with a lot of mothers and started getting all these follows. So at first it kind of freaked me out. I’m like, wow, I had no idea people would be interested. You know, it was kind of like a scary feeling. Like, okay, I’m putting all this out there for the world to see and people are interested in. I just had no idea that would happen. And so I would say as far as my following to 10 k happened extremely organically than how growth is on Instagram now. Um, I was steadily gaining hundreds each week and every week my numbers would climb and climb and climb until I got to 10 k. And it was literally just by posting, sharing my blog, um, engaging with other accounts. Um, story shares wasn’t even a thing back then because we didn’t have stories. Um, and so it was organic growth as ordered.

Christy Keane: 04:59 Yeah, I guess it could be. I know we all miss that now. Oh, I know. I love that. And I, I, it was, it was a different time. Um, what year did you start your Instagram?

Sophia El’Rae: 05:08 Well, my daughter was two and she was born in 2013 so I want to say 2015.

Christy Keane: 05:17 Yeah, I know. It’s crazy how much it’s changed since then. Oh my goodness. And I think that was, yeah, but I think what your timing was so perfect because prior to that, there wasn’t really a lot of space for moms to come to, to have these conversations and to feel like what they’re feeling or talking about or day to day life is normal. So I think you kind of came on the scene right when people were really craving that and wanting people to open up about it and you did it beautifully.

Sophia El’Rae: 05:54 Yeah, thanks. I think it was also um, you know, not as saturated as it is now. I’m very true and so I kind of had an upper hand with growth because there just was not as many people on Instagram as there is now. So yeah, that’s kind of a smooth sailing up to 10 K to be honest. That’s

Christy Keane: 06:17 very lucky and very, very awesome for you. And you work really hard at the content that you create. So definitely worth every follower that comes your way. Like how I honestly am like how is this girl not in the like 500 thousands by now because I look at your page and everything that you put out and I am just such a fan. You are amazing.

Sophia El’Rae: 06:39 Yeah. I mean a question I ask myself too, but I don’t know the answer to that and I just have to believe that whoever is following me and whoever is coming in needs to see what I’m doing. And saying, um, I think a lot of us question like,

Christy Keane: 06:56 Oh, where’s the growth? Yeah. Especially right now. Yeah. Yeah. I’m like, okay, I’ve, I’ve joked about this before but I’m pregnant right now as you know. And before it’d be like, if you were pregnant, that was like instant growth. Oh no question asked and know that that is not the case this time around. I’m like, well, okay,

Sophia El’Rae: 07:19 it is so different. And that is so true. I mean I was always, that was part of it too when I got pregnant. Oh my gosh. It was like my Instagram is

Christy Keane: 07:27 floated, right? People look, brings people.

Sophia El’Rae: 07:30 Yeah. That was almost three years ago now. And it’s just different. So

Christy Keane: 07:35 yes, it is different and I think it has forced people to have to be a little bit more strategic and intentional about what they’re putting out there and how they’re putting it out there. And so I think that’s, you know, where people are trying to navigate now cause it’s not just sharing a feeling or a pretty photo and getting the followers. It’s, you kind of have to come here with more of a purpose and to be more. So that’s why I’m really trying to focus on purposeful online content creation with this podcast. I love, I love

Sophia El’Rae: 08:09 that I couldn’t agree more. And as frustrating as it is all the changes that Instagram has made, I think we have had to dig deeper as influencers and say, why am I here? Who is my audience? Who Cares? Like what am I doing? Like we have to dig so deep because it is so different and in a way that’s a really beautiful thing. I agree. It’s just so different because for so long that growth was so steady. I think we got caught up in the numbers and um, it’s been hard to not have that as a focus anymore and say, look what I’m putting out there, I feel passionate about and I feel is meaningful even if that I’m not growing like I want to.

Christy Keane: 08:58 And exactly. And that growth. One thing I always say to keep in mind and it’s frustrating that maybe following growth or engagement, growth plateaus or hot sauce or declines, whatever anyone’s case may be. But when you do dig for the more purposeful content than your personal growth though you, I mean, I see a big change there and how I look at myself in this space and how I serve others in this space. So yes, you know, even when it’s frustrating, there is that silver light and yes, I know he, you have transitioned your content and messaging a lot since you started and you just have such a strong voice on this platform. And I would love to hear more about how transitioning that content went for you and what the response has been.

Sophia El’Rae: 09:48 Yeah, such an interesting, I feel like there’s so many layers, but um, you know, when I started out, everyone did know me as cultivating motherhood. Um, I really focused on motherhood related topics, um, shared a lot of photos of my daughters. Um, and at some point there just was this longing in my heart to not put myself in a box of just motherhood. Um, and speaking to mothers and just women in general, whether they were single, um, they were widowed, they were mothers. I just wanted that to not be just a box related to just motherhood. Um, my passion ever since I’ve been young has been empowering women to see their whole selves, um, chase after their whole selves. And what does that look like to, um, find your whole self as a person and not just a mother, but who you are inside, what your passions are, what fuels that fire. Um, all became really important things to me. And I think it’s because, you know, when you become a mother sometimes it is easy to lose the identity of who you were before being a mom. Would you agree?

Christy Keane: 11:04 Oh yeah. 100%.

Sophia El’Rae: 11:06 Yeah. And so I just, you know, I’m sure I was feeling that too. And I just was feeling this other passion and desire to, um, really start empowering women outside of motherhood as well. And that’s when I began to shift my page, um, and changed it to Sophia El Rey. Um, I really just wanted my first name and um, I have done a lot of healing from trauma in my life that has not been easy. Um, I would say the past 10 years, um, I’ve either been in therapy, um, yoga, um, journaling, um, just a lot of um, reflecting inwardly and kind of processing that. And it was so transformative for me because I came from a background of sexual abuse. Um, I just was like, this is what I want to do. This is what I want to talk about. Um, I want women to know that they are not alone in sexual abuse and that that doesn’t have to be something that rules over their heart, their mind, their sexuality, the rest of their lives, that there is power in opening up about these hard topics. There’s power in vulnerability and I know we throw that word around like candy lately in this culture, but vulnerability is such a huge part of my journey. I think when you were able to share with another, you are opening up healing for another person. Maybe you’re opening up healing for hundreds of people or just one person, it doesn’t matter. But I always thought if I with hold my healing process, what if I’m withholding that from someone else?

Christy Keane: 12:47 Yeah. And that’s it’s number one. I am so proud of how brave you are when you share all of these things. I just admire that it takes a really courageous person. And I feel like God obviously had a calling on your life to share the message that you have [inaudible] you know, with being vulnerable and sharing that message. I think you hit the nail on the head. It’s almost like selfish. Not if you didn’t share, you know, if you knew that you could help someone else and you have this platform and the ability to help somebody else, he’ll, you know, it almost be selfish. They keep that to yourself even. But with the content and the topics that you talk about it, I would understand how that would be really, really scary for some people to openly put out in the world. So I know so many women definitely appreciate your candor with that.

Sophia El’Rae: 13:41 Mm. Yeah. I mean, I, I was scared to kind of start this direction. I was scared to kind of open up about these things, but I felt the courage and bravery to do it. But nonetheless, I was scared of what people would think, how people would respond. And once I started opening up very raw conversations in my stories, which I still do to this day, we talk about so many things that people are like, wow, I can’t believe you’re talking about that. I’m like, Yep, we’re going there. I love it. Like we’re going there, but people are participating in these conversations. People are writing in hundreds of people. And it’s like, that’s what’s keeping me going. And also just like amping that fire inside me to be like, yes, this is the direction I want to take. Maybe it would be so different for someone else, but I have this following, I have this passion in me to help women, to help humanity.

Sophia El’Rae: 14:37 Like it’s just, it’s so deep in me and so meaningful to me. Um, and so it’s just like, it’s an honor that I get to do this type of work and that I get to this safe space for people to be seen and heard because that’s exactly what I needed. I just needed to be seen and heard no matter how traumatic it was, no matter how painful it was. So it’s more like lately I just feel such a deep honor that I get to cultivate this space for women to like feel safe in their sexuality, to feel safe in their gender, like to feel safe in their anxiety and postpartum depression. Like all of those things matter so deeply.

Christy Keane: 15:23 They do. And you know what? You do it so beautifully and naturally. I think that’s just something that really sets you apart. Like I don’t know what it is, but you just have an energy about you. It’s almost like a modern day Marilyn Monroe or one of those classic, I mean seriously. That is what I think about when when I see them like, oh you just have this classic female empowerment, just gorgeous energy and it radiates from you naturally and authentically because sometimes you know, sometimes it’s not. You might see the women empowerment it, it’s so, so important and it just for some you just do it so beautifully. I just can’t compliment you enough about what you’re doing and I’m so here for the messages that you are putting out there to the world lately. I just love seeing women come together and feel okay to talk about sexuality and life after babies. Cause it definitely changes as a mom to like

Sophia El’Rae: 16:22 absolutely. Yeah, for sure. And I think it’s like these are like such taboo subjects and they shouldn’t be like, they just shouldn’t be. These are normal parts of who we are, how we express ourselves, how we move through our life, through our body. Like, I just, I want to normalize these topics

Christy Keane: 16:44 and I think just as when we were talking about earlier, just your timing and what content people are craving and you just being this light at a really great timing for it is, is really awesome too. Because I think right now people, moms, especially in women especially, are craving that vulnerability, that realness and that raw, let’s, let’s dig past all the pretty pictures and let’s, you know, go a little deeper. So I appreciate all that you’re doing with that. Yeah, there’s influencers doing that too and I so appreciate that. Yeah, it’s great. Like I said, like I said, it’s not a bad thing that everyone’s being forced to be. Yeah. A little more intentional and purposeful because it’s, it’s sparking all these really beautiful conversations and feelings and I love it. I fully believe that. And I know I just mentioned people getting past the pretty pictures to dig deeper, but you are someone who creates stunning, stunning photography and you’re someone who’s been really about diversifying your income in this space. And I know you do a lot of really content rich brand work as well as have a thriving essential oils business on here and you saw appreciative presets. So I think it’d be super helpful to share what’s your money mindset is in this space and how it’s

Sophia El’Rae: 18:09 kind of changed your life. Ah, yes. It literally has changed our life. Um, I never saw myself as a working mom. Um, I always have this idea in my head that I would just be a stay at home mom. That was kind of like my desire and my passion. But, um, once I started my blog and my Instagram and kind of what, just finding all these interests in things that I was loving this outlet for creativity, I was very drawn to work, but loving the idea that I got to still do it at home with my babies. Yes. And then never ever imagined the type of income I could make working literally maybe 10 hours a week. I mean, honestly like creating always, I always tell people like that, say like, Oh, you just share the pretty pictures. It’s like I share the realness in my words, but nobody wants to see the crumbs under my couch.

Sophia El’Rae: 19:05 And nobody followed me on Instagram because I shared crumbs under my couch. Like for me, photography arts, like expressing who I am through photos is a form of art and is my outlet for creativity. I’ll never stop taking beautiful pictures because it sparks joy in my heart. Um, and it’s a part of who I am in the part of the art that I’m putting out there. Um, and so I think there’s many ways to stay real and authentic for your words and through your stories and discussions, but that you don’t have to take away that photography and just share, you know, pictures of your dirty house or, and if you do, I think that’s amazing. Like you have to do what you want to do. But I feel so comfortable like putting that art form out there and just feeling really creative in that. Um, and so I just thought, I want it to be smart.

Sophia El’Rae: 20:01 It’s like I’m a businesswoman now. Like I want to be smart with my income. And I was like, what if Instagram goes away tomorrow? Where’s my money coming from? You know, what am I doing to have residual income if I don’t have those brand partnerships anymore? Um, I have always been interested in editing. It’s probably one of my most favorite things that I do on Instagram, whether that’s working with a brand or just doing my own photography. Editing is life giving to me. It’s so fun. It’s so creative. And so, you know, presets, I don’t know, they began to be like a huge thing. I’d say like two years ago, a lot of people didn’t even know what they were and I started using them and I just couldn’t believe how easy it was to take your feed from like whatever dark and kind of boring should I say. I don’t know. And just like one click in your feed is transformed. Um, and I was just really intrigued by that and I just started, um, learning about light room, uh, watching videos, youtube videos. And I remember just making my first presets and people just saying like, how are you editing your photos and blah, blah, blah. And I thought, Gosh, I should start selling these. Well, I mean, two years later I have over, I think like 15 presets now for sale. Um, and they are different options. They are so beautiful.

Christy Keane: 21:31 I actually use, I didn’t know, I don’t know if you know this, I use, um, there was an app you mentioned Malibu presets I think. Yup. Yeah. And you had some presets in there, so I actually subscribed to you so I can use them for the videos.

Sophia El’Rae: 21:49 Thank you so much. Yeah, the presets have been really fun and creative for me to do, but I never anticipated how many people would be interested in my presets. It’s been like such a joy and honor to see that last year I made over $30,000 in sales on my presets. Um, and I never, I never thought that that would be a thing, you know, and I’m, you know, looking to double and triple that this year and it’s amazing. It’s, yeah, it’s such a huge blessing for my family. And so I have the preset sales, I have my brand partnerships, um, with Instagram. And I always like to tell myself, I started out, my first paid post was $80 and I thought that was just amazing. I was so excited to create a photo and get paid $80 and I mean it was just, I learned so much along the way and through really just asking other influencers.

Sophia El’Rae: 22:46 I mean it’s just kind of, I didn’t know, I just kept asking questions and you know, now I’m up to eight 50 a thousand just one photo. And so I like to tell people like, just start somewhere like if someone offers you $50 $80 take it. Like that’s, that’s amazing. And it can only just keep going up from there. If you’re putting out good content, if you’re, you know, engaging with your audience, all those things, like you have to start somewhere. And that’s just like such a beautiful thing for me to look at and see where I was and where I’ve gone. Um, exactly.

Christy Keane: 23:20 And everybody’s, like you said, everybody starts somewhere. And so smaller campaigns in the beginning, if you’re somebody who’s listening and just starting out, whether it’s free product or maybe less money than you were anticipating when you’re starting out, that’s a great time for you to practice honing in on your photography and your editing and content creation because I think see it on Instagram as being a little bit easier than you think of it as easy money, but they can go to your feed right now and see, like I said, you produce really content rich material for these brands and that’s very valuable for them. So, and I’m sure it didn’t start out that I’m sure your first brand posts probably didn’t start out. So it’s, it’s definitely a marathon, not a sprint. And like they say,

Sophia El’Rae: 24:19 yeah, just start out with what you have and work, work your way up, take that free tee shirt and post about it in a meaningful way. Um,

Christy Keane: 24:31 and in an excited way too, right? Like be excited, like don’t take, don’t, don’t. If you’re not excited about it and when you are excited about it and just grateful the opportunities just start to come.

Sophia El’Rae: 24:44 Yes. And be kind and courteous to the brands that you’re working with. I really do feel that that makes a difference because they could come around two months later and ask you to work with them again. They could ask you to come on for a full year and work with them. So I think it’s so important that we’re excited about the things we’re promoting, but also that we’re like just super kind and courteous to the brands we’re working with so that we can have the potential of working with them again or on an ongoing, you know, wait like that’s amazing.

Christy Keane: 25:13 Exactly. And I think people who would be tuning into this podcast are definitely thinking of their social media, whether it’s Instagram, youtube, whatever their platform of choice is. I think they’re thinking of it as a business. So you know, when you are working with these brands you want to, you know, respond and deliver like you are a business right back to them and very respectfully and I am, I’m sure you do a great job at that.

Sophia El’Rae: 25:42 Absolutely. Yeah, I think that’s a very important piece.

Christy Keane: 25:45 I’m just thrilled with all the success you’re having business wise for your family and how this is able to bless your family and with the presets, I am not even surprised that those are taking off like they are because they really can transform a feed to be really artsy and feminine and cohesive and whether or not people want to believe it, a cohesive feed is important on Instagram right now. I think it’s something that if you are treating your Instagram like a business, brands are looking at that and the beauty of stories is that gives you a place to kind of take down the filters and be a little bit more real and raw. But I think people still are craving the pretty pictures and um, the beautiful cohesive feeds. So I’d love for you to dive into your top tip for Instagram aesthetics because this is where you are queen, like your content and your photography having a coast cohesive feed and how you put it all together. Like, tell, tell the listener, somebody who has no idea where to even begin, what you would do, like start to finish to make a cohesive feed, go from no cohesion to a beautifully aesthetically pleasing feed.

Sophia El’Rae: 26:58 So fun. I love talking about stuff like this. Um, so I would say start out with an APP. Um, there are so many Planoly preview snug where you can see all of your photos laid out in front of your eyes and it’s like a puzzle. You can move them around, you can see which photo works best. Um, this is something I still do to this day because I do think picture placement is important. Um, if you are using your feet as a business for brands to look at. Um, and then I would say invest in, um, camera equipment and if you don’t have the money to invest in camera equipment. I started out taking photos on my iPhone and I did that for two years straight and I was able to deliver some amazing content because our phones are so nice now, especially the cameras. Oh yeah.

Sophia El’Rae: 27:52 Um, that you get to know your phone, get to know the angles. Um, practice, practice, practice. Um, when I first got my camera, it’s sat in my closet for three months. I was like so scared to use it cause I had never, I’d always shot on my phone again. I watched videos, I practice, I would just go out in my yard and shoot leaves and flowers and get to know my camera. And the little by little by little, I got to know my camera. And now I feel incredibly comfortable with my camera. Um, if you are using a camera, I think, um, a lens, a good one too. So important. I’d almost say, you know, if you need to spend more on a lens that’s more worth it than the actual body of the camera. Maybe not everyone would agree with me, but that’s just what I found.

Sophia El’Rae: 28:40 I agree on present there. Yeah. I, the Lens can be a total game changer. And so I would say, so those two tips and my third would be, um, invest in a preset, whether that’s mine or not. Um, you want to find a preset that just jives with who you are. So think about the colors that you’re drawn to. When I think of you Christy, I think a pink, you know, who doesn’t? Yeah. And Pink, you know, it’s just very whimsical and feminine. And so, you know, in your case, you’re going to be drawn to those types of tones and you’re going to want those tones in a preset. Um, and so really think about the colors that you crave and love. Think about the style of photos you put out there. Someone who’s just shooting their house that’s primarily white and minimalistic. You’re not going to be going for this peachy, you know, punchy preset. You’re probably gonna want something more clean with clean lines, you know, bright white. There’s so many presets out there. And the beauty of my presets is I’ve created so many for so many different types of fields. Um, and so, yeah, just think about your color scheme. Think about, um, what you love, what you’re shooting. I think that’s super important. Is there anything else I’m not touching on?

Christy Keane: 29:57 No, I think you did a good job. Well, I know another thing I had a question about and once you get your photos the way you want them to look, do you have any thing that you do to organize your feet? Like I use a plan only app to kind of see where my pictures go or do you just kind of go day by day since you use the preset and everything? So, um, similar.

Sophia El’Rae: 30:22 Yeah, so I would say, um, when I can, we’ll take a day out of the week to shoot several different either campaigns or just photos for the feed rather than spreading it out all week. And then once I’ve applied my preset to those photos, I then edit them in snapseed and face tune because phase two and has a paintbrush in it that I love and use for all of my photos. And also it has, um, it’s face tuned to, I believe you’d have to pay for it where you can brighten the eyes. I’m bringing the color back into the ice where you can smooth the skin. Um, and then I bring it into snap seed. Um, they also have a paint brush for exposure, um, where you can decrease exposure in some areas or increase. And then after that I bring my photos into preview, which is probably similar to Planoly or snug.

Sophia El’Rae: 31:14 And I look at how my photos are laid out and I, it’s like a puzzle. I just move them around and see where I want my photos to be placed and that helps me stay organized. And then I also usually take a date to prewrite some of my captions so that I’m not having to come up with captions like all the time. Cause we all know that that can be kind of stressful sometimes to come up with something. And so I think it’s a great way to be organized. Um, kind of see everything and have a plan for the week, if that makes sense.

Christy Keane: 31:46 Yeah. And I’m sure batching it helps just timewise too. We’re all moms and have kids. So, you know, we don’t, I think people have a misconception that we’re on our phones all the time because they say a new post every day and especially, you know, your posts are so artistic and beautiful that they must think that you spend all of your time doing that when in reality you just are very smart about it and very strategic about it where you can get it all done and then have time with your family.

Sophia El’Rae: 32:18 Absolutely. I feel like I’ve had to find that balance with that because I can’t be shooting, you know, in the morning and then afternoon and then it’s just life is busy with kids as it is and you know, obviously their needs come first. And so I think it is important if you want to make this your business to have a plan even for that week, to have a plan what you want to talk about, land for, what you want to shoot and can you do that in a day instead of spreading it out into four days. And, um, I think the more you practice editing, the faster you become at it. Um, I feel like for me, my editing has, it’s pretty fast. A lot of people would probably be like, oh, I’m sure that takes you forever. Nope, probably takes me about 10 minutes. It’s really fast. Right? Um, and so yeah, practice, practice and you just keep getting better at that skill and continually learning of course too.

Christy Keane: 33:10 And especially now with presets, I think that’s the number one investment you can make into kind of your concept creation, time management. Because once you find a preset that really matches what you want and how you want your pictures to look and tweak it the way you know, you just tweak them just a little bit. It’s really just one click every time you get the photo and raising. It’s a game changer. I love presets. I look back and remember when Instagram was just like the little filters you could pick from the Instagram APP and just how far in and you’re actually super reasonably priced. I was looking at them and yeah, I’m glad to hear that. Yeah. They’re very reasonably priced, I think. I mean, most of them looked like they were about $30.

Sophia El’Rae: 34:01 Yeah. So I have them for Moldavia and desktop. Um, and the ones for the phones are a little bit cheaper than desktop.

Christy Keane: 34:09 I think those were the $30, right?

Sophia El’Rae: 34:11 Yeah. Because alls you need is the light room app, which is free. Um, and then you’re just able to plug that preset right into your phone. Um, whereas if you have light room on your desktop, you do have to pay for it cause there’s a lot more features that you’re able to use.

Christy Keane: 34:28 MMM.

Sophia El’Rae: 34:29 And I always recommend that for people that are shooting on a camera. Um, but most of my preset sales are for phones because most of my audience are moms and they’re editing on their phones and taking photos on their phones

Christy Keane: 34:43 and it works so great. It’s, I just think we live in an amazing time where we can just pull out this device from our back pocket and capture these gorgeous memories of our families. And yes, no, I, it really becomes a passion too. I think once people really hone in on how to take a picture, even not even taking the picture, if they hone in on just how to edit the picture, the way they like it, it just changes their entire passion for photography and their capabilities and and just what they can do.

Sophia El’Rae: 35:21 Yeah, I think it’s a great way to be more visible to brands. Like you said, if you’re looking at it as a business, when you want to do everything you can to make sure you’re putting out your best content. And I think a preset is a wonderful way to make your feet just pop and stand out among.

Christy Keane: 35:37 Yes and I will definitely be linking your podcast or sorry, I will be linking your preset shop in the show notes here so people can go over and check those out. And one of my favorite things when you find a preset is I love looking up the Hashtag for the preset. Um, cause you know, it’s easy to think to see your feet and be like, well her feet looks beautiful with this presets. But what she does, I’d love to look up the Hashtag. Is it just Sophia El Rey presets, right?

Sophia El’Rae: 36:08 You’re so, I think there’s like 3000 photos under that cake and you can see so many different types of presets because like I said, I do have quite a few. Um, but it’s a wonderful way to see how the presets look on other peoples. Yes. Versus mine because we all edit differently. We’re all shooting on something different. Um, yeah. So I always encourage people to use that Hashtag because I love seeing my work on someone’s photos.

Christy Keane: 36:37 Um, you have to be so proud. Like it’s a really cool feeling. I love it. Yeah, I know. And I clicked over, I was like, oh, I’m so proud of her like this. There is a lot of people using these presets and their feeds look stunning.

Sophia El’Rae: 36:50 I mean thank you. I want to do a little trial feed with it, with the Sofia. All right. Cause they’re so gorgeous. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. It’s been really fun and creative for me and um, I’m just really glad I said yes to doing it. That is awesome.

Christy Keane: 37:06 So with the ending of the podcast, I like to ask influencers the same series of questions just in rapid fire succession. Okay. My first question is the one that is my favorite and it is, what do you influence that you are most proud of?

Sophia El’Rae: 37:22 Women. Just empowering them. I love that. It makes me feel alive. I love that. And you do an amazing job at it.

Christy Keane: 37:33 And how much time do you dedicate to social media and what is your biggest time management tip?

Sophia El’Rae: 37:40 Everyday is different. I would say depending on what’s going on. Um, I would say I dedicate probably eight to 10 hours to my business a week, sometimes a little bit different at my going on. And for that tip that you talked about, I would say get your app preview Planoly snuck prewrite your captions, take a day to shoot your photos, don’t spread it all out so that you have a plan for your week right when you come off the weekend.

Christy Keane: 38:10 So smart and is there a mistake you’ve made somewhere along your journey and being a mommy influencer and blogger or something you would go back and change if you could.

Sophia El’Rae: 38:22 I spent years comparing myself to other people too. People growing at a rapid pace, people putting out more creative content than I thought or people traveling the world. Um, I feel like when I really honed in on why I was here, I just had to keep asking myself that what is my purpose? I feel like it helped me stop being distracted by what everyone else was doing and focus on what I was putting out there and what it meant to me. Yeah.

Christy Keane: 38:53 Yes. I cannot agree more with that. And it is something that I don’t know anybody who hasn’t struggled with in this space. Again, it is just such a release of a wait when, when you’re able to start taking your guard down there and stop comparing little by little and yes, that’s great advice. And then biggest advice for someone starting from zero followers,

Sophia El’Rae: 39:22 you have to start somewhere. And I know that that sounds so like boring and silly, but you have to start somewhere. Just put it out there, put yourself out there, but know who your audiences know what you want to put out there and know who you are. Like those three things. Like don’t start without that.

Christy Keane: 39:41 Yes, purposeful content creation, have some intentional Amos, and then the rest will come. I love it. And then finally, I think we touched on this obviously a little bit just for what the subject matter of the podcast episode was, but people always love to know gear. So what camera you’re shooting on or any Lens you particularly love. And um, basically your presets are probably your favorite preset, but just any other gear app that make your life in this space easier.

Sophia El’Rae: 40:12 Um, I am obsessed with my Nikon camera. It’s a Nikon d seven 50. Um, I have a 35 mm Lens. I’ve been super happy with that Lens because it’s a pretty multifunctional lens as far as portraits and landscape. Um, I’ve been really happy with that setup. Um, for other ways that I’m adding other than my presets. I think I mentioned the APP snapseed and the APP face tune. Two are my most favorite and used apps on my phone and other, I have never used a tripod, so I should probably practice with that. I’m, I’m not sure of yourself. I whoever is around, whoever can help me and I’ve have babysitters helped me on my husband. My grandmother takes pictures. My Mom, my dad, friends. So many people take my photos, I set the camera up for them. I set up the settings and just tell them what to do. And I think I, yeah, a lot of people don’t know that, but I’ve never used a tripod. If it’s pictures of my girls and I’m not in it, I am taking the photo. But other than that, whoever’s available helps me.

Christy Keane: 41:25 That’s awesome. You must have really good teacher too because I feel like the framing and everything is, it’s so great. Like you wouldn’t know. It’s just, you know, your babysitter or something. So that’s, that’s good advice. Yes. I would say I have to give a lot of credit to my camera. A good lens to just, yes, I’m the same way. My 35 stays on my camera a hundred percent of the time. I just, yeah, I started with a 50 I think 50 is a really great starting point and an affordable starting point. Yeah, it’s just get to get an upgrade. That’s enough photography, that’s like a great starting Lens. But once you’re able to justify that bump to get the 35 it definitely is worth it. I love it. I agree. Well Sophia, this has been such an amazing chat and I can’t wait to see what people do with their feeds after hearing your tips and why don’t you tell people where they can find you.

Sophia El’Rae: 42:22 So my Instagram handle is Sophia Dot el Rey, which is e l r h. E. A. You can find my blog and my presets@wwwdotcultivatemotherhood.com

Christy Keane: 42:35 I love it and I will be linking all of that in the show notes here for you guys and Sophia. Again, thank you so much. I have loved getting to know you over the past couple of years. And like I said, I am just so proud of you and I have loved watching your voice. Just transition and transform to empower so many women and just the fact that you’ve always been somebody who’s really open to share and help other moms in this space rather than keep, keep your secrets and tips Tuck to heart. I think that people really notice that and appreciate it. So I definitely appreciate you.

Sophia El’Rae: 43:13 Well Kristy, thank you for having me. Um, it was an honor and so fun to just chat and to anyone listening today. I hope that either today or someday you feel

Christy Keane: 43:24 so heard and seen, um, and loved. That is my greatest hope for women. Oh, that is amazing. Thank you so much Sophia. Thanks for having me. I hope my conversation with Sophia today inspired you to make beautiful aesthetic content. Well, first keeping in mind your messaging and your purpose on whatever your choice of platform is. I just think it is so beautiful when you’re able to blend the two and create something that you’re really proud of. If you’d like today’s episode, please subscribe and leave a five star review. And as always, please head over to the mommy inputs or podcast insiders group on Facebook so that we can continue the conversation a little bit further. I would love to hear what presets you are loving, what you’re editing tips are, how any of you have transitioned your message since day one. And as always, I appreciate you guys showing up for me and I am just so happy to be here and pour into each and every week by you guys.