AI Photoshoots, Embodiment, and the Next Level of Personal Brand
Ep 5: On Embodiment, Imagery, and the Next Level
“I call her Purple Dress Emily.”
Something shifted for me during a recent photo shoot. A moment that anchored me into a new level of visibility and self-trust in a way no AI-generated image ever could.
In this episode of The Midnight Edit, I explore the deeper conversation we’re not having about AI photoshoots, embodiment, and what it actually takes to step into the next chapter of your personal brand and business.
This episode dives into:
Why the current conversation around AI photoshoots is missing the deeper point
The behind-the-scenes story of my Masterpiece launch photo shoot
How embodiment and imagery shape personal brand evolution
The unexpected way a single photo shoot can become a threshold into your next level
If you’ve been curious about AI photos, navigating a visibility edge, or feeling the pull toward a more embodied expression of your work, this episode will offer a new way of seeing yourself and your brand.
Mentioned Resources
My phenomenal creative director Freya Rose Tanner
My amazing photographer based in Victoria, BC Julia Loglisci
Want to see the result of the photoshoot? Check out the sales page for my mastermind Masterpiece.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to episode five of the Midnight Edit.
It is 1:34 AM — so let's dive in.
I've been seeing a lot of discussion about AI photo shoots lately. I see it pop up a ton in Facebook groups, usually by people who are selling AI photo shoots, and the conversation tends to go the same way.
It tends to go: here's this big, beautiful post of someone offering an AI photo shoot. And in their content, they're talking about how they preserve your wrinkles and your freckles, and it's so realistic.
And then the comments tend to be a battle of people either going, yay, this is amazing, when can I hire you? Or people going, no, ew, gross, like this looks like plasticy skin and unrealistic proportions, and this isn't real.
And I think what's interesting is that we are having the wrong conversation here. We are focusing in on the wrong thing.
Because it's not really about:
does it look real or does it not look real
could you do it yourself or should you have AI do it
They're so focused on:
how it looks
does it show your imperfections
is it an accurate representation of you
how well have you trained the model to look like you
But what we are missing is: how does the photo feel for you, the subject of the photo?
Because yes, your brand photos are used in marketing and websites and social media and, and, and.
But you are not something just to be consumed, to be perceived, to be productized.
What we are missing out on is that a photo shoot is most importantly for you — how you feel, how you want to express yourself.
No matter how realistic the AI photos are — if you aren't feeling it, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to actually experience yourself in that environment, in that outfit, in that whole vibe.
So let me actually tell you about my most recent photo shoot.
I actually considered doing this as an AI shoot because I was getting ready to launch Masterpiece.
I had an unbelievably short turnaround, and I realized I did not like any of my previous photos.
I even tried doing it myself. I was like, let me play around with this.
And honestly, whether I did it myself or I hired someone to do an AI, it probably would've been cheaper than hiring the photographer and the studio and the hair and the makeup.
But being in the room — actually feeling myself in this gorgeous purple silk dress — I actually splurged for the first time for a photo shoot.
Normally I did my own hair and makeup, but this time I actually splurged and had the artist there style me up, glam me up.
And being in the room, wearing the dress, holding the flowers, and having my creative director Freya Rose Tanner — she's phenomenal, I'm gonna link her in case you ever need any support with planning a photo shoot or having creative direction for your brand, she does absolutely everything for my brand, she's a genius — she was on Zoom supporting the photo shoot.
And my phenomenal photographer, Julia Loglisci, was there.
And something shifted for me.
Leading up to this photo shoot, I would say for a couple of years I was like an avid future-self journaler. I would constantly be like:
what does next level Emily feel like?
what does next level Emily do?
what is she wearing?
I was always kind of anchoring in from this future-self place — very typical, traditional coaching.
I would be able to kind of access her. But present-day Emily felt uncomfortable in her body.
Present-day Emily hated her clothes.
Present-day Emily didn't feel good with her hair.
Present-day Emily hated her photo being taken.
There were so many things where I could anchor into it from the future, but I couldn't fully feel it in the now.
And when it came to this photo shoot, to me, it was the culmination of all of those things I'd been anchoring into in the future — actually being able to experience it myself.
To feel the silk of the dress on my skin.
To see myself in the mirror.
To watch my hair move or my body move.
And to be able to experience that in real time.
Something shifted for me on a very profound level, and I've honestly been able to anchor into that ever since.
I actually call her Purple Dress Emily.
Something came alive for me that day in the photo shoot, and I remember even hearing it reflected back to me from people in the room. They were like, I don't know what happened, but something shifted and like, holy shit, who was that? She was amazing.
And that has now been something that I can anchor into and resource myself with when I am having a hard day, when I am trying to write content, when I am trying to anchor into the energy of the Masterpiece offer.
And so I have nothing against AI photo shoots. I think they can be a great bandaid solution.
I think it can be fun for playing around with creative direction and mocking it up.
But I'm a firm believer that they will never — and should never — replace the real thing.
Because photo shoots are a portal.
They are a doorway into anchoring physically into your next evolution.
Photo shoots are a way of stepping into a new version of yourself and actually giving yourself that physical embodiment of that expression, of that feeling.
Giving yourself the opportunity to experience that and feel that in the real, tangible world.
And this happens in the most magical way when you give yourself permission for your brand, for your photos, to be an expression of your real self — of all the multidimensional, magical ways that you are this gorgeous, messy human on this planet.
Not trying on someone else's expression.
Not trying on what you think your brand needs to look like.
Not that awkwardness where you're like, oh, I'm a business owner, I better pose with my laptop.
Let yourself be that fun, wild, magical self — and really feel it, and anchor into it physically.
Like sure, play with AI. If that's your jam, go for it — nothing against it.
But I think the conversation needs to be around reminding ourselves that ultimately we are literally the subject of those photos.
Therefore, we are the most important thing in the entire process.
It's not about other people.
It's not about what needs to look right, or look perfect, or look easy.
It is about giving ourselves the opportunity to physically experience and anchor into that expression of ourselves.
Because that is honestly the gift that will keep on giving.
So whether you have a photo shoot coming up, or you've been thinking it's time to refresh your brand photos, or honestly you just feel like you're going through an evolution and you're like, it's time for a new expression to come forward —
I want you to remember to deeply, deeply center yourself as the subject.
As both the artist and the canvas and the masterpiece in this entire experience.
And remind yourself that this photo shoot, this experience, gets to be a doorway into your next evolution and really anchoring physically into that.
And with that in mind — how will you approach this next photo shoot differently, so that you can feel deeply anchored and supported and somatically connected to this gorgeous new expression that is wanting to come forward?
✨ Let’s keep the conversation going
I’d love to hear what stood out for you in this episode - feel free to send me a DM on Instagram @emily.mwalker (it's my fav place to hang out!)
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