Lisa Haukom Is Nurturing A Self-acceptance Movement With A Mission To Fundamentally Change How People See Themselves

There are people who snap pictures, and then there are those who capture life's essence through their lens. Disrupting the business of photography since 2019, Lisa Haukom believes the camera is more than a tool for pretty pictures and social media selfies.

As the founder of The Goldenbrand — a photography studio specializing in remote brand photography & Creative Direction for interior Designers— Lisa Haukom teaches women to love and heal through the camera. With a remarkable portfolio that spans photography, editorial content creation, art direction, social media strategy, and brand partnerships, Lisa is a creative force.

Lisa Haukom is nurturing a self-acceptance movement with a mission to fundamentally change how people see themselves. The Self Portrait Method teachings, community, and podcast includes courses, workshops, and stories that connect people through the healing power of vulnerability, truth sharing, and the unshakeable bravery to be yourself. With an approach that’s different from the current trends of over-edited, over-filtered social media photography.  Rooted in psychology, direct action, and self love, Lisa created this method to help you see yourself in a radically new way — as you are, with increased compassion, kindness, and love—through the lens of your camera.

Lisa’s clients have been featured in lifestyle publications like Domino, The Huffington Post, Apartment Therapy, Vogue, Well + Good, Forbes, and many more. Lisa was named The Luupe’s 2023 Self Portrait Artist of the Year. But this pioneer isn’t just a photographer and content creator; she's also an empathetic and compassionate soul. Lisa offers transition-affirming photography sessions to young members of the transgender community and provides a safe and supportive environment where individuals can express their true selves, free from judgment.

When did you consider yourself a success? Did you ever have to deal with the imposter syndrome? How do you overcome imposter syndrome?

Wanting to strengthen my own brand and share a stronger message during the pandemic, I leveraged my longtime passion in photography to take my own self-portraits and faced the stumbling blocks that most women can relate to. I did not like anything I was seeing on camera. I didn't recognize myself and the self-development ideas available to me at the time only identified the problem, not the solution. I had to fight the urge to delete, or filter, or sensor the images— all the ways that we pick ourselves apart. So I created a set of action steps, in proportion to the problem, and set a 30-day challenge for myself. This is how the Self Portrait Method™ was created. 

We all have so much potential lying dormant under a crushing belief that we need fixing first. Feeling like we need to be younger, thinner, more stylish, more accomplished, or granted permission to just be who we are.  The world needs more people leading with self-kindness and self-compassion. Witnessing the women I work with confront their fears and find their moxie, while  healing their self-judgment and self-doubt, is very gratifying. Knowing that this will ripple through their business, their families, their communities, and the world, is incredibly meaningful.

What advice would you give to someone starting out or pivoting their business or their career?

There are always challenges when growing a business whether you are pivoting or just getting your bearings. I found myself in the process of launching a business and trying to figure out who I was while also needing to be visible at the same time.  My bouncebackability was tested more than once.  Over time I discovered

1.) Failing isn’t an identity, it’s simply an experience delivered with a life lesson.

2.) The best way to learn from failure is to create purpose with your failure by teaching others how we failed and why. My entire business is based on my failure to show up on camera. My failure to be photogenic.

My best advice is: The biggest problems require creativity and change. You can’t become revolutionary without imagination. It’s important to ditch perfection and approach creativity with a “work in progress” mentality and remove the notion of perfection. Instead tap into your own creative sensibility and cultivate your inner vision. The notion of perfection can limit your potential.

What is the most important when it comes to goal setting? Do you have any goal setting hacks?

Yes, set them, do it now and don’t wait.  As I mentioned earlier,  blocks around the initial growth of my business were because I feared setting goals — and failing to meet them. It was a huge revelation for me in my third year of business to finally name my big five year goals.  Once I did, the next steps I needed to take in order to reach the goal became clear.  I found it was far easier to reverse engineer my next steps and let go of the parts of my business which were not aligned. 

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