Her videos range from decorating her room to vlogging trips. She loves to talk to people and uses a YouTube channel to show pieces of her life. 

In June 2019, sophomore Ella Lee started her platform on Youtube with just her friends as subscribers. Today, she has 2.37 thousand followers on her channel: Ella Mae. 

“Seeing my following grow, it’s been awesome to see how much I’m influencing people through my videos,” Lee said.

Lee hopes to be seen by people as an influencer one day and as a role model for young girls.

“I started a Youtube channel because I found that I have a passion for inspiring others to live life to the fullest along with having a positive outlook on life,” Lee said. “I also wanted to share to others the things that bring me joy and encourage people to find a purpose.”

This platform would be a way for her to make a difference in the world. She makes lifestyle videos such as productive or chill day vlogs, decorating and room inspiration videos, and product reviews. 

“Thanks to my biggest supporters,” Lee said, “I’ve been able to continue on with my passion of sharing my joy with others and posting because I just love filming them. As I grew my platform, it became easy to fall into a trap of pleasing my followers rather than myself. I struggled to keep my mindset of sharing my own unique personality through my videos and putting out videos I genuinely enjoyed filming.”

Lee’s main goal is not her subscriber count and she tries not to look at the numbers. She made this channel to inspire others rather than gain popularity.

“Seeing my following grow, it’s been awesome to see how much I’m influencing people through my videos,” Lee said. “I hope to be seen by a lot of people as an influencer one day and be set as a role model for young girls.”

Lee said she admires Kristin Johns, a lifestyle youtuber, because she loves to watch and learn from her videos that include trying out new recipes and thrifting clothes. 

“Her bright personality always gives out so much joy to others,” Lee said, “and she shares her wonderful life as a follower of Christ.” 

She got her first sponsor from a small Instagram brand named Adley and Gray. Lee promoted masks and scrunchies for sale on Labor Day Weekend. She has also received her own promo code for Duvolle for a skin care system.

“Getting my first sponsor was super exciting,” Lee said. “It felt great to be able to help promote growing brands while sharing my passion for the products to my followers at the same time- like hitting two birds with one stone.”

She didn’t have much experience with using a camera and editing before, so Lee had to watch different videos and tutorials to find the right camera settings to film good quality videos. 

“In my first few videos, I had no clue how to work my new camera and I used the wrong settings to film,” Lee said. “Learning how to edit was definitely a journey, but it was super easy to catch on with the whole process and I actually find it really relaxing and fun now to play around with it.” 

Lee uses a Canon EOS m50 to film and iMovie to edit her videos.

“At first, I felt very uncomfortable talking to a camera rather than a real person, and to be honest, it was just something I had to get used to over time,” Lee said. “I realized I’m not just talking to a hunk of metal and that there are actual people who will be listening to me through the screen, so that was super encouraging.”

Lee said it is not as awkward now as it was before and genuinely talks like she’s having a conversation with someone else. A part of her channel includes going to public places and filming herself.

“Public vlogging can be very scary sometimes because seeing other people around, especially people your age, can make things super intimidating because of course, everyone’s scared of judgement even if it’s just a bit,” Lee said. “But I’ve learned to just mind my own business when vlogging. Honestly, when people see you just rocking your own thing, they respect it.”

Lee is currently trying out new ideas like doing a real-time study with me video and makes sure she films videos she’s passionate about. Lee wants to help others by showing her viewers the best ring lights to buy for filming or things to do at home since everyone’s stuck at home in quarantine.

“My favorite video so far has been my 15th birthday vlog because that whole day was so special to me as I had friends and family just bringing me so much joy and giving me gifts that hit super close to my heart,” Lee said. “It’s just nice to have it all on video as a memory to cherish forever.”

Lee said her posting schedule isn’t set in place due to the stress of school and time management, but she would like to try and post at least once or twice a week in the future. 

“I don’t really have a set amount of time that I spend on Youtube every week,” Lee said. “It really depends on how long my videos are, the amount of footage I have to edit, and how much free time I have.”

For videos, Lee spends around 30 minutes to a whole day to film.

“Editing usually takes a few hours since I like to add in words, music, and visual elements, as well as keep the video where people can stay interested in it by cutting the middle of certain sentences or breaks/mess ups/etc,” Lee said.

Lee edits after she finishes her homework to avoid stress. She usually posts on Mondays or Tuesdays so that the majority of the editing can be done on the weekend to avoid school work. 

“Many people from school know about my channel and no one I know really judges me for it,” Lee said. “A few of my friends make jokes about it but they’re super lighthearted and still think it’s cool that I have this channel.”

Lee advertises her Youtube channel mainly on Instagram and Snapchat. She likes to post sneak peeks of her new videos on her stories and also has the link to her channel in her Instagram bio.

“Some tips or advice I would share with students looking to make a Youtube channel is do it because you love it not because of money, popularity, etc. and don’t give up if your views or subs don’t rise immediately,” Lee said. “It should just be something you’re passionate about and the followers will come eventually so just give it time.”

Lee plans to continue her channel after high school.

“I’m excited to take my supporters through new stages of my life –like my college experience– and even after. Of course, I may get busier and busier, but I want to try and make time for my channel no matter what,” Lee said. “Judgement is a scary thing, but when people see that you really enjoy and put work into what you do, it gives them a new perspective of what true passion should be.”