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I love hearing from you and totally welcome your messages on my Contact Form (you’ll find it at the top right on the menu bar) or email me at vivienne.mcmaster@gmail.com
There are some super common emails I get that I thought I’d respond to here and get you the answers to right away!
There’s a photo of yours I’d love to use in my work. Do you offer photos for use by others?
Yes indeed…you can check out some of the photos I have for stock photo use here and I’ll be adding more photos there each week. If there’s a photo you were interested in that you don’t see there, get in touch with me via the contact form.
Would you be interested in teaching/speaking at an event I’m running?
I love teaching in person and would love to hear from you and let you know if it’s an option to speak or teach there.
The types of events/retreats that I’m most looking to work with these days are those focused on body image and self-love and the Be Your Own Beloved and selfie love message tends to be a great fit for events of this type! I have a long history of teaching at many art retreats and am open to that type of workshop as well.
I’m especially interested in teaching at events that actively prioritize diversity, accessibility, and inclusive and hold their events in an accessible venue. My priority is to speak or teach at events that actively welcome all bodies, not just those who fit into a certain body type, ethnicity, physical ability or sexuality. I’m also especially interested in teaching at and prioritize Canadian events, being a Canadian myself. I’d love to hear from you via the contact form if your event sounds like a fit.
Are you interested in doing interviews or being on my podcast? Or are interested in collaborating?
I most definitely would love to do an interview or podcast, it’s pretty much my favourite thing to do these days and I’m deeply loving having conversations with folks about the intersections of body-acceptance and photography, or sharing my story. I truly love doing them so don’t hesitate to ask. Just email me and I will let you know if it is a possibility at this time.
If you are interested in collaboration of any kind, just ask! I’m not always able to take on all inquiries for collaboration, but I would love to hear what you are thinking of. Much like with the guest posts/interviews, the more specific you can be about what you are looking for (teaching in a course, taking part in something or a bigger collaboration) the more likely it will be that I can let you know right away.
Are you interested in being part of a summit I’m leading?
I’m also definitely interested in an online event you might be doing but especially with this type of request, the more specific you can be about what you would like, the more I’ll be able to evaluate if I’m able to do it or not. Please include what you’re looking for and any information you’ll be needing from me to take part in the first email (as opposed to us needing to schedule a call in order for me to find out the details) and I’ll let you know as soon as possible.
If you are doing a summit that needs your speakers to have a certain number of followers to participate, know in advance that I’m not going to divulge private information about my business or the Be Your Own Beloved audience in order to participate.
But if you’re looking for someone to add a unique perspective to a dialogue around self-worth, body acceptance, photography or creativity and can be upfront about what your event is all about, please don’t hesitate to use the contact form to connect with me!
Can I book you for a photo session? Will you come to where I am?
I would LOVE to do a photo session with you! I have a new photo session offering these days called the Beloved Sessions that invite in the tools of the Be Your Own Beloved Classes into a portrait session like no other!
I am based in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada and if you are local or find yourself coming here and would like to book a session, I’d love to hear from you! I will also regularly be travelling to Victoria, BC and the Sunshine Coast, BC and am would be more than happy to schedule a photo shoot there if both our schedules allow.
I wish I could come to you for a photo session but that likely won’t be possible (but still feel free to let me know where you are, cause you never know)!
I do travel from time to time so if you see I’m teaching at an event or traveling for work near you, don’t hesitate to connect with me and see if a photo session would be available.
As well, Vancouver is absolutely breathtaking, so why not book a vacation to this gorgeous city and come meet me for a Beloved Session as a part of it!
Can I work one-on-one with you?
Yes! I would love to work one-on-one with you and explore using self-portraiture as a tool for self-love. I have an offering called Beloved Mentoring that allows us to do just that, with a focus on becoming more photo resilience and visible in your life and work in an empowered way. You can find out more about the Beloved Mentoring here.
I was a participant in Be Your Own Beloved Class and was wondering if I could use some of the prompts from class in my own E-Course or my work offline?
My preference is most definitely that you don’t use prompts from the class in your own paid work, especially without consent. Yet I’ve gotten a number of these emails, especially from amazing folks who are art therapists, coaches and nutritionists with a HAES approach that has me inspired to create something for those folks who are inquiring. I’ve been listening and am working on creating a program for some folks to become Licensed Be Your Own Beloved Facilitators Program in the future.
If you are interested in learning more about this, click over here and join on the Interest List for the Facilitators Program. I should also mention that this will be for folks who have experienced the Be Your Own Beloved class, so if the idea of being a Facilitator & the message of Be Your Own Beloved resonate with you, taking the class is the place to begin!
If you’re sharing activities from my class as a suggestion to other folks on making peace with how they see themselves please do credit me. I pour my heart and soul and years of dedicated work into these activities and sharing where you got that advice or specific activity means a lot to me.
I’m coming to Portland! Can I book you for a photo shoot or can we meet up?
It’s kind of awesome how many people email me about coming to Portland! Except I don’t live there. I do have family there and visit every few months but live in an entirely different country!
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! Its only about a 6 hour drive away from Portland though, so if you are interested in coming up to Vancouver Canada for that photo shoot, I’d love to connect with you about it! I also have workshops coming up in Vancouver…its a gorgeous city and I think you might swoon over the mountains and ocean if you adventure up here!
Are you going to be offering the Montage Class you used to teach?
I get asked this question a shocking amount via email so I thought I’d include an answer here for this one. I taught a class on video creation for your business 5 years ago but no longer teach that class and 100% won’t be bringing it back.
But I’ve had great recommendations for other classes that I suggest you check out rather than emailing me about the class. Check out Emmy Wu’s work and class or Ernesto Segismundo’s site for folks who are deeply passionate about helping you with this part of your business.
What are your favourite iPhone Apps?
I’m a big fan of taking photos with my iPhone! The apps I use the most are:
For Self-Portraiture: Gorillacam (it has an awesome self-timer with lots of options for making it work for you)!
For Photo Processing: Pic Tap Go, Pictureshow & Mextures
For Adding Words to Photos: Over & Wordswag
For Connecting and Sharing: Instagram and Flickr!
What gear do you use?
I’m a big believer that the ‘best camera is the one you have with you’ and that the photography journey is more about seeking or creating moments to photograph than it is what gear you have. Still, having the gear that is a good fit for you helps the process flow much easier! I am usually armed with both my iPhone 5 and my Canon DSLR. You can find out all about the gear I have found is a good fit for me here!
I’m looking for a new camera. What would you recommend?
Alas, I’m not totally on the pulse of what cameras are out there these days (its a bit safer that way….otherwise its so easy to get more and more cameras and I definitely already have enough). But I would love to share what has worked for me in hopes it will be of help and you can also find that in this post about gear!
Where do you get your clothes?
I’m so honored that folks want to know where I get the clothes I wear! The answer is pretty simple as I mainly stick to a few places. I wear lots of things from Anthropologie (love the sale room) or online at Modcloth. I get all my jeans/jeggings from Target (plus they have plus size…yahoo)! All the tights, striped skirts, and basics are from H&M. Everything else I tend to find at thrift stores or vintage stores. My favorite local store to find vintage dresses is called Mintage (and they have an online shop) and when I’m visiting the U.S. I love to check out the chain of stores called Crossroads Trading and get some of my favorite dresses there!
If you are wondering about something specific, I’ve also created a Pinterest Board of all my favourite things and I suspect you might find the item you’re wondering about there! I also have a Pinterest board of things I love (but don’t necessarily have) that might get you inspired too. I like to include mostly things that are available for plus size folks on that board too (’cause that’s how I roll). I hope that helps!
Where did you get those shoes I see in that photo?
Probably the most common email I get actually are about shoes! I do indeed love shoes and I have actually created a post just for those of you with shoe questions!
If you don’t see the shoes you might be wondering about (like these green ones you might have come across via Oprah.com) it is because they have gone off to shoe heaven and I don’t recall the name!
I hope that helps. Happy shoe finding!