Today I am delighted to share this interview with Vancouver-based photographer and workshop leader Vivienne McMaster. Vivienne has an incredible talent for capturing authentic beauty, and empowering new photographers to find their voice. She has a wonderful way with self-portraits, as I learnt in one of her e-courses. I talked to Vivienne about becoming a photographer, the importance of playfulness, and the challenges of running e-courses She also shares her tips for taking beautiful photos.
1) I love your photos! How would you describe your signature style of photography?
My photography style is experiential, playful, adventurous, whimsical and colourful!
2) Do you need a great camera and kit?
Up until recently my kit bag was quite simple, digitally. That feels really important to share: that you don’t need a really fancy camera to get started! I used a Canon Rebel for the first four years and it was only once I started shooting weddings that I felt like I needed anything more!
I am also very obsessed with Polaroid so usually there is one Polaroid camera in my bag, be it an SX-70, a Spectra or a Land Camera and an array of film!
3) When did you first realise you were a photographer?
I came to photography after a really rough point in my life. Before that I wrote songs, performed, and was generally artful, but photography wasn’t something that I was remotely interested in. Photography for me began with taking photos with my cell phone (they weren’t as fancy five years ago) and quickly became an obsession.
I guess it was in that year that I discovered I am a photographer. That point didn’t necessarily correlate to one image or photographic achievement but was that moment that I realized “I could learn about this every day for the rest of my life and never be sick of it”. Finding that one thing that makes our spirits sing. Sometimes our skills just need to catch up with our passion for it!
4) And at what point did you take the plunge into professional photography?
Parts of it were a plunge and other parts were a very slow wading in! Photography was in my life in full force from the start but it was only a year ago that I could say I was a professional photographer. My work is a fun balance between teaching e-courses and shooting weddings and portraits.
5) With iphones, digital cameras and photosharing websites like Flickr it seems like everyone can be a photographer these days. How do you feel about that as a professional?
I love that. It is important to me that photography be something that is accessible. You shouldn’t have to invest thousands of dollars to find yourself as a photographer. Nothing makes me happier than if one of my students come out of one of my classes with a new sense of themselves as an artist or photographer.
When I was first getting into photography I craved techniques that put people on common ground. People on Flickr seemed to be doing all these fancy things with photoshop and I just wasn’t there yet. I loved shooting with toy cameras like a Holga or through the viewfinder. I think iphones and all of the beautiful apps are incredible and I love that it makes photography more accessible. Do we need to all be having shows or be making tons of money to ‘be a photographer’? I don’t think so. I think we are photographers if we consciously slow down and notice the world around us and translate that through our cameras. I think accessiblilty rocks.
If it wasn’t for Flickr and that sense that everyone can give it a try, I wouldn’t be speaking to you now.
6) You now a number of photography e-courses. What gave you the idea to do these and what challenges have you come up against in putting them together?
Great Question. The first one started as an idea only a year ago. I like to say it was the alchemical combination of taking two e-courses: Mondo Beyondo and Kelly Rae Roberts’ Flying Lessons that gave me the big dreaming and practical information to be able to create the course.
It took me another six months to get out of my own way though! Honestly, the biggest challenge was my own fear.
Creating the course was a process that I loved. I thought about it for long enough that when I actually sat down to create the structure it came out almost whole. It has been a gigantic learning curve too. I’ve been learning what my strengths and weaknesses are and have tried to grow in those places that I may not inherently be skilled at. I have also tried to keep nurturing the parts of the work that flow really easily.
7) What do you like best about teaching photography?
The community. Absolutely. I love creating a community of artists who support and encourage each other. I have been brought to tears many times in my classes seeing the way people from opposite ends of the world connect and support each other.
8.) What is the most important thing to remember when taking self-portraits to make them unique and interesting?
- Be playful!
- Be playful as you imagine your images into creation!
- Be playful as you invite your body, yourself into the photo!
- Be playful as you face fear.
- Be playful as you create art from your photos afterwards!
9) And what is your number one tip for anyone just starting out?
Experiment, explore, try as many techniques as you can and your voice will appear! And bond with the art of the photo walk… there are always photos out there, we just need to go out and discover them!
10) Can you share some links to other photographers that you love?
Long before I met her, I loved the beautiful photographic voice of Madelyn Mulvaney.
I adore the magical way that Elizabeth Halt sees the world.
Brooke Schmidt’s workis seriously inspiring to me these days too!
I also seriously love Misty Mawn’s incredible textural images and Sabrina Ward Harrison’s experiential photography.
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[All images courtesy of Vivienne McMaster. You can find out more about Vivienne and her gorgeous photography on her blog and learn more about her courses on her website, Facebook or Twitter]
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