Category Archives: Selfie Tips

September 15, 2015

Weekly Selfie Tip – Let Go of the Plan

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Often when we take a selfie, we have a final image in mind.

Sometimes it’ll be easy to make it happen, but honestly a lot of the time, it won’t. Myself included. But is a selfie a ‘failure’ if it’s not what we envisioned?

Only if we are stuck on seeing it that way.

What I’ve found in my own personal selfie journey and what I often hear from participants in Be Your Own Beloved is that we let go of the plan, we open up to a story we didn’t expect to find.

Having a plan for your selfie and not letting yourself off the hook if it changes…only includes what you already know.

It doesn’t make room for the stories that are still unfolding, that haven’t even been put into words yet, that you may simply get a glimpse of in the photo. That you are opening up to seeing.

A tip I got early in my photo adventures was in a studio lighting class at the college here. The teacher said “Just bring some place to begin the photo shoot. It’ll rarely end up actually being what you expected and that’s okay”. And it’s true. There’s a creative flow that happens in a photo shoot and ideas appear in the moment, inspired by what is happening and couldn’t have been planned. It made me think about all the photography in ads out there. That while they may have started with a plan, somewhere along the way things probably changed and that amazing image could have been a happy accident that they captured. It makes it all feel a bit more accessible, doesn’t it…to imagine that photo you love in a magazine or from a photographer might not have been what they initially planned either.

Same with selfies, perhaps even moreso as we are both the subject and the photographer. We don’t have to have a ‘perfect’ plan. We don’t have to know what image we want to take before we take it. We don’t need to do our hair first or change our bodies.

We just need to show up and try.

Honestly, probably only about 10% of my image you’ll see on this site were pre-planned. There is a magic in letting go that we don’t get to experience if we hold on too tightly to a plan.

Another form a plan can take is comparing our photos to other people’s images. Having their photos in mind as what we think ours should look like too. But they haven’t lived our story, they don’t see the world through our eyes.

Being open to experimenting and not knowing how the photo will work out and if we will even like it…can feel vulnerable, but it really is the key to taking photos that we feel the most seen (from ourselves) and to opening the door to photos that really feel like they tell our story, that they have a YOU that you recognize as a friend.

September 14, 2015

Self-Paced Class Sale (and Changes Ahead)

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I’m excited to share that this week I’m holding a SALE! Use the code YOUAREBELOVED when you purchase one of the Self-Paced classes you’ll get $10 off these already affordable classes.

I thought I’d share a bit about which courses you can choose from but also share that there is change underfoot. At the end of the week when the sale concludes I’m also going to be taking a number of these classes off the Be Your Own Beloved e-course roster…not because I don’t think they are gonna inspire you big time (cause they are) but because I’ve got a lot of new offerings heading your way this fall and especially in the coming year and I want to make room for those. So if you’ve been wanting to take one of these classes someday, the time is now!

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Beloved Beginnings

The Beloved Beginnings Class is the one self-paced class that will still be available, but it’s also extra affordable already so by joining in for the sale you get this class for $19!!

The beloved beginnings is a super gentle introduction to the idea of seeing yourself with kindness through your camera and a class you might want to try if you’re drawn to taking the month-long Be Your Own Beloved class but want to get a gentle intro to the journey.

The class is normally $29 but this week you can take it for $19 CAD.

Find out more here.

Or register here for Beloved Beginnings here:

Double Exposure Love

Learn to make absolutely incredible double exposures. This program is packed full of playful and helpful information on how to make double exposures technically and creatively. I share my 5 favourite tricks for creating striking and visually powerful double exposures. Prepare to fall head over heels in love with double exposures (if you aren’t already)!

Class is regularly $39 but you can take it this week for $29!

You can find our more on the class page.

Or register here:

Cultivating Self-Care

The Cultivating Self-Care program is a 14 day workshop and a powerful jolt of inspiration, helping you to brainstorm and then fine tune creating some self-care practices to help fuel you and to claim space in your life for YOU. It’s all about making more time to be our own beloved, to treat ourselves like we would a dear friend and to cultivate more self-compassion along the way!

Class is normally $39 but for you this week it will be $29!

Head on over here to find out more about the class.

Or jump in and register here!

Be Your Own Light

The Be Your Own Light E-Course invites you to explore the light around you and the light within you too. It’s about using the tool of light to take photos that you can see yourself with kindness through and slowly and gently inviting yourself further into the frame, into the visual story of your life!

It’s time to let your light shine, to let YOU shine through in your photos and you’re going to make that happen in this class!

The program is also normally $39 but on sale for $29.

Find out more about this powerful class here.

Or Register for Be Your Own Light here:

The Rebel’s Guide to Falling in Love with Photography

In the Rebel’s Guide to Photography e-course I will help you push past fear of not being the “perfect” photographer. You’ll be invited to shake up the rules of how one is supposed to take a picture and to discover the magic of making beautiful mistakes while discovering the creative photo-seeker in you. You are invited to try 15 different photography activities designed to spark magic through your camera and each activity will arrive in your inbox for 15 days after you register!

All of this for $39 (but of course with your discount it is $29).

You can find out all about it on the course page.

Or if you’ve been wanting to take it and are ready to register, come join in!

Just use the code YOUAREBELOVED when you sign up for the Self-Paced E-Course of your choice and I’ll get you all set up for class to begin! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to use the contact form to connect with me!

September 7, 2015

Weekly Selfie Tip – Try Your Timer

These days, when we think of a selfie we are probably picturing an arm’s length photo of our face, right?

But that is truly only one kind of a selfie.

Today’s selfie tip is to…try your timer.

Because while finding that angle that you love to take your arm’s length selfie at (something I help you figure out in the e-courses) it’s just one perspective of you. Not only that, but when we are taking this kind of selfie we are posing, trying to get our body paused in that one specific angle, pose and perspective.

While there is nothing wrong with posing for a selfie, I don’t know about you, but posing doesn’t necessarily invite me to feel at home in my body. It allows us to see ourselves in a really controlled way but when we try our timer, we just might find that there is another option than posing.

When we put down the camera, set the timer, and go beyond arm’s length our arms are now free to move.

We’re free to take a deep breath, to get grounded, and to decide how we want to move rather than pose.

Yes, that unknown, that uncontrolled ‘How should I move my body for the camera’ can feel vulnerable.

But when we start moving in our photos be it before or during the photo, when we start getting playful we get to see ourselves in a whole other way. In my experience of healing my own negative body image through the tool of self-portraiture, this was the place where I felt like I jumped into a deeper level of healing, and it’s often the same with the participants in Be Your Own Beloved.

Plus, as you’ll find if you take up today’s dare…this is where taking selfies becomes SO much fun too. You aren’t just capturing your physicality in the photo…we may capture the energy of aliveness, the spark of playfulness and what you just might find is that when you do this you get to see the visual story of you in a whole new way.

So how do we use our timer? Where do we find it? How do we Use it?

Here are a few tips for you:

iPhones usually have a timer (unless it is an older one) and for all iPhones you can download the Gorillacam App that allows you not only to use a timer but to take a whole bunch of photos in order to get that one you love…remember last weeks tip of Letting there be Outtakes?
If you have an Android, guess what…you have a timer already! They don’t make it very obvious but it’s there in the settings of your camera.
Most other point and shoots have a timer built into it. Try your timer today…I dare you!
Find a place to prop your timer. It doesn’t need to be on a tripod. Look around you right now and I bet you’ll notice a bunch of places to prop the camera up!
To try it? Just press the timer and play. There may be a moment where you’re not sure what to do, but get playful and see how your body wants to move. Call on the tools you already know like standing in mountain pose, or the way you love to dance, or reach up your arms and stretch. Or explore the pose you like to do in a photo normally, but arm’s free.
Timer photos don’t need to be full body photos either. One thing that can be fun to do is prop your camera at eye level or a bit above, just like you would an arm’s length selfie but this time have your hands free and see how that inspires you to explore being a part of your visual story in a different way. Or try just getting your feet in the frame, or just your hands.

Remember, the tip (and dare) today is just to try your timer. It isn’t about getting a ‘perfect’ selfie. It isn’t about doing something right. It’s just about trying. As I’ve mentioned before here on the blog, the process of learning to see yourself with compassion through the camera isn’t just about the final photo…in fact it’s more about the process we experience in taking it.

Starting with letting ourselves just give it a try!

If you do try your timer today and decide to share it, use the #beyourownbeloved hashtag (which of course you’re welcome to use for any selfie) to share it with the Beloved Community!