Conversations with Vivian Nguyen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivian Nguyen. 

Hi Vivian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Over the past 10 years, I’ve been casually taking photos of my food and sharing it with family and friends via social media. Who doesn’t do that, right? We all want to remember the good meals we eat! I’m the big “foodie” in my circle of people, so I was normally in charge of finding a place to eat and sometimes even ordering for the whole table. Surprisingly, I found joy rather than stress in doing so. I knew that one day I would like to start a food blog or website. It was just the matter of ‘when’. About two years ago, I finally decided to take all my photos and experiences I’ve accumulated and put it into one place. I figured since people always asked me for recommendations on where to eat or things to do anyway, why not create a space where this information is accessible to everyone? 

I had started brainstorming in the ‘Notes’ app on my phone for months leading up to that moment. Written in there were possible food blog names, travel tips, pre-made itineraries, and lists of the best places in Colorado. I’m one of those people that absolutely love to plan—especially trips! In fact, most of the time I would plan my trips around restaurants that I really wanted to check out. To me, the best part about traveling is being able to try all the different food that a city has to offer. A friend once said to me they would live/eat vicariously through my travel and food photos every time I posted. Combining that story with my name “Vivian”, that is how EatVivariously was created! Since then, I have shot content for both well-established and new businesses, gotten paid partnerships, and had the opportunity to collaborate with CircleAround™ Powered By Girl Scouts® during their launch. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Over this past year, the restaurant industry has been impacted drastically due to this pandemic. I’ve also had to make adjustments since I’m someone that relies heavily on restaurants staying open and being able to capture content during in-door dining. Although it’s great we were still able to order food for take-out, dining at restaurants, and feeling the ambiance is also a crucial part of the whole experience. I really struggled with finding that motivation to keep my food blog going because it didn’t feel safe eating out anymore. That’s how many people felt during the peak of this pandemic. I knew once I stopped being consistent with my postings that I would lose that connection I’ve built with my audience. 2020 was already a difficult year for me in my personal life, but it became even more stressful not knowing when the world would go back to normal again. At that point, I wasn’t sure if my blog would ever bounce back. I ended up taking a two-month break from making content. Eventually, I came back with a new motivation and strong desire to help local restaurants and small businesses get back on their feet again! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Initially, my goal was to create a website that goes in-depth with details of my travel and food experiences. Currently, I’ve been focusing more on creating content for restaurants and my food blog on Instagram. I’d say food and business photography is what I specialize in now. I used to take photos with my iPhone because it was convenient and subtle to take around. But now, I have no shame in taking out my camera and handheld portable light to get the perfect professional shots. All the plates of art made by these chefs deserve the photoshoot and recognition! I like to capture photos that are unique from what people are used to seeing. This means getting the different angles, action shots, or even standing on a chair to get a picture of the whole spread. I also take pride in my ability to edit these photos. I feel like that’s what truly brings the raw images to life! I take my time going through and editing because I am very detail-oriented and want to ensure that it’s my best work. It’s incredible what a few adjustments to the brightness, colors, shadows, and vibrancy can do. Each photo is a different challenge, but I’m constantly learning new techniques and making improvements. Being able to create content for restaurants has been such an honor because they’re choosing to put their trust in me to showcase and advertise their businesses. It still amazes me to this day that people out there actually like and enjoy my style of work. It’s such a great feeling being able to help not only restaurants but also other people like me who love food and want to discover new places. 

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
From being a girl that just simply enjoys eating good and looking for new restaurants on Yelp during her free time… I’m so surprised at where I am today! I’m forever grateful I was able to turn my passion into something much bigger than just myself. My advice is that if there’s something you really enjoy and you want to make something out of it—just go for it and trust the process. You’ll naturally want to put the time and effort into it if it’s something special to your heart. You never know where it can take you and there’s a great chance, you’ll meet some awesome people along the way. At the beginning, I cared so much about followers and whether or not they liked my content. Although it’s nice to see that people are liking your stuff, at the end of the day it’s just a number and it doesn’t determine your worth. If you like the work that you’re producing, then that’s all that really matters. I wish I would’ve known that from the beginning, but it’s all a part of the learning process. 

Contact Info:

• Email: eatvivariously@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatvivariously/
• Other: https://circlearound.com/author/vivian-nguyen