Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Buck.
Hi Tori, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Photography has held great meaning since I was 5 when I received my first “viewfinder.” During my youth, I played with negatives and flashlights to create images on the wall. I was fascinated with photography-with film and old vintage pictures. I was very introverted as a child and spent my focus on photography.
During my 6th grade year in Middle School, I talked my shop teacher into allowing the class to build a dark room (I was quite the talker and negotiator at a young age-laughing as I reflect on this). Still, I had talked him into allowing us to use an adjacent closet and turn it into a dark room, where I later learned how to develop film.
I had been a photographer for many years and running my own business before graduating from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Magna Cum Laude. Then to go onto business school to major in Business Management and Marketing; graduating at the top of my class earned me a spot as a key speaker at graduation and also landed me an interview about my business with a local news station.
As I was still running my first business, I was asked by a client to do her upcoming wedding. I didn’t even think about it. I just said yes without batting an eye. This was the turning point of my career. After her wedding, then another, I found my calling. I wanted to become a wedding photographer. I fell in love with weddings. So much detail and I really could spread my wings as an artist and tell an entire story in each unique event, putting my creativity into every shot.
You could view me as one who is overly passionate about her craft of photography. I’m still fascinated that I have control of how each story is told and what each image tells, techniques used to create a clients vision, what I want my viewers/client’s eye to lean towards, turning visions into memorable photographs, the post-processing and editing style, all of these things are highly important to me. That is what makes me a perfect fit for wedding photography. It’s my vibe as an artist. There is so much creativity that goes into creating great wedding photography.
I have been a wedding photographer for 20 years; moving my business from Nashville, TN, to my native state of South Carolina in 2016, I wanted to “redefine wedding photography.” Not all people understood the seriousness of this field. I felt that people expected that once the photographs at their wedding were shot, the next step for their wedding photographer was to deliver the images to them. Editing and Culling is an essential parts of this field, and my experience has taught me that clients need to be aware of the process and that there is much more to photography than meets the eye.
I explain the entire process to potential clients. Inform them of the process and artistry and get a view of their dream wedding vision. I love listening to their love story and planning their photo process and walking through their venue with them to get some logistical ideas. It is so important to find a wedding photographer that doesn’t just show up with a camera and take for granted they have done thousands of weddings and that your wedding will be the same. Every wedding, and every couple is unique, and it’s my job to showcase it.
Since its opening in 2007, Dandelion Weddings + Co. has earned 32 Awards, including Best Photographer by the Charleston Multi-Cultural Bridal + Events Association to The Wedding Pro Society Stellar Award-State Regional Award, and has had 31 publications. As a professional wedding photographer, I get to meet such a colorful mixture of people from different religions, backgrounds, and ethnicities. It is my favorite part; it provides an enriching learning experience about other people, what they expect from you as their wedding photographer, and how you deal with their needs and provides them with complete client satisfaction, which is so rewarding. I love delivering their galleries or seeing their reactions to their Sneak Peeks. I love my job.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Covid has been challenging. Reverting business to Zoom Meetings instead of enjoying coffee or tea with your potential client and reviewing details. It was so foreign to me in the beginning. You observe a vibe better in person, and I love hanging out and getting to know our clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dandelion Weddings + Co.?
Dandelion Weddings + Co specializes in breathtaking award-winning, romantic, timeless wedding photography. We help you tell the story of your romance using natural light and creative styling to emphasize your dream wedding, engagement, elopement, or micro-wedding. Dandelion Weddings + Co. is a 19x Award Winner and has been published 36 times, and has even had the liberty of shooting several Celebrity Weddings in South Carolina. We are most proud of our quality of work. We love delivering beautiful galleries to our clients and seeing their happiness again. It is gratifying. We offer our clients professional wedding + event photography and exceptional customer service.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My Husband Jason, Co-Founder of Dandelion Weddings + Co. Jason has supported me in this journey and is my wonderful partner in crime and Second Lead Shooter. Jason comes from a long line of families that were photographers themselves. His grandfather owned a portrait studio in Chillicothe, Ohio, named “Vicker’s Photography.” Jason not only inherited their interest in photography through his family (his brother is also a photographer), but he also got to help his grandfather develop imagery in his grandfather’s studio. He loves working with the Groomsmen (of course, he likes working with the guys) and lives for catching memorable in-the-moment candids. Jason can be wherever a candid moment is happening at the right time. Jason’s candid photography is just phenomenal. His alternate perspective completes our well-rounded coverage of all the special moments you dearly want to be captured. His additional perspectives on the portraits give us the advantage of having many great images for the client to print. Jason has won 25 Photography Awards and has been published 29 times in wedding and nature magazines throughout his 20-year career.
Pricing:
- Starting at $1799
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dandelionweddings.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dandelionweddings
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dandelionweddings
Image Credits
Tori Buck + Jason Vickers
