Today we’d like to introduce you to Joni Buyes.
Hi Joni, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got started in my photography business over 12 years ago when my husband gifted me my first DSLR camera for Mother’s Day. I wanted to take more photos of my kids but the camera itself was overwhelming with all the settings and buttons. So I actually put it up in my closet for about 2 years before I pulled it out again, determined to learn how to use it.
I took many classes and courses online and signed up with photography mentors to help me learn. Once I started taking more photos of my family I was asked to take photos for others and it took off from there. After a year or so photographing families, kids, and graduating seniors I dove into the fast-paced world of weddings! I still photograph just about everything but engagements and weddings are my bread and butter. I LOVE working with couples and have worked hard to perfect my entire client experience. I build relationships with my couples that translates into a full experience for them and lifetime friendships! My favorite thing is when they keep coming back to me after the wedding and I get to capture their growing families! Their maternity and family sessions bring it full circle and I’m so honored to keep capturing these milestones for them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road for me. There have been a lot of ups and downs, especially when COVID hit. I was forced to shut down as my heart broke for my couples who had to cancel their weddings. But it forced me to get creative. It was then that I reached out to various wedding venues to offer to photograph their spaces for their own marketing purposes and have those to recommend to future couples. It was in doing that that I was put on several preferred vendor lists and I’ve built amazing relationships with others in this industry!
As you know, we’re big fans of Joni Loraine Photography. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a vibrant and romantic wedding photographer near Portland, Oregon. I love to travel as much as I love sitting at home binge watching FRIENDS, Parks and Rec, or the Big Bang Theory with a chai latte in my hand! I wholeheartedly believe in building relationships with my couples! It’s so important to get to know who you’re working with. You should feel comfortable around them so you can truly be yourself!
While I also love shooting families and portraits, I LIVE for a WEDDING DAY! I do all I can to make sure that this is the most special day of their life, that my couples’ love is captured in timeless romantic images and all the details, emotions, and little moments of the day add up to tell their unique love story. But most of all, I LOVE connecting with my clients and the relationships I build with them!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I love the Calm app. It helps keep me centered. I also LOVE Yoga with Adriene on YouTube! She’s the best and making sure I’m taking care of myself in between is absolutely critical to how I function on a wedding day and make it through sessions and the busy seasons.
Making time to be with Jesus is also really important to me, whether that’s reading my bible or when I’m in the car driving between all the places I’m listening to KLove on the radio or my Christian radio station on Apple iTunes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joniloraine.me
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonilorainephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joniloraine
