An Inspired Chat with Jacquelynn Buck

Jacquelynn Buck shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Jacquelynn, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I recently traveled to Copenhagen and had the best breakfast item – called a BMO or Bolle Med Ost (basically Danish fermented butter spread on a warm, freshly baked organic sourdough roll covered with seeds, topped with two slices of hard sharp Danish cheese) and through some experimentation and a little bit of substitution (ie French butter and Dutch cheese) I was able to make a decent replication using a super easy sourdough roll recipe that I tweaked until it came right. I love traveling, and part of the joy of the journey is discovering the food of the places I visit and then coming home and seeing if I can reproduce what I had. I also love that sometimes I just can’t – because sometimes half of how good it tastes is because of where I am when I am eating it!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jacquelynn, and my company is Photography by Jacquelynn. I am a boutique portrait and elopement photographer, and I have been in Tucson, AZ for 12 years. I have been a photographer for 18 (full-time for 16). I was born and raised in Easton, PA, and I lived in 7 states before settling in Arizona. I am a sunshine girl, and despite the summer, I love Arizona. I also adore the epic scenery (and the Saguaro cactus) that the desert is famous for.

Right now, I am concentrating on marketing myself as “Your Photographer for Life” – what that means is that I want to build a relationship with my clients that goes beyond just one session. I want to start with one, but then work with them again and again, capturing all their life moments and celebrations.

I actually believe that at the core of what I do are two things – posing and lighting. I work well with people and know how to gently and confidently pose (no awkward hand placement here!), but also understand lighting – how to chase the light and control the light, using a combination of natural and off-camera lighting. I believe these skills are necessary for every kind of photography – from weddings to newborns and everything in between. Understanding posing and lighting has allowed me to confidently photograph sessions of all types – boudoir, maternity, newborn, family, high school senior, headshots, branding photos, elopements, weddings, and events – with the same level of success and providing beautiful images to my clients no matter what part of the life journey they are in. Thus, the “photographer for life” concept.

I am also striving to build an elopement brand in Tucson and attract people who travel here to take advantage of the gorgeous scenery to say their private “I dos”. I have been the photographer and the witness for many intimate ceremonies! It’s such a joy to share the desert and all we have to offer with couples who are up for a little adventure to celebrate their love.

If you want to learn more about me, check out my “about me” on my website! https://www.photographybyjacquelynn.com/just-me/

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
On a recent trip to Pennsylvania to visit family, I drove by the home that used to be my grandmother‘s house. It didn’t look much like it did the last time I was there, 25 years ago, but it still looked enough like the one I recall to pull on my heartstrings and remind me of what used to be.

I remember the smell of the Lily of the Valley that was planted underneath my grandmother‘s bedroom window. It would waft in on the breeze when she had the windows open in good weather. I remember the smell of the honeysuckle and the sweet taste of it on my tongue. It grew behind her backyard swing – the place she’d nightly use to reflect and pray her rosary. I remember the feel of the hot, rough concrete on my bare feet all summer long and the cool water and smell of chlorine from her in-ground pool. I remember the bowls of fresh fruit on the table and the tomatoes she would plant in pots and pick straight from the vine and pop into her mouth or mine. I remember how the Christmas tree would look in the living room window, lit up with colored lights and covered in tinsel strings that would dance in imaginary breezes. I remember the crackle of the fire, wood-burning, and a focal point in the family room. I remember hauling the wood in from the garage and keeping the fire going all winter long. I remember mostly the smell and taste of my grandmother‘s cooking. I remember her standing me on a stool at five years old and teaching me how to make chocolate cake, letting me mix the cake batter with the handheld beaters and teaching me to say one “Our Father” and two “Hail Marys” while I did, as a way of timing how long it should take.

I was very fortunate to have a grandmother who truly raised me like a daughter. I wasn’t an only child, and I do regret that she spent more time with me than with my siblings because they didn’t get the version of her that I got. But I will forever be grateful for everything she instilled in me, from belief in something greater to the beauty of hands in the dirt and cake in the oven. And, not surprisingly, when I dream at night, very often my dreams are set in my grandmother‘s house. There’s probably no other location that shows up more frequently, no matter what the dream is about. That says something about the power of love.

My grandmother (I called her Baba) is the one who most shaped how I see myself. She loved me unconditionally, and that alone was enough for me to feel my worth. I lost her in 2005, and even though it’s been 20 years, it sometimes feels like yesterday. There have been many life lessons since, some of which have reinforced my truth, some which have challenged what I believe, but I feel lucky that the core of who I am remains as it was, and hopefully always will be, as seen through my grandmother’s patient and loving eyes.

I was thinking about life and what comes after the other day, and thinking I really hope that I get to see her again someday. No, not soon. Hopefully not until I have lived a very long life. But someday.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I lost my mother when I was 25 and there are so many versions of my life that might have been had she lived, but I’d like to believe none of those versions is as good or better than the one I have right now. Losing my mother taught me a lot about resilience, about the dangers of “what if” and “if only” and about how despite grief and senseless loss, all four of my siblings have thrived and become people she would be proud of, and I include myself in that success. We all still have scars, and some of those will never heal (though they do get lighter over time). And we all still have grief. But each of us has a story that we might not have been able to tell had it turned out differently. And so I have learned to be grateful and have tried not to live in any regret for what could have been. I have tried to fully believe that everything that happened has led me to this moment, and I am right where I need to be. And even when sadness comes back around, I know that too shall pass.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I’d like to say mostly yes. I try to curate a style and social media presence that is consistent with my brand, and keep that very true, and very simple – what you see is what you get with my work. When it comes to my personal life, I am who I say I am. When I wrote my “about me” page on my website, I really poured from the heart, touching on things that matter to me and things that make me happy. What I post socially are the moments that I want to share to bring joy to others. Sometimes I am moved to be more vulnerable and share sadness, or comment on something I saw or experienced that is deeper, and I hope that also moves or helps others. But I really try to be a positive light while being real.

I am a very direct person. I am a very open book, if you ask. Sometimes I am opinionated to a fault, and those who know me well know that it’s hard for me to admit I am wrong if I really believe I am right. But I don’t feel like that side of me is something I put on social media. That is more reserved for one-on-one interactions because I believe in-person dialogue is more meaningful to help me see the other side, and voice and tone make so much more of an impact when face to face vs keyboard to keyboard.

Also, as a rule, I decided long ago that with social media, I would reserve my opinion on controversial topics for in-person dialogue rather than public forums. I don’t speak out on social media about things that I don’t fully understand, and so much of what is happening in the world today, I confess, I do not understand enough to speak out about. I am the kind of person who wants to research, see the facts from both sides laid out, and formulate my opinion based on as much unbiased information as is available to me, and yet I don’t feel like that is really even possible. And so, at least on social media, I keep quiet. In private circles, I ask questions that might express my ignorance, but with the hope for open conversation that will help me learn more.

All that being said, there are times when I would defend what I believe, or defend someone I want to protect, whether I have all the information or not, and that can be fierce.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If immortality were real, what would you build?
I have often thought immortality is one superpower that I would actually want to opt into, with an exit clause. I do know there is a liability to living forever, at least if Anne Rice has anything to say about it, but there is a piece of me that is afraid of what happens after this life, and there’s a larger piece of me that loves my life and really doesn’t want it to end. There are so many things that are worth hanging around for. I am sure immortality would come with emotional upheaval, especially if I were the only one who had it. I would need to find and build a community of like-minded individuals, also with immortality, and, since we’re wishing big here, I would want everyone I love to also be immortal. I would start investing in property and land that I could deed into perpetuity so that it could never be touched, and I would always have a safe place to live. I would likely be more open to the idea of building legacy through investing in things that would safely gain over time, but I might also find myself taking certain risks that could result in greater wealth because I would know that I had more than one lifetime to rectify any mistakes.

One of my favorite quotes is “what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail,” and that speaks to me because I do think fear of failure is a big reason why people don’t leap. Knowing that I was immortal would likely minimize the fear of falling and failing for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.photographybyjacquelynn.com
• Instagram: @photographybyjacquelynn and @lifeunsensored and @forever_afters
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynnbuck/
• Twitter: @jacquelynnbuck
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photographybyjacquelynnbuck/
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCeEc8NEbmL-C_PINAjUtKNQ

Image Credits
Photography by Jacquelynn