Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Jedynak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I grew up in Poland, which always shocks people. I don’t have that thick Slavic accent, especially when I add that I immigrated to the U.S. at 19 years old. When I started my business, I immediately incorporated the Polish work ethic because that’s all I knew.

This made me realize that yes, I want to incorporate an Eastern European mindset while creating art for others. But at the same time, I longed for my photos to showcase that as well. The raw emotions, and beauty in what most don’t see. I have always thought, ‘How can I make myself stand out in the saturated market?’. The reason for that is I did not want to compete with anybody. I wanted to gain a whole different audience, a different target market, so I could befriend other photographers without feeling the pressure that they were my competition. Which made me dive deeper into my roots and how I could incorporate them into my business as well as my art.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Of course! First and foremost- my name is Rachel and I am a mom to the cutest 2-year-old out there. I promise I am not being biased 😅 but secondly, I am a wedding photographer based in Bloomington, Indiana. I try to incorporate a more documentary approach to my art, where the couple doesn’t feel as if they are being part of one big photo shoot during their wedding day. Lots of breaks, me becoming a fly on the wall at least 50% of the time. I do value the traditional photos of the couple looking at the camera and getting all the cookie-cutter photos as well- which I make sure to document.

I am most proud of the client experience I provide to my clients. At the end of the day, I want them to feel comfortable around me. For them to be able to talk to me like I am one of their friends. This is also why I eliminated the hourly packages out of my business. They seem to bring more tension to the wedding day. Especially when so many weddings rush through the timeline just to make sure the photographer will capture all the moments. And that’s fine if someone enjoys that. I like the approach that even if you need me for an extra hour to get some dancing photos, I’ll be more than happy to stay and you won’t be invoiced for it later.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As many stories start, I have always loved taking photos. Before I even thought of making a living off of photography, I would be excited to make $30 from a 1-hour session. It seemed like a lot at the time. I was in school and found out that I was pregnant. And almost everything I do is for my daughter. When I finished school I knew I wanted to spend as much time with her- the thought of daycare haunted me.

That fall I decided to go all in. I had no idea what I was doing though I graduated with a Business Sustainability degree. With lots of trial and error, free sessions, and being super consistent from the very beginning on social media- I noticed that maybe I could be both a stay-at-home mom and a photographer.

My daughter is definitely my driving force to do better, get better, and create the most irresistible client experience possible. As well as get better each time I pick up a camera. But something a little deeper that also drives the specific creative journey I am aiming for is my culture. I grew up in Poland, and with me getting homesick quite often, I create in a way to makes me feel a little more at home. Where I try to incorporate things that are familiar to me to create my art.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I should start my prefacing that I don’t have a huge social media following. However, I recently had a huge number of people start following me, which helped me get more than 1000 followers.

But a few things I want to point out- choose a couple of social media platforms you decide to be consistent on. And stay on top of it. I try to post 3-5 times a week on Instagram, and be super active on my stories- but making sure that I keep things relevant. I ask myself what I like other creators posting and try to do that. I dislike when people repost when someone else reposted their work multiple times throughout the day, posting an excessive amount of inspiration from other artists on their stories. Some enjoy that and that’s great. Personally, I try to limit such content- instead, I try to comment, DM, like, and save other’s work to help them with their own engagement.

Keeping my stories personal is what I love to do. I choose a few areas of my life that I am comfortable sharing and keep it with that list. I don’t want to overshare my life but at the same time, I don’t want my Instagram to feel like I am trying to sell something. I want my audience to connect with me, my work, and my why. I can’t confirm this as fact but I have noticed that my Instagram has been performing better ever since I’ve been more consistent on Threads. I would encourage seeing if that might help you as well.

Replying to messages in a timely manner, if you are starting out, I would highly encourage replying to every comment and every direct message that you get. Keep it a little longer than just an emoji or simple ‘thank you’- give them a reason to engage a little longer with you, while keeping it all organic and not as if you are trying to get a sale.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://halinowska.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halinowskaphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhalinaphotography
• Other: Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/halinowskaa/

Image Credits

Halinowska