We recently connected with Cat Ruchalski and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

In the family and wedding photography industry, referrals are everything. I am not shy when it comes to offering my services to friends and family because that’s a huge way that I grow my business. Clients want to know that the person they’re inviting to share intimate moments with them is not only worth their time and money, but also a good fit personality and values-wise. So when someone who actually knows me recommends me, then clients are likely to feel good about their choice.

It’s really important for me to connect with the people that I photograph because I believe it helps me tell their story authentically and foster connection between them. For weddings, I encourage my couples to book an engagement session as well because it gives us an opportunity to get to know one another better before the big day. I had one couple who booked and engagement session and they were so anxious that they would feel awkward. Afterwards, they said that taking engagement photos helped them feel way more at ease for their wedding and they ended up booking me to shoot their wedding.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I majored in photojournalism and had aspirations to be a foreign correspondent and see my work in National Geographic someday. After college, while waiting for Nat Geo to call me back and slinging coffee at Starbucks, I had a coworker ask if I would shoot her wedding. After that, the rest is history. I realized I really enjoyed getting to tell love stories through a lens and hustled to turn my hobby into a business.

One thing that I pride myself on is my ability to ease my client’s nerves and tell their story authentically. Every family/couple/individual is different and so while you may have an idea of what you want your photos to look like, you might need a little help figuring out if that will work well for your situation. And that’s where I come in. I offer experience and encouragement to help my clients get photos that feel like them, but with a little magic.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Referrals! Referrals from past clients, friends and family, wedding planners and other vendors, and other photographers. It’s so important to build relationships in this business because we help each other out.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was set to have my biggest wedding season in 2020… I think you know where this is going. Luckily, I had wonderful clients, who either postponed or worked with me to find a solution that had both of our best interest’s in mind. Then in early 2021, I got pregnant with my second child, with a due date RIGHT in the middle of the 2021 wedding season, so I reached a sort of plateau in business. I wasn’t growing and that was ok at the time. Fast forward to 2022 and I wanted to ramp up a little bit, but was hit with some postpartum depression and anxiety that was probably always there but heavily exacerbated by having two small children and trying to run a business. I debated quitting – selling my gear and shutting down my website. Maybe my photography career was over.

But now, my youngest is three and my oldest is six and they are both in school (at least part time) and so I’ve finally been able to invest my time into my business. I’m feeling really hopeful for the 2025 season. I have three weddings booked and hopefully more on the horizon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.catruchalski.com
• Instagram: @catruchalski
• Facebook: Cat Ruchalski Photography
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cat-ruchalski-photography-lynnwood

Image Credits

None