Meet Rachel Sitarz

We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Sitarz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I believe that my strong work ethic was developed from my parents. Growing up I saw them do whatever they needed to support me and my goals. They also have supported any big goal, no matter how lofty, and believed in me. This gave me great confidence, but they also made me understand that the goals are not just handed to me. That I have to work hard for these.

I was a student-athlete through high school and college. In high school, they would drive me to 4:15 am swim practices. When I would be upset about having to go, they would remind me of my goals. I ended up becoming a Division 1, Big10 swimmer. They came to every swim meet I had. When training would be difficult and I would be exhausted, they’d still remind me of my goals.

I think the support and willingness to push me by my parents instill a strong work ethic in me. Now, as a mother, I am motivated to show my son what strong work ethic looks like.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My fulltime job is cybersecurity. It is a very technical role. While I absolutely love it, I started a photography business to keep me creative.

As long as I can remember, I have had a camera in my hand. I was always documenting the world around me. In 2019, my husband and I got married. I absolutely loved our wedding photography experience so much. I wanted to give this gift to others.

Shortly after our wedding, COVID hit. Our wedding photographer had reached out during this time and asked if I wanted to learn about weddings and be her assistant. I thought sure, that would be fun! So I jumped in. When COVID restrictions lifted, I began assisting with weddings.

This experience just took off and my business was officially launched.

Since then, I have expanded beyond just weddings, covering all of life’s special moments. It is such an honor to document people’s lives and precious moments. When a client shows me their walls covered in photos I took, I tear up. It is so special to see that I was able to capture such precious moments.

In 2011, my dad had passed away from cancer. I never got the opportunity to have professional family photos as an adult. It is the one thing I wish so badly I had. I wish he was at my wedding and got photos of him holding our son. But we never got that. It motivates me to remind people of how precious and short life is. Photos are what you get to hand down from generation to generation. Photos are a moment frozen in time. They are such an important investment to make.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think learning how to edit and finding my style was the best thing I did. I spent a lot of time trying different editing styles out and figuring out what is my style. I had a client tell me “I was looking through my photos and felt like I was there again”. It was by far the best compliment I ever got. Advice for someone just getting into photography – do not get sucked into presets. So many sell them. I wasted so much money on them. Find your own style. Edit, tweak, repeat. Also, it is important to realize that your style will not resonate with every client and that is OK. You should not book a client who wants dark and moody, if you are a light and airy editor. It is OK to not take every single client.

The next important quality is people relationship building. I am not a heavily posed person. I want to see true connection. I do this by having people be themselves. Having people connect, touch, hold hands, look at each other, tell jokes, walk, laugh, etc. I do not want to have people standing there stiff with fake smiles. I want true connection. Building relationships with your clients is so important for comfort. I believe I am easy to talk to and try to make the experience fun and comfortable.

Finally – be open-minded and coachable. I see so many people ask for advice but then immediately when given advice, debate or shut it down. You should always be growing and open to feedback. No one knows absolutely everything. You should always try to learn and grow.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

My parents supported me unconditionally. They always believed in me. Any wild idea I had, they believed I could achieve it. It is absolutely what has made me the woman I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bohemianlightsphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bohemianlightsphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bohemianlightsphotography

Image Credits

All photos are mine.