Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel DesJardins.
Hi Rachel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Most photographers’ stories start the same. We picked up a camera to document life and it evolved into their passion and their business. While the same is true for me, everyone’s story is still unique and mine has brought me to some pretty great places.
Photography was in the background when I was in college, introducing me to new people, new friends, and new opportunities. Then after school and before working full time, I took to Haiti, Aruba, and Uganda to document missions work as well as allowed opportunities to document weddings, events, and milestones.
Next, my photo skills got put to use during my short stint in the “corporate” world in documenting products and sports while using my communications degree in my marketing role. I leaped full-time self-employment at the 4-year mark and have had this dream grow exponentially over the last 5 years of being in business full-time and the past 9 years of doing what I love. Rachel DesJardins Photography will always be my most proud accomplishment.
Once I found the rhythm of doing photography full-time, I realized there was a definitely gap in the industry when it came to affordable studio spaces where you could still photograph candidly. This birthed The Hive House. A rentable photography studio east of the cities in Stillwater where there are dedicated rooms that resemble cozy comfy home-like nooks.
The studio has a bedroom setup, bathroom, rolling walls, and our favorite part – a boudoir suite where there is space for your makeup artist to set up and do hair and makeup, a full client closet of lingerie for your boudoir shoots, and a lounge to elevate the experience. The Hive House has been my labor of love since 2019 and hundreds of local photographers have walked through our doors since we opened.
Once the studio was established, I decided my life wasn’t quite crazy enough – what with the COVID and running 2 businesses – so I started doing foster care. A long-time dream of mine, I just didn’t think I’d do it single, in the middle of a pandemic, and while my businesses still needed my attention.
But life has a funny way of giving you what you need whether you want it or not and I jumped head first into foster care and found all the necessary support along the way including Danie Powell (The Hive House Manager and Rachel DesJardins Photography assistant) who picks up the slack when I have to turn my attention inward at home.
So alongside all of these businesses, when people support either Rachel DesJardins Photography or The Hive House, they are also supporting kids who have, through no fault of their own, found themselves in need of a temporary or permanent place to stay, grow, and become.
My story isn’t done. There are so many more big dreams brewing even now and I believe in speaking them into existence, so let me share what next steps I’m looking at:
•Opening a wedding venue is a dream of mine and while it will take time to lift this dream off the ground, I hope to transition my sights to this plan in the next 5 years.
•There are so many youths in foster care that end up aging out of the system or getting adopted at an older age where they could use support to move out and live on their own. I hope to see a program that supports previously fostered youth in their transition – including helping them furnish their new place with donated goods.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No self-employed business owner will tell you it’s easy. You leave your 9-5 to work your very own 24-7. It’s hard work but when you do what you love, it never feels like too much. As a budding business owner, I was blindly finding my way in the business world without a degree or a mentor. Now, I happily share any knowledge I have with aspiring photographers because there is room for everyone in the business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Serving is what I’m all about. While a lot of business owners are numbers focused, at the heart of my business is service. My main focus is to document and document well so that my clients have memories to pass on as their heirlooms.
I’ve documented weddings, seniors, births, yearly milestones, grand openings, self-empowering boudoir sessions, engagements, and proposals all with the heart of encapsulating my client’s stories. When you run a business this way, strangers become clients, clients become friends, and you get to invest in their stories even further.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Service is my happy place and I love creating a space for people to feel safe heard and seen. Finding my strengths and applying them to help others whether it is in the form of photography, business help, or just creating a space for them to be themselves. This is what landed me in the boudoir world, to begin with.
The idea that I can create a safe space for someone to feel truly themselves in her skin holds such high value to me. My passion is powered by the community. Loving others and supporting people is my bread and butter.
Pricing:
- My weddings start at $3k
- My sessions start at $450
- A coffee date to chat about business is always free and I love to meet other aspiring entrepreneurs
- Hourly studio rentals start at $50/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: rachel-desjardins.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/racheldesjardinsphotography
- Facebook: Facebook.com/racheldesjardinsphotography
