Metropolitan Imageworks

Somehow we absolutely lucked out last Sunday with some fantastic fall weather.  I am just now, one week later, getting over my annoyance at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond being closed and locked for the day!  We still made it work with a lot of backgrounds in the area and I had a blast working with Emily and Michael.  We even worked our way around some of the lovely Chicago wind and still got some fantastic engagement shots.  See you guys in April!!!

It’s been a long time since I have had something new to share.  I’m not talking about new photos or a new blog post but rather a new project.  One of my current cameras has an added feature of HD video.  I have been using this camera for a couple years and still hadn’t figured out how to use the camera to it’s full potential, in a way that would work for both myself and my clients.

Last fall I attended my very first photography related conference, Foundation Conference.  After sitting through multiple sessions of incredibly talented wedding photographer presentations I was introduced firsthand to Fusion – the blending of still photography and video into finished productions.  These pieces really spoke to me and I had my “A HA!” moment. I knew THIS was the way to use my tool. THIS was something I could offer my clients. THIS was something different and new and fresh.

Here’s a photo my buddy, Gian Carlo, took during one of the sessions at the conference . . . of my notes and my “A Ha!” moment.

My first venture into Fusion was our Holiday Greeting from last December. I came up with the idea, drafted a mock storyboard, begged and pleaded Victor to be a part of it, and finally on December 23rd when it stopped raining in the desert outside Yuma, we were able to head out and shoot the footage (all still photos!) Then, with 2 days to go before Christmas, Victor kindly edited it all together into a finished piece. Here it is again, in case you missed viewing it the first time – Victor and Rachael 2010 Holiday Greeting.

Now, the question is how does Fusion relate to Metropolitan Imageworks clients? For starters here is my very first Fusion project that I produced, from start to finish (with only tutorials from Victor, while I did the actual nitty gritty editing and learned new software.)

Boy + Girl + Dog

This type of project will work well for creative Save The Dates, Engagement Portrait Sessions, Children and Family Sessions a la A Day In The Life, Anniversary and Wear The Dress Sessions, Weddings and of course in a multitude of ways for our corporate clients. The possibilities are endless!

Here’s just a sampling of what’s to come!  I am working on a couple new projects with some of my engaged couples . . . yes I am that possessive, they are MY couples.  Hilary and Wayne and I met up for a half day of fun a few weeks ago to work on sort of a Day in the Life.  I’ll be photographing their wedding in the fall and I wanted to do something different and creative with their engagement session.  Which means I have a lot more editing to do!  In the meantime check out some of the still images I captured.  Stay tuned for the finished piece!

Don’t they clean up so nicely?!

* And note to self, next time you are out in the woods photographing a client racing by on a single track and you ask him to jump a puddle and he warns you that you will get splashed with mud . . . you will indeed get splashed with mud.

Way back in the mid 1990′s when I was a photojournalism student at Columbia College Chicago one of my favorite PJ teachers ingrained in me the mantra, “It’s the kids, pets and old people that make a photograph.” I have to agree, Indy totally stole the show during yesterday’s shoot. These teasers are only a very small sampling of what’s to come from the half day I spent with Nancy, Christian and Indy. Stay tuned!

Never mind that February 8th was bitterly cold, with temps in the single digits.  Never mind that the carousel at the Zoo was closed for the season.  Never mind that over a foot of snow covered some of the paths we needed to get to photo ops.  I was still game for an afternoon and evening out around the city with Tracy and Marc for their engagement session.

Perhaps the fact that the carousel was closed made an even better photo op?

Lucky for them they have longer legs than I do so climbing over the locked gate did not land them butt first in the snow like their photographer.

My sides seriously hurt after this session, from all the laughing!

Kids – don’t try this at home . . . ducking into the Conservatory when it’s 10 outside WILL fog up your elements. I always say I like to do special effects in camera and not relying on Photoshop.

LOOK! For some reason there was a T-rex in the bushes but I much prefer to point at my subjects.

All aboard! Next stop, Union Station.

Time for a cocktail break, all this engagement posing is hard work!

I know it’s cold, but trust me we need to go back outside!

So worth it!

Yes, very worth it!

OMG – WORTH IT!

No animals were harmed during this production but one of the subjects did suffer minor windburn.

Metropolitan Imageworks clients are troopers! When Jamie and Tom booked me for their October 2011 wedding 15 months ago, we talked about a winter engagement session. From that grew the idea of sledding and night shots in downtown Naperville.  I spent the past 15 months hoping we’d have enough snow for good sledding shots. Maybe that’s why we got 15″ of snow earlier this week?  Arctic temps and snow up to our knees is not enough to stop my clients and I from bundling up and heading out to have a little photo fun.

Karyn and Brian sitting on a bridge, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then engagement pics . . . or something like that. Karyn and Brian’s city engagement session was originally scheduled for last Tuesday evening, the night of the ferocious wind storm. I’m very thankful for flexible schedules and that Karyn and Brian were able to meet with me Monday evening instead and together we traipsed around the city on a particularly balmy late October night.

We started at a hidden oasis.

Then cabbed it to Michigan Ave.

Next we played on the bridges.

Finally we took a cab back to our cars in Lincoln Park. Karyn’s feet really thanked me by that time.

See you guys in June on the wedding day!!!

Diana called me two weeks ago to enquire about wedding photography and I was leaving for my East Coast visit the very next day. As luck would have it, she and Rob lived in the same neighborhood where I had already scheduled another new client meeting for that evening and they were available to meet with me. We all hit it off and they booked me for their wedding next July.  Diana and Rob also decided to do engagement photos and they will be using them in their Save-The-Date cards.  We met up with near Lincoln Park Zoo on the day I returned from my trip and we covered a lot of ground around Chicago during the wonderful early evening hours. After spending this much time with them, I feel like we’ll be old pals by the time their wedding rolls around.

Who loves Disney? Juli and Wayne do! So much that Wayne surprised Juli with a layover at Disneyworld and a proposal in front of the Magic Kingdom when they were originally en route from PA to Atlanta for a baseball game!  Of course they’re now planning a Disney wedding for 2012. We met up in Reading, PA at the Pagoda on top of Mount Penn, little bit of kitschy Americana, and spent an evening photographing in and around the Pagoda and grounds. Even though the weather was cold and wet, we had a blast and got some great moments!

Juli was so considerate since we scheduled the engagement portrait session at 5:00 pm, right around most folks dinnertime, she packed a picnic for the three of us and had baked some yummy chicken sandwiches. Such a nice treat and while we hung out and chatted the skies turned dark and the red lights of the Pagoda came on allowing for yet another photo op.

Join me on October 10th, 23rd, 24th and 30th for the first set of Fall Photo Days.  I will be stationed at locations around the Chicagoland area and offering time slots throughout each day for location portrait sessions.  I’m available to photograph babies, children, families (both large and small group), seniors, head shots, pets, engagement sessions and anniversary sessions. Any type of outdoor portrait session, really! The session fee is $300 (or $500 for groups of 7+ subjects.)

Choose your date and location and send me an email to request a booking packet and contract.  Once I receive your booking fee your time is secured.  Simply meet me at the designated location and I’ll photograph your session.

Session includes:

Photoshoot
Online gallery for 90 days
One 8×10 professional print
Disc of edited images with personal usage rights

Dates, Times & Locations:

Sunday, October 10th

8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Glenview Woods, Glenview, IL
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm – 12th Street Beach/Northerly Island, Chicago IL

Saturday, October 23

8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond, Chicago IL
2:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Cantigny Gardens & Park, Wheaton IL

Sunday, October 24

8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Riverwalk, Naperville IL
2:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Lake Katherine, Palos Heights

Saturday, October 30

8:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD – Possibly NW suburbs
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Location TBD – Possibly NW Indiana

Your booking packet includes information about session attire, what to expect from the session and next steps.

Now is the time to get your portrait session done and have us help you with holiday prints, greeting cards and large wall prints. We also have lots of items appropriate for holiday gift giving!

In the event of inclement weather I will designate a back-up for indoor portraits or you can transfer your session to a weekday prior to November 1st.

Please share this with your friends and family! Give the gift of photos, you can gift a session to someone as well!

Contact me to book or with any questions! rachael@metimages.com