Metropolitan Imageworks

Maisy and Leah are sisters and the awesome, lovable pooches of my cousin.  I’ll take more photos of them this Thanksgiving weekend as we all camp in the Mojave Preserve!  Bring it Turkey Meatloaf!!

One set of parents, three daughters, one son-in-law, one uncle and 5 dogs.  And I got everyONE looking at the camera!  I had been waiting to meet Winnie the doodle for months, as I had photographed her ‘mom’ and ‘dad’s’ wedding in Phoenix in 2008.  Former Chicagoans, they aptly named their pooch Winfrey and she is known Winnie for short.  I was in AZ for a day for portraits and the Thomas family had me photograph their whole group plus furry friends. I was in heaven for the entire shoot!

Check out these two cutie- patooties!  Maddie and Lanie were such troopers during our very hot and humid portrait session!  I, for one, felt the trickle of sweat dripping down my back as we trekked around the gorgeous grounds of Cantigny.  I’ve had the pleasure of photographing both Maddie and Lanie as newborns and then again for a couple sessions in-between.  The girls are so much fun and do so well in front of my camera!  Mom and Dad requested a few shots of the two of them, something they haven’t done since their wedding!

Giving back is good for the heart.  I like to have one event each year where I combine my photography efforts with the talent of an organization to raise funds for a worthy cause.  This year I partnered with the Crystal Lake Jaycees to raise money for the Burleson Scholarship Fund.  If you are not familiar, the Burleson Family Scholarship is named in honor of Crystal Lake resident Thomas Burleson and his family.  In 1999, Thomas Burleson and his family were struck by a drunk driver.  Thomas survived the crash, but his wife Eva, 34, and their three children, Daniel, 14, Tiffany, 11, and Dallis, 7, were killed in the car accident.  The Burleson Scholarship, in the amount of $1,000, will be awarded to a high school senior.

Together with the help of the Jaycees, we photographed eleven portrait sessions on the grounds of the historic Dole Mansion and raised $360.00 for the Burleson Scholarship Fund.  Many thanks to all who participated.  Here’s a sampling of some of my favorite shots from the day.

Not only is all this travel hard on me because of being apart from my husband, I miss my dog, Mater, tons too.  Good thing the neighbors have two gorgeous, sweet-natured and playful English Cocker Spaniels!  I get to spend some time with them and get some snuggles and love in return.  So today we decided on an impromptu portrait session.  They’re very treat motivated!

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!

Kami, Michael, Ethan, Beckett and the family furry friend, Cooper, braved the weather and met me in Lincoln Park Saturday morning for an early portrait session. We had almost a full hour cavorting around the gardens before the rain really started to come down. No worries, it was a successful outdoor session and we had just enough time for a lot of variety.

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