Metropolitan Imageworks

Laura and Todd needed some head shots, they also wanted some updated pics of the girls and of course while we’re at it, why not get the holiday card photo out of the way too?!  They came to Chicago for the long weekend all the way from Minnesota, and as it so happened, I was in town too!  I photographed Laura and Todd’s wedding in 2004, Laura was one of my own bridesmaids in 2002 and we go way back to our high school days in the early 1990′s.  It was such fun to see Maddie and Sasha as little girls and their interactions as sisters are just so cute and sweet, mostly!  We were also very lucky with some great late summer weather in Chicago. Can’t wait for the next session and I hope it’s sooner than in seven more years!

Our star Coby is back again.  You may recall seeing his Milestones from October 2009-October 2010, with mom’s maternity session as a preview and then Coby’s 1st birthday party pumpkin celebration.  It’s time for another portrait session as Coby is growing by leaps and bounds and has the cutest little personality.  Mom and dad are expecting again and Coby will be a big brother this fall and I just know he’ll do a find job!

The last time I photographed TJ he was a squishy, little newborn!  Now he is a little man at two years old!  We met up at the Riverwalk last week and braved the 90 degree temps and sweltering humidity for a quick photoshoot.  TJ was a perfect gentleman and smiled and hammed it up for my camera.  Then after 25 minutes in the crazy heat it all went downhill,  but we already captured exactly what we needed!

Our awesome Metimage’s intern, Barb, filled in for a Milestone portrait session with Bianca a couple weeks ago in Chicago, and it was hot out!  Bianca and family met up with Barb on the grounds of Dominican University and spent a lovely morning documenting Bianca’s 9-Month session.  Fortunately they were able to escape some of the heat and prevent a melt-down a little longer by heading inside one of the buildings to finish off the session.  Bianca once again aced the portrait session and showed her many smiles and smirks!

Ezra and Zora are back on the blog again, this time for their two and a half year portrait session. We started out at home with them smiling, making faces and showing off some of their new jumping tricks.  Oh to be two and a half again and fearless!  After that we headed to the local splash park for a little late afternoon cooling off, though it seems Ezra and Zora had more fun on the playground swings rather than in the water!

Climbing on the furniture is fun!

Jumping off is even more so!

Check out Ezra’s form!

I think it’s safe to say they really like when I photograph them now!

Mom really enjoyed the water!

I have a challenging job.  And I love it!  What happens when you have a lovely summer day, a beautiful bride and handsome groom, an equally good-looking (and fun) wedding party and a photographer’s eye-candy in terms of backdrop and location?  You get a heck of a lot of images.  The actual day-of the wedding is second nature to me in terms of timeline, activities, emotions, working with families and capturing all that I need to capture to tell a story and document the day for my clients.  Throw in a little weather, be it humidity, rain, direct sunlight, snow, no matter as I have seen it before and I have conquered it before.  The real challenge is working with the images after the day is over and the last guest has departed.  Part of the reason my clients place a high priority on their wedding photos and choose me is for my vision and ability to capture the day for them.  The other part is my ability to take the many images myself and my associate photographer have captured and cull through them to find the best of the best and pare it down to a reasonable number so as not to put anyone – bride, groom, parents, guest – into sensory overload with an unreasonable amount of final images in that story.  When we have a beautiful day with a beautiful crew such as on Diana and Rob’s wedding day, it is a much harder and longer process. But well worth the wait when all is said and done.

My 2011 wedding season is midway through and I must brag about how much I adore my Metimages clients.  Diana and Rob found me through a referral (which is still how 95% of my clients find Metimages) and we had a fantastic meeting last fall and then met up again a few weeks later for a city engagement portrait session.  Starting at a hidden oasis in the heart of Lincoln Park and ending downtown after dark was a perfect adventure and a good warm up for all of us.  Diana and Rob each earned an A+ and I didn’t notice any issues with them as Metimages subjects.  Well done!  I was asked to join the crew for the rehearsal dinner on the eve of the wedding and I decided to start a little earlier during the actual rehearsal of the ceremony.  It was a blazing hot day, direct sun blaring down with barely any breeze and we all suffered through.  Thankfully their friends and family follow instructions well and only had to run through it once.  The rehearsal dinner was held at Hugo’s Frog Bar in downtown Naperville and the private room was wonderfully air-conditioned and provided a nice respite from the heat.  Many of us were checking weather updates for the following day and were excited to learn it would be about 20 degrees cooler and have much less humidity. Game on!

Diana and the girls did their getting-ready prep at the Dairyman’s Cottage on the grounds of Cantigny, where the ceremony and reception were to take place, and it was the perfect suite of rooms complete with a fully functioning and modern kitchen.  The girls were able to spread out and relax all morning.  I arrived just as Diana was sitting down in the make-up artist’s chair.  As soon as all the bridesmaids floated down the stairs in full wedding day attire and Diana’s smile lit up the entire room, it was her turn to don her wedding day dress and accoutrements.  Another reason I get excited for weddings is because although there is a similar format  - girls get ready, bride and groom say I Do, we take photos, celebration commences – many of my clients work very hard to put their own touches on the day. Diana was no exception with the selection of flowers, bridesmaid dresses and her incredibly unique and perfectly fitting bridal gown, complete with pockets!

We headed out for some bridesmaid and then groomsmen portraits around the grounds of Cantigny and then all convened on the East Lawn for the late afternoon ceremony. As we anticipated more movement of the sun, you can imagine our delight right as the ceremony began when a cloud cover blossomed over the entire area.  It was like a giant diffuser and not only provided the right atmosphere for the ceremony it also provided the most perfect condition for outdoor photographs. After a touching ceremony with elements from each of their faiths, Diana and Rob were married and ready for some family formals and fun wedding party photos. In the meantime, the guests headed back to the visitors center for cocktails and to await the arrival and introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Rob Springer!  First dances, heartfelt toasts, a delicious meal and general guest socialization all took place before the DJ opened the dance floor and an all out dance frenzy broke loose!  I’m talking packed floor, dance-offs, spin the bottle, double dutch, the worm and all out good times were had by everyone, young and old.

Here are just a few of my favorite moments from throughout the day:

Pockets!

Visual eye-candy!

Maid of honor.

Best man.

Diana is a teacher and some of her students attended the ceremony and stuck around for a quick photo op!

I love it when a dad gets emotional.

I had to hold on to this post for a long time, namely for selfish reasons because I wanted to continue to savor everything about the day.  From the first moment I met with Karyn and Brian last summer, I totally fell in love with them and knew I wanted to photograph their wedding day!  We had so much in common, such as blending Catholicism and Judaism (my parents had a ceremony with a priest and rabbi in 1972), an age difference between bride and groom (my husband has over a decade on me), growing up in the North Shore (Karyn and I) and the list goes on.  Not more than 15 minutes after the initial meeting was over and we had parted ways, I received a phone call from Karyn to send her a typed contract because they wanted to book me!  Now that’s the stuff that photographer’s dreams are made of!

Karyn, Brian and I met up a couple months later, in September,  for one of the last good weather evenings to traipse around Chicago and photograph their engagement session.  It was a fun few hours with them and a chance for me to really get to know their personalities (and photo nuances, like for instance Brian likes to talk during photos) and for them to see me in action.  The evening was incredibly pleasant weather-wise, in fact it was balmy!  Of course being Chicago, a few hours after we ended the session a storm blew through and the temperature dropped and fall has begun.

Finally the perfect June day had arrives and I was so excited to work with Karyn and Brian and capture all their special moments.  I had a small treat, the photographer I was bringing with to second shoot with me for the day was my good friend, Candice C. Cusic, a Pulitzer prize winner and wedding photojournalist.  I need to figure out a way to provide this type of treat for all of my clients!  Talk about inspiration and having a real live voice over your shoulder pushing you to keep working a situation until you get the perfect capture!

As a last minute addition, Karyn added extra getting ready coverage to the day because the Palmer House had upgraded her to the Penthouse Suite AND there was fantastic art on loan from the Art Institute.  I was even more excited about the layout, the space and the reflective dining table!  After Karyn was all set, we headed down to the mezzanine level for the first glance between her and Brian.  I love this part of the day, when it happens.  I always leave the seeing each other beforehand decision up to my clients, never pushing for one way or the other.  But if they do choose to see each other prior to the ceremony, than I will be right there to capture the emotion and joy in the first sighting of each other all decked out in wedding attire.

Immediate family and the wedding party soon joined us for some formal pics and then we boarded a limo bus with the wedding party and headed out for some Chicago photo ops.  Originally we had planned to hit Wrigley Field first, right after the start of the game but we had observed a parade earlier and were concerned about traffic so we scrapped that idea and headed to location #2, the Financial District and then over to location #3, Michigan Avenue by the Chicago River.  I like to have fun with the wedding party and bride and groom photos but I also like to keep it short and sweet.  We decided after wrapping up at Michigan Avenue that we still had enough time to head North to check out Wrigley Field.  So we did.  And I was filled with immense joy that we were able to hit that location, seeing as the bride and groom are pretty intense Cubs fans.  I love it when a plan comes together.

After our photo ops were fulfilled we headed back to the Palmer House for the Ketubah signing and ceremony.  With the blending of families and blending of religions it’s so refreshing to see how interested everyone is with new traditions.  Some of my favorite photos are the overwhelming joy on Karyn’s face right after the Ketubah signing, because at that point they are indeed married!  The ceremony was stunning, walking into the Empire room and seeing the layout, the Chuppah on risers and the gorgeous aisle with dramatic lighting really re-affirmed why I love my job.  I love to experience beautiful moments and I was not disappointed.  Karyn and Brian had both a priest and a rabbi and incorporated traditions from both religions, complete with Brian breaking a glass at the end of the ceremony.  Guests were asked to enjoy cocktails and appetizers throughout the mezzanine level while the Palmer House staff worked their magic turning over the Empire room for the reception.  Everyone danced the night away and it was happily ever after!!!

Ceremony & Reception Location: Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL

Make-up Artist: Brie Aarin Make-Up,  Chicago, IL

Day-Of Coordinator: SQN Events, Chicago, IL

Officiants: Rabbi Michael Sternfield, Chicago IL & Father Richard Jakubik, Wilmette, IL

I know I have said this time and time again, but it’s totally worth repeating.  My heart sings with joy when I get to photograph the newborn babies of former wedding clients.  Gwen and Jarret were married in 2008 and recently welcomed little Maddie to their family.  I was ecstatic that her birth coincided with one of my recent visits to Chicago and I was able to introduce Maddie to the wonderful world of Metimages portrait sessions.  Her older (fur)bro, Buddy, was very helpful in both his posing and gnawing on my baby basket between sets.  Totally ok, because he made up for it in snuggles!

This.  This is why I photograph people in their element.  It’s not just about the smiling faces, it’s also very much about the un-contrived moment. This is why I don’t put my camera down.

Check out the scrumptious baby hammock my awesome client, Amanda, knitted for me!

Their first “child” deserves a moment in front of the camera, too.

And, it’s a wrap!

Four outfits, 30 minutes and only one set of tears!  Let me say that Gemma and family have their Metimages portrait sessions down to a science!  I wouldn’t expect anything less since I have been photographing them since Momma was pregnant with Gemma, and then Gemma as a newborn and every three months thereafter.  Our sessions might be speedy but there is no shortage of scenery, cute Gemma-isms and of course some great family shots!  See you guys again in December!

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.