I met Rachael two years ago at a friends bachelorette party. She had just finished creating the metimages website, so she showed it to me as a friend. Her photographs are so amazing that I took a card from her and kept it for two years. When I got engaged in November 2008, Rachael was the first person I hired because I knew that amazing photographs were one of the most important things to me. I've seen about forty pictures from my Aug. 8 wedding so far, and they surpass everything I imagined they would be. I have heard everything from "oh my god - you look like a 1940s movie star - how did your photographer do that?" to "Your wedding party looks like so much fun!!!" that was from photos she helped us pose and stage. Not only this but Rachael is so much fun to work with! It was so great having her around. She caught photos of things that I didn't even realize she was there to witness. Everyone loved her too. I can't really express in words how pleased I am with her work and how happy I am to have hired Rachael and to have had her at my wedding. I cannot recommend her to you enough and would be happy to be a personal reference. read more

I recently had an Intimate Moments photo shoot with Metropolitan Imageworks. What's an Intimate Moments photo shoot you ask? Well, I would describe it as taking tasteful, professional, sensual photos for your lucky significant other. Some photographers call these Boudoir photos. A few of my friends who recently married had done this for their hubby's as a wedding gift for them. Another friend of mine did it for an anniversary present. I kept seeing these pictures and I couldn't get over the amazing results. I just had to do it for hubby's X-mas gift. I chose to do my shoot at a high end couture hotel downtown. I arrived and was completely nervous. Like, lump in my throat nervous. After meeting Rachael and her staff my nerves calmed immediately. I brought a few outfits that I wanted to change into and earlier that day I had my hair and makeup done professionally. Rachael took over 250 photos of me. She has an incredible eye for details, the shoot was not even that long...maybe an hour and a half but almost every shot she helped me position myself to make me more ...shall I say... appealing. LOL I am no spring chicken. My college body has long left me. I am a 34 year old mom, who has been married for a long time and has never done ANYTHING remotely like this. I am telling you this because this is not just for 21 year old bodies with silicone and zero cellulite! Between her lighting and her great eye for detail she makes every woman look beautiful. Every age and every body type. Along with Rachael's awesome eye for detail she is a lighting expert. There are shots from the day that I would have never thought would turn out so amazing. The day of my shoot, I was the last appointment, she had already shot 7 other women that day. You would have never known it by her work. I was thrilled with my results. The shoot includes a CD with all of your pics on it, along with an album with your favorite 30 or so pictures. Before your CD and Album get delivered you can view your photos online. ...In case you are wondering hubby was speechless when I handed him the album on Christmas Morning. The prices for an Intimate Moments Session: $300 or $600 at a high couture hotel Which includes Private Online Proofing for 1 month Pocket Album They serve all of Chicagoland and Phoenix, AZ read more

Although it has been over a year, I still get so much happiness from looking through our wedding pictures from Metropolitan Imageworks. Rachael was an absolute dream to work with and I cannot imagine trusting anyone else with that day. Her kindness and artistic sensitivity shine through each and every image she made. She was unobtrusive and inconspicuous, but somehow managed to capture every important moment and to even create importance and find beauty in otherwise unremarkable moments. As the memories of our wedding day slowly change over time or we're asked by our children in the futre what that amazing day was like, I couldn't be happier to share the images that Rachael found and created for us. read more

We used Rachael Michael and her husband for our photographer and videographer for our June 2010 wedding and engagement photos. We had both an Indian and Christian ceremony. Rachael was very fun to work with and has a vibrant personality. I liked our pictures but certainly would have hoped for more beautiful pictures than we had from her. We did have a very challenging wedding with 3 outfit changes. She did give us 3 albums and CDs with all our pictures. However instead of getting every picture in black and white and color, we got some in color and some in black and white which is unusual. The DVD from our wedding was awsome! It was beautifully done and we have watched it several times. Overall I would recommend her but give her an idea of what you want before you take the photos. She did give us a good price. read more

We had Rachael come out and take pictures of our daughter (2 months and 11 months). She does an amazing job at creating unique shots and shoots in different types of film. I've gotten tons of compliments on our daughters pictures. She's great at eliciting smiles and laughs and has a great raport with children. Can't wait for her to keep taking our families pictures! read more

I had a photoshoot with Rachael last year to celebrate meeting a long-time goal: finishing a marathon. I figured I'd never look this fit again, aso I might as well capture in on film! Rachael made me look even BETTER than I did in real life. She calmed my nerves, took wonderful pictures, and best of all, I had fun! read more

have known rachael since 2005 when i began looking at wedding photographers. we immediately hit it off and i knew that she was a perfect choice for our wedding. she did our engagement photos & our wedding day on 3.25.06. her eye for detail is amazing. i provided her with a list of my 'must' take shots and she got every one. i love that my wedding photos do not look like every other one out there...she has a wonderful talent for picture taking and i am so happy that we chose her. i was also surprised to learn that we were getting a video of our wedding day. vic did an amazing job and it brings tears to my eyes when i watch our video. in 2007, my husband and i were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. we ovbiously wanted pictures of him, and the clear choice was rachael. we were fortunate enough to have her shoot his pictures at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months. we also hired her for his 1st birthday and will schedule our family portraits soon. i am so very happy that i have all of these wonderful memories on film. rachael and vic are class acts and you will not be disappointed with the result. met images will always be my first choice for pictures. :) read more

My husband and I chose Rachael for our engagement and wedding photographer after interviewing several other studios/photographers, both larger and independent. We felt extremely comfortable with her from the start and liked the fact that SHE would be taking our photos (not someone we had never met), and that we would receive all the photos on a DVD with full printing rights as part of the basic cost, vs. charging us extra as most photographers do. She actually gives you 2 DVDs, one with high resolution images for print and the other with low resolution images for easier sharing online. AND you get a set of albums with 4x6s of all the photos. Rachael is very easy to work with and she's FUN!! She listens to what you want and really put us at ease when photographing us. She was as unobtrusive as possible during the wedding and reception, yet caught some really amazing moments. Our photos are absolutely gorgeous and we received a ridiculous amount of compliments on them! There is no pressure to purchase prints or an album, but Rachael is there to assist with the design if you need her. Though we have not gotten around to making our album yet, she did make us an album with our engagement photos and blank spaces for guests to sign, instead of a traditional guest book. I was seriously stressing at the time, so I gave her full artistic control, letting her choose all of the photos and the layout. The book turned out awesome and is one of our most treasured items from our wedding day!! By now Rachael feels like an old family friend, and we can't wait to have her photograph our 5 month old baby next month!! I can't recommend Rachael enough!! read more

When planning a wedding, you will have many expenses to consider (venue, the dress, food, alcohol, music, etc). Out of all of those expenses, your wedding photos are the one thing that will "stick around" and stand the test of time. Let me tell you, Rachael is a fantastic investment! Her enthusiasm, artistic eye, and organization are unbelievable. I was amazed at what a calming presence she was on my wedding day 4 years ago. She remembered so many of my family members' names as she was setting us up for group pix, and her sense of humor really added to the day. At the end of a very long day of shooting, she actually laid down on the dance floor and did a group shot of me and my girlfriends standing over her! Talk about going the extra mile. My husband and I felt so comfortable with her, and we knew that her pix would really capture the day in a real, more photojournalistic sense than a posed sense. Let's face it, the fun candid/unposed moments are really what you want to put on your mantle, instead of some pseudo "prom pose". As you check out her website, her art speaks for itself, but I can also attest to her fantastic attitude and wonderful advice. Rachael gave me a few pointers in advance of the day that really made a difference. As my husband and I move on with life events down the road, we look foward to working with Rachael again to capture those special moments! read more

Rachael is amazing! My husband and I were married in 2007 and people still rave about our wedding and engagement photos. She and her staff are so much fun to work with and make everything so relaxed that any awkwardness you might feel about a photographer being around disappear completely and great shots are the result. My husband and his parents hate having their photos taken, yet Rachael got them to do all the posed shots I wanted an got some fantastic candids. The albums she created afterwards are gorgeous. We gave them as Christmas gifts to our families and people are still talking about how wonderful they look. In fact, the photo album we gave my husband's uncle set off a whole round of visits among family members who hadn't seen each other in over 20 years! So, if you're looking for a photographer who is reasonably priced, fun to work with, and who does a fantastic job, go with Rachael and Metropolitan Imageworks! read more

Rachel turned out some very lovely photos for us and is pretty spiffy herself...she loves shooting kids, pretty ladies, beaming brides, making cake and harvesting fresh eggs from the chicken coop in her backyard. Hey. If I had a yard and my town let me do it, I'd be raising chickens too. Much easier than alpacas. Imagine those omlettes. But I digress... I found Rachel on WPJA after a systematic search for a reasonable, local photo journalistic photographer and chose Rachel. I liked her images and she seemed to understand the 1950s vintage vibe I was planning for my wedding. No caveats except: 1. MAKE SURE to give Rachel plenty of time to shoot your family, especially if it's large! 2. Let her know if you want her to try and get shots of all your guests. This was more an issue for my mom, but the LESSON is: LET HER KNOW EXCACTLY WHAT YOU WANT. The blame in both cases lies on me and not upon Rachel. However...here's the good stuff: I needn't have worried--Rachel did a lovely job shooting our wedding and was really pleasant to work with. Laid-bakc and cheerful she works hard and seeks to work with what you want. She really captured the fun, rousing and vintage-filled spirit that filled our wedding. Our families later on enjoyed the lovely photos and commented how nice they are. Another plus is the "casual" albums we got to take home. Rachel doesn't wrangle you into getting a finished album, nor does she insist on having guests order through her gallery only. Plus if you are lucky she may have cake when you come to pick up the photos! If you are an amatuer photographer she is also happy to share tips and arrange classes. Quirky enough, Emily W and me know a few mutual people, but neither us knew we'd both chosen Rachel till Rachel mentioned it. I guess that says something about our mutual good taste. read more

We chose Rachael to do our wedding photos after A LOT of online research, all based on personal recommendations of friends and family. We live in Portland, OR so only had a chance to chat with Rachael over the phone. Her easygoing and professional personality came out right away. Rachael and her associate, Kira, photographed our wedding on Sept. 12. We couldn't be more happy with our choice of photographers. So far we have seen ~40 pics from that day and are in love. She has a very artistic eye, and her style is photojournalistic. The result is some really cool, natural and lovely photos. Rachael also did our engagement session back in June. This was kind of a last minute request, and the night of the appointment there was a torrential downpour. She chose Union Station in Chicago and we ended up with some of the most unique, interesting and romantic photos I've ever seen. The compliments keep coming in. We can't wait to see the remaining photos from our wedding. We are confident that all our photos will be beautiful, unique, and sophisticated. read more