A few weeks ago we shared highlights from our photo session of Sabrina and family at her Valley Beth Shalom Bat Mitzvah in Encino. Now we'd like to offer some highlights from the Courtyard by Marriott/Sherman Oaks party, with images by Sam Graham and Phil Berkner. Remember that shot of Sabrina jumping outside of VBS we posted the first time around? It's one of our all-time favorites. Well Phil had the brilliant idea at the party of having Sabrina and her brothers jump up at the party as well--in front of her "Sabrina's Soiree," sign from the folks at http://steprepeat.com
Mia loves to dance--and she put on quite the show at her Bat Mitzvah over the weekend.
The service was held at Irmas Campus of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, with a party afterwards at Hermosa Beach's Zen Lounge.
The party--which just happened to fall on Mia's birthday--opened with the traditional grand entrance and Hora, followed by an energetic, solo number by Mia. Erica Mangham's THE Event staged the nattily decorated party, with wonderful nightclub like lighting, and terrific food from the Zen Lounge.
We had so much fun posting our new shots from the Valley Beth Shalom Bat Mitzvah shoot, we decided to come back for a second helping. This is Sabrina at the VBS bima, reading from the Torah, and posting for us outside the temple with her talit. We're offering two versions of our multi-generation of hands on the Torah--which one do you prefer?
Yes, we do drive to the Valley! While we're based in Manhattan Beach and do most of our shoots in the South Bay and Westside, we're happy to make the trek to the San Fernando Valley. Especially when the venue is the big, beautiful Valley Beth Shalom, the jewel of the Valley. We love VBS's stained glass windows, and afternoon shoots when the sun shines right on through. And we love taking pix of Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids jumping outside the sanctuary. Mazel Tov, Sabrina!
We got to spend Valentine's Day with sweet Emily in Long Beach at her Temple Israel Bat Mitzvah.
The hearts and tasty candies were on display at the Long Beach Renaissance party--as well as the program guide for the Bat Mitzvah.
Featured here are some images from Emily's big day, and a little video highlight as well.
It was our pleasure to return to Congregation Ner Tamid in Palos Verdes for Rob's Bar Mitzvah. Ner Tamid is the beautiful temple on the hill, where Rob was called to the Torah. A few hours later, he had the time of his life with a rocking party in the social hall. Randy from Real Genius DJs did a great job of keeping the party moving.
One of the highlights of Bar/Bat Mitzvah photography is seeing the joy the older generation exhibit when watching young 13-year-old children step up to the Bima and read from the Torah. In this case, it was Dakota's Bar Mitzvah over the weekend at Congregation Tikvat Jacob in Manhattan Beach, where beloved great-grandfather "Poppy," got up from his seat, put down his cane, and took his place up on the Bima. He handed the talit to Dakota, and was at the head of the line for passing the Torah down, from generation to generation. The cool thing, as you can see from these images, is that Dakota got as much of a kick from having Poppy there as the old man did.
Dakota and mom Lisa (also seen posing in a killer shot from the sanctuary) put on a terrific baseball themed party (Dakota kind of enjoys sports!) at the Spanish styled Embassy Suites in El Segundo. (Attention Bar/Bat Mitzvah parents--this is one really special facility. We'll post more images from the event later in the week. In the meantime, ask for Deb and tell her we sent `ya.) You Should Be Dancing did their usual stellar DJ job, keeping the kids up and moving all night long.
Here's one of our favorite all-time videos montages. It's images of Samantha, from her December Wilshire Boulevard Temple Bat Mitzvah, chanting from the torah.
Photodex, which makes our favorite video montage software, Producer, just came out with a new version that shows videos in crisp, widescreen, and we love the look.
Check it out!
Here's the "director's cut," version (a shorter, 2.5 minute video) of one of our all-time favorite Bat Mitzvah video montages. It's from Lana's Redondo Beach Bat Mitzvah at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We see more movie parodies in our future. Enjoy!
Saturday it was finally Lana's turn. Lana made her majestic grand entrance to her rocking Bat Mitzvah party at the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach, with over 300 guests sharing the love. It was the third simcha for the Granow clan, and we have been honored to be there for all three. It was also Lana's third time on the Hora chair. See below for her 2007 and 2005 moments. One highlight is always the Havdalah ceremony, as staged by the clergy at Manhattan Beach's Congregation Tikvat Jacob. We love photographing it in natural, colorful candle light. The party was put on by master party planning service In Any Event, and Robin Crevelt. Love that color! DJ Mark Ray had the audience up and moving all night. We produced the montage, which we'll post here soon. Mazel tov, Lana!
Interesting article in the latest edition of the Jewish Journal about several things that could go wrong during a Bar/Bat Mitzvah event and how to avoid them. Party planner Yvonne Wolf offers her take on why Bar/Bat Mitzvah moms and dads need some well-deserved help on the big night. The venue will rent you space and collect their fee, but they rarely help with the all-important details, like decorating the room and helping you find the best vendors. The party planner pro is also on site to help avoid problems. For instance, what do you do if the wrong appetizers are served? Or, worse, the venue runs out of food during the cocktail hour and your guests start to get really cranky? How do you handle an excessivly long line at the bar? Yvonne has solutions--read what she has to say in the Jewish Journal. By the way, we worked with Yvonne at one of the all-time most memorable parties, a baseball themed (natch) affair for Drew at Dodger Stadium last year. You can reach Yvonne at 323.356.2698, or via e-mail at yvonnewolf@roadrunner.com Congrats Yvonne on the article!
Ever notice that temple right there on the bustling Venice, California Strand, a backdrop to cyclists, roller bladers, beach performers and throngs of beachgoers? It's Mishkon Tephilo, "Devotion by the Ocean" serving 200 families since the 1917, an eclectic group that "attracts people from every profession, including artists, writers, educators and intellectuals," says the Mishkon Website. We were honored to be on hand for our first Bat Mitzvah at Mishkon recently, photographing Nora on the Bima a few days before the actual service. (Mishkon is a conservative temple, and thus, doesn't allow photography during the actual service.)
We were surprised by the enormity of Mishkon (you could fit five of our local CTJ temple in its cavernous sanctuary) but loved taking advantage of the many opportunities, including the streaming daylight from the big windows. That's Nora with Rabbi Dan Shevitz on the bima. He has been with the temple since 1996.
Torrance Bat Mitzvah Party | Alex @ Torrance Marriott
Why we love Alex's Torrance Bat Mitzvah party video. First of all, she has great poise, and really lights up the screen. Secondly, Alex made her grand entrance by running under the arms of the guests, and Conor Morris, who did the videography for us on this shoot, did an amazing job running right behind Alex, and capturing it all.
Beverly Hills Bar Mitzvah | Julio @ Temple Emanuel
There's never been a better match of a Bar Mitzvah boy and a soundtrack--at least, not as far as we're concerned. Me and Julio down by the Bar Mitzvah.
Los Angeles Bat Mitzvah | Temple Israel We love visiting Temple Israel of Hollywood for a number of reasons, highlighted by history and music. Temple Israel is the huge Hollywood temple founded by the guys who started the film industry--like the Warner Bros. and Louis B. Mayer. Thus, a visit to Temple Israel is akin to spending time at a great old movie palace. And then there's the music. Bar/Bat Mitzvahs at Temple Israel are extremely musical, and Allison's February Bat Mitzvah was no exception. We love the harmonies with Allison, the Rabbi and Cantor.
Los Angeles Bat Mitzvah | Wilshire Boulevard Temple We are often so inspired by our Bar/Bat Mitzvah photography shoots, we often put little video montages together of our work afterwards. This is a collection of images from Samantha's December Bat Mitzvah, with the greatest soundtrack ever--Samantha's voice!
Hollywood Bat Mitzvah Party | Beverly Garland Holiday Inn Two twins having a "B'not Mitzvah," and lots of fun at their twin party at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Hollywood. Lots of fun!
Manhattan Beach Bar Mitzvah | Manhattan Beach Marriott It's not just that we live 5 blocks from the Marriott--we don't get a lot of opportunity to document outdoor Bar Mitzvahs, so Alex's simcha was very special. This gave us lush green backdrops from the golf course, and fantastic "photographer lighting"--overcast sky and nice, even, natural facial tones.
Malibu Bar Mitzvah Party | Camp Hess Kramer Another fun Saturday outside, this time in the Malibu hills, where Brandon was called to the Torah at Camp Hess Kramer's outdoor chapel. Afterwards, we went down the hill, into a tent, for the big simcha. Danny Knutsen captured it all for us on the video.
Los Angeles Bar Mitzvah | Temple Isaiah
Another of the great Los Angeles temple's, Isaiah, on Pico Blvd. by 20th Century Fox. We were honored to be there for Avi's February Bar Mitzvah.
Orange County Bar Mitzvah | Temple Beth Shalom Temple Beth Shalom of Santa Ana has a huge party room adjoining the temple, and it makes a great backdrop for a rocking party. Here's Andy, as introduced by his sister, moments before the big celebration.
Redondo Beach Bat Mitzvah | Temple Menorah Before Alex celebrated at the Torrance Marriott, she was called to the torah at Temple Menorah in the morning. Here's a brief highlight from the Bat Mitzvah, with soundtrack provided by Alex.
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