Congregation Kol Ami Bar Mitzvah
I’m just finishing up a two-album set for Devin Chernin at Congregation Kol Ami in Tampa. I photographed Devin’s sister when she had her day and I’ll do his little brother in a few years. I also photographed their cousins. I like to joke that I’ve photographed the grandparents of those kids more than I have my own family. :)
Devin has a Super Hero theme for his party which was awesome because I’m a huge nerd at heart. I’m not saying I have boxes of comic books in my closet but… well, I have boxes of comic books in my closet.
The reception was at the Renaissance International Mall which has emerged in recent years as a very popular place for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. It holds a special place in my heart because the very first wedding I ever shot had the reception there. I know it well. :)
Devin had so many great images to choose from for his album that we had to make a double-album set (his sister was the same).
These pages are double-page spreads. So each one stretches across two pages and lays flat with no gutter when the book is open. Devin also choose a photo-cover for each album and I noted where those are.
My logo doesn’t appear in the book of course. That’s just on these images for copyright protection..
This is the cover of the first album, front and back
This is the cover of the second album, front and back..
Devin also had our photobooth at his party. That’s where these were shot..
Edit: The albums have arrived!
Rise of the Hair Ties
Yesterday, I was meeting with Derek and Beth so they could see all their wedding images and pick up their files when Beth mentioned something that got a laugh. She pointed out that some of her bridesmaids had hair ties around their wrists all day.
What’s funny is that in the last few days, hair ties seem to just be everywhere. I shot a friend in studio this weekend as part of an ongoing personal project that I’m doing and there was a hair tie on her wrist. I shot my daughter after school when she won Best in Show at the State Fair with a hair tie on her wrist, Beth’s bridesmaids had hair tie’s on their wrists and… here’s the best part… when Beth pointed it out I looked down and…. I had a hair tie on my wrist. On my way to answer the door, I saw one on the floor, picked it up and put it on my wrist. :)
Hair ties are everywhere in my world!
Tampa Firefighters Museum Wedding
Last month I photographed the wedding of Derek and Beth at the Tampa Firefighters Museum. I love weddings… any wedding… any where… but sometimes it’s cool when the wedding takes place at a unique venue. Not only was the wedding at a unique spot, but the “getting ready” part of the day took place at Le Meridian Hotel, which is in a building that used to be the courthouse. Not many hotels have marble floors and giant Gothic columns in front!
Derek and Beth were a great engagement session as well. They are very much into cross-fit training and requested a session that focused on the gym (here’s the blog post). We had a great time.
I do all kinds of weddings from small, 1-hour beach weddings to giant, 250-guest, ballroom affairs. I see a lot of “do-it-yourself” brides too, some better than others, but Beth may be the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t think there was anything at the wedding that she didn’t make. She made the centerpieces, all the decorations, the giant scroll for the ceremony… she even made the bouquets and boutonnieres! She told me that they got lucky because the venue let them come in the day before and set up.
I delivered over 400 images of the day, here are just a few favorites:
There’s a story here. The couple in the photo are Josh and Danielle and I shot their wedding a few years ago. Danielle loves photography and takes a lot of pictures and figured out how to get her baby girl to smile. She spins around really fast and then stops on a dime and poses while the baby is still laughing. Look at her! You would never guess she just did a 360 degree spin and stopped perfectly posed!… and the baby looks great!
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