Capturing family history

Yesterday was a really fun day of photography. I was capturing images for this particular family for the second time. I photographed their older daughter's Bat Mitzvah almost 3 years ago and yesterday was, their middle child, Maggie's big day. It was really amazing to see how much the kids have changed in the last 3 years, and it made me think about how I am capturing their family as they are growing up. What a great honor to be invited to do this for them.

The three kids having some fun before the service.

This is still one of my favorite shots...yep the Jeff Cable patented "Yad Shot". :) But this one is even better than most because of the great colors in Maggie's dress. For those photographers out there, I shoot this wide open at f2.8 and make sure that the focus is directly on the tip of the yad (pointer). The narrow depth of field draws the eye right to the Torah.

I typically capture hundreds of images of the service, but my favorites are always the ones where I can easily see the emotions of the family. In this shot, I love the fact that everyone is having a good laugh.

And then, in the evening, it was time to party. The reception was at the beautiful Hayes Mansion in San Jose, CA. Big smiles all around!

And...the start of the show is...Maggie. I love getting all the kids together and taking a kids-only picture.