Phillip's Bar Mitzvah - A perfect evening and some new photo challenges!

Yesterday was another Bar Mitzvah shoot for me. This one took place at a Temple where I have never photographed before. They had great stained glass windows, nice ambient light inside, but had some other challenges in store for me.

This is a shot of Phillip framed by the stained glass window in the background of the synagogue. I shot this looking up with the 24-105 lens (full frame on the 5D Mark II).

And when walking into the Temple, I saw this awesome stained glass window by the front entrance. I had Phillip stand in front of the window and then popped a little flash to add some fill light in his face.

Masha (mom) was laughing about her son being so much taller than her, so we took advantage of that in this picture. To be fair, I had him stand on his tip-toes so that I could see more of him behind his mom.

Now...back to the challenge at the Temple. They do not allow photographers to shoot images during the service. After some discussion with the Temple, the family got permission to put a camera on a ledge high above the synagogue for some shots. They called me about a month ago and asked if I was willing to shoot from that position. I said, "sure - anything for the shot". Well... When I got to the Temple, I found out that the ledge is about 30 feet high and not very accessible. So, after much contemplation, my son and I managed to get his video camera and my DSLR on tripods on the ledge. I pre-focused the camera and did my best to get a good framing. There was no way to get on the ledge so there was a little guess work and luck involved. I connected a wireless transmitter to the camera, and for the rest of the service, sat down in the back of the synagogue and fired my remote trigger to capture the service. This one of the shots from that high vantage point. (Note to other photographers out there - refrain from shooting images during the silent of very quiet portions of any service.)

In the evening, the family had their party at the Foster City Recreation Center in Foster City, CA. What a great place for a party. They had perfect weather and a great group of friends and family. They had lots of fun things to keep the kids occupied. I had fun shooting this young man blowing bubbles.

Ahhh, this was an active bunch of kids and setting up this shot was a challenge. Once we got everyone in place they had fun! :)

 If you know me, you know that I am always looking for a different, but fun type of shot. I was shooting pictures of the all the kid's shoes and saw them make this star. I had to get a shot of that!

This is one of those "gotta get this moments" during the party. That inital moment when the 13 year-old is lifted in the chair and has that reaction combining elation and trepidation.

And then the dancing got going into high gear.

Being the father of a 13 year-old girl, I can appreciate this moment between father and daughter. Their smiles and emotions really come through in this image. I knew as soon as I captured this shot, that this would be one of my favorites (and I turned and showed the image on the camera LCD to them).

As the evening was coming to a close, I went outside to grab a glass of water from the outside bar, and saw the moon sinking behind the wall of fog in the distance. I ran back for my tripod, mounted the camera with a 70-200 lens, and quickly shot about 8 images before the moon had disappeared for the night. A fitting end to a beautiful evening!