The Wedding Checklist: Groom? Check. Venue? Check. Dress? Check. Let’s not forget about the flowers! From boutonnieres to bountiful centerpieces, flowers play a big role in most weddings. But they’re not that easy to choose, there are many factors that go into your floral … Continue reading
The Bar and Bat Mitzvah is an unforgettable day in a child’s life. Once they have become a bar/bat mitzvah, they are officially an adult of the Jewish community. That can be a lot of stress for a 13 year old! Studying months in advance leading up to the big day, one couldn’t help to be nervous standing up in front of all those people.
One of my favorite parts of the ceremony to photograph is the Hakafah, when the child carries the Torah around the synagogue in procession. While the child is carrying the Torah, it becomes a break in the service for them to catch their breath and relax. The smiles and surroundings of their loved ones brings ease to them, leaving them recharged and less stressed for the latter half of the service.
As the photographer, the service can be challenging. I am usually not allowed to photograph inside the ceremony, and when I do it’s with available lighting, which most of the time is poor. When this moment of the service comes, I get three or four frames to catch it and then it’s gone forever. This is one of the more memorable pictures for the family that I love to capture.
I’ve been going to Bear Mountain for years, mostly to ride my motorcycle on it’s amazing roads. The first time I went there I couldn’t believe that such a place existed so close to NYC. When Chris, from Double Image, asked me to shoot Rachael and Jimmy’s wedding at the Merry Go Round Pavilion, I thought “Wow this is going to be really cool”. I went there a week ahead to scout for some good backgrounds since this was the first wedding I was shooting there. All the locations had to be close to the hotel, because it was a little wet and muddy and I didn’t want Rachael’s dress to get dirty.
The day of the wedding was very challenging because it was suppose to storm. Luckily, the rain held out and we were able to shoot all the family photos outside. This was also very helpful, because the lighting in the pavilion wasn’t great. Also, since it was just me with no second shooter it was a little challenging to be in the right place at the right time while staying out of the videographers way. It all worked out well in the end and we were really happy with the results. Rachael and Jimmy’s families couldn’t have been nicer to me and it was great to see everyone so happy on their special day.
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We became a preferred vendor at Mansion on Broadway in White Plains. It’s such a great venue for parties. It has a really cool feel to it and is very photogenic. They were nice enough to give us free reign … Continue reading
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