I'm glad you found me. Please check out my website gallery and blog. I have many years of experience working as a Bat Mitzvah photographer and have shot both Bat and Bar Mitzvahs in Los Angeles and now South Florida. If you are planning a Mitzvah in Boca Raton, Miami, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or anyplace in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties I'd love to chat.
About myself, I have been formally trained in photography and video production by some of the most famous photographers in the world. I also have a BA in Communications and photography from Adelphi University. After finished college in NY I made to move to Los Angeles where I furthered my photography skills. I followed a long road filled with lots of stories and experiences becoming a photographer. If we get to talk, I'd happy to entertain you with my unique and interesting stories of the path to becoming a successful photographer.
The picture in this post was taken at Stonebridge Country Club which is a fantastic place for a Bat Mitzvah. Located in Boca Raton, Stonebridge Country Club is a venue that is great to Bat Mitzvah Photography. The scenery around the country club features some picturesque lakes, rock bridges, and great landscaping. Whenever I find myself working at Stonebridge I always take photos around the main clubhouse, but I'll also snag a golf cart and take the short drive to find the more interesting scenery. Trust me, there are plenty of great picture taking places around this venue.
Having shot so many Bat Mitzvahs all around South Florida I have a wealth of great information to offer anyone looking for a Bat Mitzvah Photographer. It doesn't matter if the event you are planning is in Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, South Beach or Miami, I know I could help you with your planning as well as provide great information on photography. Of course, I would be thrilled if you decided to hire me.
To help with your search for a photographer I have provided some tips to help you along your journey.
First, It's important that your Bat Mitzvah Photographer has lots of experience. A new photographer can take classes, seminars, read books surf the web but unless the person is actually working under pressure it's impossible to develop the skills required to shoot great images in the moment. There is a photography term called "The Decisive Moment". This term was coined by the famous photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. The Decisive Moment refers to the instant when a photographer uses instincts to determine the exact time to press the shutter. There is no way to teach this, it has to be experienced by shooting, then looking at the images and shooting again, event after event and year after year. As a South Florida photographer I spend hours and hours looking at different photographers images. I continuously look at other photographers wedding, sports, news, and photo-journalistic photos as a way of sharpening my skills. I can look at a set of photos and tell in a second if the photographer is in touch with the moment or out of sync with the moment. It's the repeated act of missing the moment again and again that eventually leads a photographer to develop instinctively the skill to capture the decisive moment. In addition to developing the skills to capture the moment a photographer also needs to develop the skills of lens selection. Most new photographers think that a wide angle lens to designed to see a wide field of view, and the purpose of a telephoto lens is to bring things in close. To a certain extent this is true, however to a larger extent, it's not true. Think about this, what is the difference between using a telephoto lens and standing far away vs a wide angel lens but standing close up? Even though both lens selections will prove the same framing, each will prove a completely different image. So in terms of a portrait, do you stand far away and zoom in? or get closer and zoom out? Only with experience can a photographer learn which lens focal length will work best. Many new photographers don't think about this, they just shoot and hope for the best.
The other thing to consider, does the photographer have photoshop skills. If not, then who does the retouching. I was talking to another photographer who was telling me that he only does retouch when the client requests retouching. I asked why, and was told he pays his retoucher and doesn't do retouching himself. Here is the problem with this, a client could look at a photo taken during a Bat Mitzvah and not like the picture because of shiny skin, or wrinkles on the face. Keep in mind, the camera shows everything, humans are visually deletion creatures. This means they don't see most of what is presented visually. However, a photo doesn't have a brain that deletes information. This is often why people don't like how they look in pictures. By including retouching with all the images you turn the photographic tables back to the favor of the image viewer. Several years ago, I photographer who is a friend of mine called me to tell me about an unhappy client he was dealing with. The client wrote a nasty review about his work. In the review she wrote, I had wrinkles on my face that I never saw before. I'm sure she did. Because as humans we mentally delete those wrinkles. This is why they should have been retouched out before she ever saw the pictures. As a South Florida photographer I believe that it doesn't matter if it's a Bat or Bar Mitzvah, Wedding, Portrait, Headshot, maternity shoot, every image should have retouch.
There are many many more things to consider when hiring a Bat Mitzvah photographer. Included in my different articles and blog posts is content which attempts to educate and teach some of the helpful information I have learned as a photographer over the years.
If you would like to see more of my Bat Mitzvah pictures below are some links to my other photos.
Bat Mitzvah Portrait taken at Temple Kol Tikvah
A award winning photo taken at a Jewish Orthodox wedding
Portrait of Bar Mitzvah taken in Boca Raton
This link takes you to my Bat - Bar Mitzvah gallery
Location: 10343 Stonebridge Blvd, Boca Raton, FL 33498.