Imagine There's An Image

Yesterday, I shot my third bat mitzvah in six months. This isn't an area of photography that I looked to get into, in fact, I was relectant to try it when the opportunity first appeared six months ago.

The thing is, people in my temple had seen my "art" photography and started to ask me to photograph their bar- and bat-mitzvahs (or to say it correctly in Hebrew, "b'nai mitzvot.) My only experience with this sort of thing were a few weddings that I accidentally ended up shooting some thirty years ago. I remember being petrified of screwing up the photos, and I didn't sleep well each time until the prints came back from the lab.

Well, things are much better nowadays with digital cameras - at least you can sort of see, on that little LCD, how you're doing as you go along - it is very reassuring compared to the old days. Also, a bar- or bat-mitzvah is not a wedding. You can't shoot pictures at the service itself, so you have the opportunity to do posed shots before and after the service. Then, if there's a party afterwards, you shoot candids.

So I've now lost my fear of doing these events, and in fact, I find it delightful. The kids are wonderful, the parents are so happy, and seeing these families come together is uplifting for me.

OK, it's not fine art, but it is very rewarding.