anna elliott photography || baltimore bar & bat mitzvah photography » bar mitzvah

ally’s bat mitzvah

kristin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:13:50 +0000

i’ve spent a couple of weekends with the chelst family this month: first for a luncheon and then saturday evening for ally’s bat mitzvah and party. one of my favorite parts of photographing bar and bat mitzvahs and is getting to know the families.

trite but true.

maybe i’ve just had a run of good luck but the families who have hired me and trusted me to take their photos on a pretty special day are across the board warm and friendly and they all seem to have great senses of humor and allow me to joke and kid around with them. the chelsts were no exception.

at the party – an amazing party at lima restaurant and lounge in DC - i found myself tearing up at the photo montage of ally and her family (which is really embarrassing when you’re the hired help and have only met the family a handful of times). maybe it’s because kate is 8 and it’s hitting me that one day she is going to be a bat mitzvah, too. but seeing photos of ally as a baby and a toddler and as a little girl and then looking at her in her fantastic party dress dancing with friends (and boys!) and seeing how she’s really a young woman and not a little girl made me realize that kate is not going to be a little kid forever. it goes quickly, people.

( i neglected to mention what a fantastic job ally did reading the haftarah. her dad was her tutor and i was impressed beyond words. she was easily one of the most well prepared, confident bat mitzvahs i’ve seen or heard. maybe her dad will tutor my kids…)

sarah’s bat mitzvah || temple isaiah

kristin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:30:18 +0000

i shot sarah’s bat mitzvah this past weekend and it occured to me that there is a huge difference between 13-year-old girls and 13-year-old boys. at least when it comes to their bar/bat mitzvahs and at least *imho*.

the boys i’ve shot are – almost all – nervous (but won’t admit it) and when i ask them what they are most worried about they all tell me they are afraid of forgetting their lines when they get up on the bimah to read. pretty normal. i would be, too. but the girls? all of them are cool and composed the morning of their bat mitzvah and when i ask them what they are most nervous about they look at me and shrug and say, ‘nothing.’ like it’s an everyday event to get up in front of hundreds of people and read aloud in a different language.

sarah was no exception. her mom told me that sarah was so prepared that if the rabbi had called them two months ago and told them the bat mitzvah had to be that week that sarah would have been ready. wow. these kids amaze me. having converted to judaism as an adult, i never had a bat mitzvah and truth be told, i’m not so keen on the idea of having one. i give these kids a lot of credit for the amount of studying and preparation they go through for this day. mazel tov, sarah!

sarah and her family (who were so much fun and a total joy to photograph!) on her beautiful day:

[ kaplan bar mitzvah portraits ]

kristin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:29:12 +0000

i had the great priviledge of photographing a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah this past weekend. one thing i particularly liked is that ellen wanted to do a casual family portrait session the day before the event instead of doing family formals on the bimah the day of. it was very relaxed, in their back yard, and only took about 40 minutes. i love the results; no, there aren’t traditional photos on the bimah but these really reflect the spirit and love of this family:

(please be patient; this is a large file and may take a few minutes to download)

emerson’s bar mitzvah

kristin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:51:22 +0000

i photographed a bar mitzvah last weekend and am just now getting around to posting images. why? because it was a great event and i took way too many photos; it has taken me forever to edit them down.

i had a great time spending the day with betsy, steve, emerson, brian and weston and the reception that night was so much fun that it made me – a lifelong dance-a-phobe – want to get on the dance floor.

(for those of you planning your own bar/bat mitzvah, the (awesome) dj was mc angel from washington talent and the talented party planner was robin rosenthal from regal celebrations.)

weinstein bar mitzvah

kristin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:10:30 +0000

i had the great privilege of photographing ben’s bar mitzvah this past weekend. i knew it would be a fun gig because his dad, jon, has a wicked sense of humor and he can give it as well as he gets it. the entire family was game for my goofy jokes and tricks to get them to smile without looking cheesy. they humored me and made my job easy AND fun. thanks, guys!

by all accounts ben did a super job (the temple doesn’t allow photos during the service) and it’s no surprise; ben is a genuinely nice kid with a great sense of humor and more maturity than most 13-year-olds i know (and look at him! i sure don’t remember 13-year-old boys looking like this when i was that age. my 5-year-old son came into my office while i was proofing these photos and asked me why i had taken photos of zac efron).

i’m still working on the photos from the reception, but here are a few of my favorites from the temple: