Adam's Bar Mitzvah - November 6, 2010

Adam's parents, Jeff and Ellen, hired me to photograph this bar mitzvah almost two years ago. We became friends when our sons studied tae kwon do together. Jeff booked me without seeing a single photo I had shot, based solely on our friendship. That is a trust I take to heart and something that I so appreciate.

I started the day at Temple Sinai taking pre-service portraits of the family. I returned that evening, with my trusty second shooter, Kaitey Whitehead, to photograph the party at Maggianos in Chevy Chase. What a great party it was.

The room was decorated by Da Vinci Florist, with a Hawaiian theme, based on the family's favorite vacation locale. One of my favorite elements of the evening was Pop Noggins. Through some feat of technology that still confuses me, they placed people against a green screen and somehow images of them came out with their heads bobbing on cartoon bodies to pop songs of their choice. I loved the green screen as it made a great background for us to shoot against while people were performing their songs. AP3 with their awesome DJ and dancers kept everyone on their feet the entire evening.

One of the highlights of the party was when Adam, and his fellow black belt, Jayant, came out and performed two musical tae kwon do forms.

I arrived back home late that night wearing a faux fir hat, slatted sun glasses and several colored leis. Indeed, the sign of a great party. Adam - you were a star and you so deserved the awesome party that your loving parents threw for you!