{"id":840,"date":"2010-06-02T10:18:45","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T14:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/?p=840"},"modified":"2010-06-02T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2010-06-02T17:48:09","slug":"portsmouth-bar-mitzvah-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/02\/portsmouth-bar-mitzvah-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Portsmouth B’nai Mitzvah"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been over two years since I last shot a bar mitzvah in Washington, DC.\u00a0 I used to shoot one almost every weekend before moving up to Maine and transitioning into more of a wedding and family portrait photographer. These were usually great big parties that made my job seem like more fun than work.\u00a0 So when Cyndi Smith<\/a> emailed me about my availability for a b’nai mitzvah in Portsmouth, NH I was instantly excited.\u00a0 Of course, a b’nai mitzvah means two teenagers, no small challenge for the most seasoned bar mitzvah photographer.\u00a0 I hoped shooting bar mitzvahs was like riding a bike and that it all would come back to me when I got there.\u00a0 Would I remember the terminology and the standard poses (and would these New Hampshire clients even want what was considered standard in DC)?\u00a0 More importantly, would I be able to relate to 13 year-olds or would the simply see me as a 36 year-old mother of a toddler? I silenced by doubts as I pulled into the nearly hidden Temple Israel<\/a> parking lot.\u00a0 Rabbi Barry greeted me warmly and led me into the sanctuary.\u00a0 I knew instantly that I would be okay.\u00a0 There was the bimah, the arc, the torah, and the tallit.\u00a0 All as familiar as a wedding dress and boutonniere.<\/p>\n

The Katz family arrived and the rehearsal started.\u00a0 Because most synagogues do not allow photography on the sabbath, it’s common to shoot the temple portraits prior to the event.\u00a0 Instead of posing and recreating everything, shooting the rehearsal affords an opportunity for some more natural images.\u00a0 Jordan and Alex and the rest of the Katz family did an amazing job reading their torah portions with me shooting away around them.\u00a0 After some quick posed portraits we said our goodbyes until the party that Saturday.<\/p>\n

I had been anticipating this party from the moment Marla (The Mom) told me they were basing the decor on Khloe Kardashian’s wedding.\u00a0 If you’re going to throw a party, you might as well do it in style!\u00a0 The large Sperry Tent<\/a> stood dramatically on the grounds of Strawbery Banke<\/a>, a Sturbridge Village-like museum in Portsmouth,\u00a0 NH. \u00a0 It was quite a sight, and attracted many curious passersby.\u00a0 Inside the ladies of Janie Haas Events<\/a> were putting the finishing touches on the stunning decor.\u00a0 White leather banquettes faced black leather chairs creating a lounge effect.\u00a0 A black dance floor reflected the tent’s peaks and the shiny red chandeliers that hung from each tent post.\u00a0 Lucite tables were lit from below, and red candles and pillows accented the white and black.\u00a0 In a word:\u00a0 Gorgeous.<\/p>\n

The guests walked from the temple to Strawbery Banke and were greeted by tasty passed hors d’oeuvres and pumping dance music.\u00a0 The food and the dancing did not stop until after 10 PM.\u00a0 To my delight they played some old school bar mitzvah party games like human musical chairs and dance-offs (even though they didn’t play it, the DJ assured me Coke and Pepsi was still a staple game).\u00a0 There was no shortage of goofy party hats and glowing things — it just isn’t a bar mitzvah without that stuff.<\/p>\n

I had a awesome time!\u00a0 Mazel tov, Jordan and Alex!<\/p>\n

Some of my favorite images are below.\u00a0 Check out the slideshow<\/a> to see more.<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/a><\/p>\n

\"temple<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Temple<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jordan\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Stunning<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Party<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Under<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mother<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sperry<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NH<\/a><\/p>\n

Temple:\u00a0 Temple Israel<\/a>, Portsmouth, NH
\nParty:\u00a0 Strawbery Banke<\/a>
\nTent:\u00a0 Sperry Tents<\/a>
\nEvent Planning:\u00a0 Janie Haas Events<\/a>
\nParty Rentals:\u00a0 Party by Design<\/a>
\nDJ:\u00a0 Northern Lights Entertainment<\/a>
\nCatering:\u00a0 Max Ultimate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been over two years since I last shot a bar mitzvah in Washington, DC.\u00a0 I used to shoot one almost every weekend before moving up to Maine and transitioning into more of a wedding and family portrait photographer. These were usually great big parties that made my job seem like more fun than work.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[50,51],"class_list":["post-840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-barbat-mitzvah","tag-bar-mitzvah","tag-portsmouth-nh-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":846,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amysalerno.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}