Luli's Bat Mitzvah

This girl is special!  Twelve years old, and already has the courage to be herself that most grown women admire and aspire to!  She celebrated becoming a Bat Mitzvah with a Friday night Shabbat dinner with a 'Once Upon A Time' theme, where The Venue Ft Lauderdale was a perfect backdrop.  I'll let the pictures do the talking on the decor.  Guests enjoyed a talking magic mirror, a magic mirror photobooth, potions (perfumes, but potions sounds more fun), and necklaces!  Luli was joined by the women in her family for a lovely twist on traditional Shabbat candlelighting, and by the men for kiddush and hamotzi.  And her family is absolutely rad, and they are all just a pleasure to photograph.  Individual, creative style definitely runs in the family!  So much mazel to you all!!

Stephani, Jared, Ben, Drew, and Charlie

This mama and I went to High School together, and haven't seen each other since!  But thanks to Facebook, she knows I'm doing photography in South Florida, so when her family came to visit from NJ for the Spring, we both agreed doing an outdoor session in the Florida sunshine would be lovelier than an indoor winter session at home up North!  I'm so glad I got to capture this family in some lovely evening light.  Mom and dad have certainly got their hands full with three boys, but they handle it with grace, sarcasm, and humor - a totally winning combination in my parenting book!  It was an honor to freeze some of these moments in time for them.

Jessica, Mike, Shoshana, Samara, and Mahalia Go Swimming

I love this family.  I've been lucky enough to capture their maternity and newborn sessions, and now a fun lifestyle family session at these kiddos' grandparents' house.  They enjoy each other and are totally themselves in front of the camera, which always gives me such great genuine moments to capture.  

This session was particularly exciting, because mom said she was interested in including swimming as part of their session.  And my response was, "well, I've been meaning to purchase an underwater housing for my camera!"  So I did, and into the pool we went!

So now that summer is approaching in South Florida, if you'd like your underwater adventures photographed, hit that 'contact' button and let me know!

Joey's Bar Mitzvah

There are many things I love about photographing mitzvahs.  I love to capture the love and connection in families, and parental pride in reaching this milestone, and the bittersweet realization that their babies are now teens.  It's such an honor to be able to freeze those moments in time.  My favorite part of a mitzvah to capture is the service.  I just love the spirituality of it. Joey's service was held on a weekday morning at his family's home, where they and their family and friends gathered to celebrate this occasion.

Janisse and Family

I've been lucky enough to watch this family grow and capture their extended family when mom, aunt, and grandma are in town.  This time, we intended to meet at a park in Coconut Grove, but we found so many cute spots on the street that we never even made it!