Jared's Bar Mitzvah

I really enjoyed photographing Jared's Bar Mitzvah for a number of reasons. First, his family is great! I actually taught martial arts to the entire family while working as an instructor at Cutting Edge Karate in West Hills. This was one of the reasons Karen & Dave (Jared's parents) called me, we already had a prior relationship and they knew we'd work well together. I love building solid relationships with all my clients, but it's great when we already have a good foundation.

The second reason I really enjoyed photographing this event, is that it took place at the same temple where I was Bar Mitzvahed many years ago, Temple Judea in Tarzana. Karen was Bat Mitzvahed there too! The temple was recently renovated and is completely different from when I was there, but I could still see some remnants of what it used to be.

Not only was it Jared's Bar Mitzvah that day, but it was also his 13th birthday. Of course Bar and Bat Mitzvahs are typically around a child's 13 birthday, but they don't always fall on the same day. In keeping with Jared's travel theme, he was presented with a birthday cake shaped like a suit case, with passport and flag stickers included.

Congratulations to Jared, Karen, David, & Colin!