I met Sydney and her parents in March of this year. They had seen some of my work in Cary Magazine and had wanted to meet with me about photographing their daughters’ Bat Mitzvah. I had never photographed one before but after doing a little research, I found out it’s similar to wedding photography, of course, without a groom. 
The Bat Mitzvah was held at Beth Shalom in Raleigh the morning Tropical Storm Hanna blew thru town. Luckily for everyone, the storm held off long enough for Sydney’s family to arrive safely and wasn’t menacing enough to call off the Bat Mitzvah. It was a bit rainy and wet and I did suffer one casualty, my cellphone. Apparently cellphones and water don’t mix, especially when it lies outside in a tropical storm for 30 minutes. Anyway, the actual Bat Mitzvah ceremony was an absolute delight to photograph. Lots of singing and reading of the Torah, which is done entirely in Hebrew. Sydney did a really, really great job reading and even though I didn’t understand the words, I could tell by the reaction of the attendees that she really did well!
After the ceremony, we had a break in the afternoon and everyone readied themselves for the party of the year at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. The room was decorated fabulously with gren polka dot lighting, Sydney’s name projects onto the wall and purple lamps adorned the table, with her initials on the lampshades. It certainly was awe-inspiring and my hat goes off to Robin, Ira and Caroline (their planner) for having an amazing evening and celebration of Sydneys Bat Mitzvah!
Of course, here are a few photos:
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by Brian Mullins
7 comments
Photographer sydney - Hi,
Really all the snaps were amazing specially third one .
Thanks for sharing.
Brian Mullins - Hi Sheri & everyone else… thank you so much for the compliments! It certainly was a beautiful affair and I’m honored Robin, Ira & Sydney had me as a part of it. By the way, I do travel so even though I don’t permanently live in Houston, I can always live there for a weekend.
Sheri Perroux - I’ve seen a lot of Bat/Bar Mitzvah photography and you could NOT have told me that this was your first time to photograph this event! I wish you lived here in Houston!! I would love for you to photograph my daughter’s Bat-Mitzvah in August of 2009!! WONDERFUL pictures
Tamera - These photos are fantastic Brian! Looks like it was a great party for her.
) Tamera
shane - great coverage, Brian. I really love the composition of the ceremony shot. Great work!
Stacey, Brett, Tanner & Haley Price - We are so excited to see the rest of your amazing photos from Sydney’s Bat Mitzvah. It was absolutely the most fun night ever!
Warren McCormack - It was a huge amount of fun working with you at Sydney’s Bat Mitzvah last Saturday evening. These images are fantastic! I can’t wait to see the rest of them.