Portrait

Alex’s Bar Mitzvah: The House of Blues

What: Alex’s Bar Mitzvah
Where: The House of Blues, Sunset Blvd Hollywood.
Photography: Paul Esposito/Tasty Pie Photography + Sherri Johnson Photography
Entertainment: Groovy David Entertainment

It’s not everyday I get to photograph a Bar Mitzvah, and even fewer times a Bar Mitzvah at the House of Blues! Alex celebrated his special day with close friends and family.
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The decoration was absolutely beautiful and fit for a teenage boy.  The place cards had guitar picks, a very cute idea!
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Welcome to “Club Alex”
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Tracey (Alex’s mom) with some friends during cocktail hour at the upstairs bar.
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The videographers interviewed the kids from a cat’s perspective.   It made the kids curious and giggle.  There was also a photobooth set up for the kids to take home some pictures instantly!
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After cocktail hour, the balcony opened up to reveal the dance floor and main party area.   You can kinda see the layout of the party in this picture, with the party photobooth area at the top left, main floor in the center, a bit of the stage on the bottom right corner, and surrounding all of that was seating for guests to enjoy the amazing dinner.  Some cool things they had for the kids was a smoothie bar, and donut station!
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Groovy David Entertainment kept the energy up and the party going on the dancefloor!   On the right, 2 dancers strike an athletic pose.  Wow, they are fit!
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During the hora, Alex does a quick pose for the camera.
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The kids played lots of games.  The one pictured below shows the kids in teams formed into 2 lines.  Each team has to pass a ball over their heads to the person behind them, and the last person in the line runs the ball back to the front.  Everyone does this until they return to the original line position.  The first team to do that, wins!
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And the last shot of the night, Alex with all his friends.   His party was so fun and I’m sure it will be a night to remember for the rest of his life.  Mazel tov Alex!
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Anna & Xav: Matador Beach Malibu

Anna & Xav are a gorgeous young couple who love the beach, surfing, and mostly hanging out with each other. We sent yesterday evening at Malibu beach getting some casual shots of them together capturing what they love!
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Smile Anna!

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Xavier shared some of his musical skills by playing slide-guitar.  Anna looks into his eyes as he plays.

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I often get a lot of questions about the following image and how it was created.

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Well, it really was simple to take and a lot of the special effects were done in post-editing.  Honestly, this was one of those happy mistakes.  I just took one shot of this image and edited it 3 different ways, pulling out the details in the shadows for one step, bring back the details in the sky, and then details in the ground which I could then merge together in a HDR image.    “High-Dymanic-Range (HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods.” -Wiki   This method is used a lot in commercial photography with architecture getting shots through windows.

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IMG_0889x.jpg picture by twinkle63718

Dabsys: Portrait Family Session

On Saturday, the Dabsys family celebrated a couple of birthdays at their home in La Crescenta, California.  I had the great pleasure of spending the evening with them and taking some photographs of their closest loved ones who were visiting from both near and far.   Some members of the family drove an hour to attend the gathering, while others just so happened to be visiting from the Ukraine!  I learned a few new things about their culture, including some amazing food and spirits!
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Dana wanted to supprise her husband with some family portraits.  Below are a couple of beautiful shots of father/son and mother/daughter.
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Family photo!
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