A Little Insight

In the Jewish faith, a girl is considered an adult at 12 years of age and is referred to as a Bat Mitzvah, a “daughter of the mitzvahs”. The Bat Mitzvah celebration takes place once the girl has completed her religious preparations such as volunteering for a charity and engaging in daily prayers. The young woman is also involved in the lighting of the Shabbat candles and separating a piece of dough called “challah” when breaking bread. The Bat Mitzvah isn’t just a huge birthday party, it’s a true coming of age religious celebration that has held meaning for centuries. 

Pre-Party Pictures

This photo series is a two-part photo session in one. Before Michelle’s Bat Mitzvah celebration, I met with her and her family to conduct the first part of our photo shoot. The pictures were taken at an indoor and outdoor private location which was a beautiful spot with columns and stairs, fresh lighting and lots of space for photo options. During her celebration, one of her family’s favourite photos from this session was framed and had a white trim for guests to sign in Sharpie marker as they arrived. 

The Dinner and Speeches

The reception hall was able to provide a kosher meal for Michelle’s guests and it was delicious! The traditional Challah ceremony was completed and the speeches began. Michelle’s speech was lovely and a few of her friends and the important adults in her life gave speeches as well. I have two favourite photos of the evening. One is where I’m standing behind Michelle, she’s at the podium and there’s a light shining in front of her. All you see is her silhouette and the light shining through her hair. My other favourite photo is of Michelle’s feet. She’s standing at the podium that is too high for her. So, she stands on her tip toes to read through her speech. Her heels come out of her shoes while she’s on her toes. This picture tells a story about Michelle – here she is celebrating becoming a woman, but she is also very young and sweet. Both of Michelle’s parents made heart-felt speeches and are clearly very proud of their daughter. As they should be, she was a delight to work with! 

During the Party

Michelle’s event was held indoors in the winter and the weather outside was frightful! We needed to keep the photo session indoors, which was just fine because the venue had great lighting. Besides, I always bring my own lighting along just in case. We also had a photo booth set-up so the kids could done some funky glasses, hats and boas and make funny faces for the camera.  

Dance Party

Michelle’s celebration was so much fun – for the adults and the kids! There were so many people and everyone was dancing the night away to traditional songs as well as trendy new music. Michelle’s friends seemed to have a blast and it was great to see the preteens enjoying themselves without reservation.