Thursday, March 19, 2009

"I'm Ready"

"I'm Ready"
©David A. Ziser

Preparing for one's Bat Mitzvah celebration takes many, many months. It is always a joy for me to watch these young 13 year olds give it their best on their big day. The young lady featured in this image is literally "Rabbi for the Day." She is the one who will lead the Saturday service with nearly 200 in attendance through the entire morning celebration. I have been photographing Bar/Bat Mitzvahs for over 20 years and I'm constantly amazed by the poise, confidence, and character these young kids bring to their Right of Passage into Jewish adulthood. This image was made on a Saturday morning about an hour before the service was to begin. One of my goals in this series of photographs is to capture the confidence of the young Bat Mitzvah against the beautiful surrounds of the magnificent Temple. Lighting is simple as always. My assistant is holding my Quantum off-camera flash shooting through an umbrella just to my left. Shutter speed is adjusted to pick up some of the ambient light and details of the temple. Camera specs: Canon 40D fitted with 10-22mm lens at 14mm, F5.6 @ 1/30 second, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David

3 comments:

  1. What model umbrella do you use and recommend for use with a flash unit? I already have a big halo for use with studio lights, but want a quick and fast setup like you mention in today's post.

    Thanks,

    Rob

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  2. I'm still trying to read photos and light and shadows...it looks like that extra light is coming from camera left, not camera right per your post... or is there something slicker going on and I'm just not getting it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Hank,
    Thanks for the "heads-up". It was crazy here yesterday and I miss cued on my lefts and rights - all corrected now.
    -David

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