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max’s bar mitzvah
Every Bar Mitzvah I photograph is special, but this one was especially special! Max has autism and I think a lot of people thought this day would never come. His parents, family, friends and teachers were absolutely BEAMING with pride the whole day. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures during the service, but I heard that Max did a wonderful job and busted out that Sh’ma like no one’s business. He was able to stay on the bimah (like the altar) the whole time -which I’ve learned is a big success in itself, answered the rabbi’s questions and participated in the service. The service was made specifically for Max (which I thought was so amazing of the temple & rabbi to do for him and his family!). So get a big cup of coffee, cause there are a ton of photos below of Max’s extra special day.
Happy and decompressing after the service. Max is constantly moving and really didn’t particularly want his picture taken so I was “ninja photographer” most of the day. 
One proud mama and rabbi.
He’s a pretty funny kid!
The reception was held at Carltun on the Park. Buckets by Jeannine’s Boutique. Everything looked fantastic!
Super duper proud mom & dad!!!
Max’s teachers. 
Super toast by dad! And I found out from his speech that if you ask Max what religion he is, his answer is “a Jewish Jew”. According to dad, that’s the best kind there is!
His cousins and wing-men for the day. They were never really apart. So sweet!
Never thought the day would come!
So emotional!
Mom put together a video montage that was shown at the reception. Not a dry eye in the house. 
Max’s babysitter/second mom.
Hope your day was wonderful for you Max! You worked so hard and did so well the whole day. 
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jack’s senior session
Another of my volunteers for the bsquared senior sessions- and what an awesome volunteer he was! An avid guitar player we had to include some of him playing in our session. I loved the suit and tie look too! And in all honesty, if this kid doesn’t start modeling I may have to hunt him down next year at college and make him go! Best of luck to you next year at Alfred State and thanks for being such a great model for me!
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andrea & matt get married
So for the first time ever, I second shot a wedding. And not just any wedding. My great photografriend Alan Abrams asked me to second shoot for him (and I am posting the photos I took with his permission). Alan never really uses second shooters so extra big thanks to him from bringing me on board! The bride, affectionately known as “Miss Andrea” around here, was Timmy’s Occupational Therapist when he was 3 and 4 years old at Kidz Therapy in Garden City. So not only did I get to see “Miss Andrea” marry Matt, I got to work all day with Alan. Great all around! Second shooting was so fun (Kate, you were right!) as it takes so much pressure off and I got to be a bit more in the background and shooting angles much differently than I would have as a main shooter. Plus I got to do groom & groomsmen prep which was so fun!
You can see Alan’s images and his take on the day on his blog here: Alan Abrams Photography- Andrea & Matt with some of mine mixed in. I tried not to duplicate any of the pictures he posted on his blog (so definitely check them out. His work is amazing and I loooooove the posing he does with the wedding party so much!) but I had to throw in a few of the “bubbles” pictures I took cause I loved them so much.
Yes, they are laughing at me. I told them my wedding story (which all of my brides and grooms get to hear, but I save it up for the tense getting ready to get married stress of the day to break the ice a little.) But if you aren’t a bsquared bride or groom, I can’t tell you. It’s a really funny story…
Matt’s amazing grandparents. 
I snuck onto the bus to say hi and got to meet Andrea’s parents- nicest people! And they told me how they kinda love Timmy from the stories Andrea told them. How sweet!!
Alan gave me the balcony of the church to cover. Woohoo!
Told you I loved the Grandparents!
I don’t know how much the chest of fans helped keep everyone cool, but they were definitely good for a laugh.
Fabulous shoes, Miss Andrea. 
Do you even know how many shots I took trying to catch the ice sculpture drip!?
Some of the Kidz Therapy ladies of awesomeness. Miss Sabrina (on the left) was Timmy’s PT. 
Symmetry. 
And the day would not be complete without a few embarrassing pictures of Alan. Sorry, you knew they were coming. Captain Morgan photographer on the left. And the George Costanza on the couch pose on the right. Shoulda posed him a little more….
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the fole family
This shoot was an almost senior session. Ryan is actually a senior who just graduated from Chaminade High School (congrats Ryan!) so this was a family session to celebrate his graduation and to have a few family photos for when Ryan leaves for college at the end of the summer. His tuxedo (so handsome!) is his graduation attire, so mom wanted to be sure we captured this special moment for their family.
Felt like we were old friends by the time we were done with the session. Love that!
Something so Rat Pack about the photo on the right.
Ryan will be heading off to St. Joseph’s University in Philly. Best of luck to you, Ryan!
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ssms vs turtle hook
This was the last game I took pictures at. Guess I just got a little overwhelmed with client work and didn’t want to pile on any more pictures to the “to be edited” pile that grows daily (at least it seems that way!) This is also the game where I got hit in the abdomen with a line drive foul ball. Yeah, that left a mark (like a yellow, purple, blue, green, orange, red mark. I was all the colors of the rainbow.) And since I come from a long line of hypochondriacs I googled internal bleeding symptoms. At least I waited until I got home instead of doing it at the game. That’s something, right?
This game was vs Turtle Hook in Uniondale. Jack pitched 4 innings and they won! (sorry in advance about the zillion pictures of Jack pitching. I was a little excited!)
This kid was super little and they way he squatted down while at bat was ridiculous. His strike zone was like 3 inches off the ground (I really sound like I know what I’m talking about, right?). Jack walked him the first time but struck him out the second. I mean the kid is the same size while batting as the catcher for godsakes.
So you see the gorgeous streaming light behind the boys in this picture? That is totally my new location to shoot. But no little kids cause god knows what’s in the grass over there and I have an ex-cop, ex-military friend on standby to run security over there for me while shooting cause the neighborhood is a little sketchy at best. But look how pretty it is!!
It was so much fun photographing the middle school team this season (even if it meant taking one for the team w the line drive) and thank you to all the parents who sent me emails that they enjoyed all the photographs. Wishing all the boys good luck next year in high school and 8th grade!