Chicago Bar Mitzvah Photographer| JRC Temple Photography

The S family was such a treat to photograph at the temple before Katie’s bat mitzvah.

And the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Il, is definitely one of the most beautiful synagogues I have ever had the pleasure of photographing in.

I started my day by meeting Katie and her family at their home while they were getting ready. After photographing Katie getting the finishing touches on her gorgeous, golden hair, Katie and I went to the temple to take some photos while her family finished getting ready.

After her immediate family got to the temple and we were able to take some photos with her siblings, parents and grandparents, the rest of the family and relatives started to arrive.

You could literally feel the love in the room as Katie, Carrie, Andrew and the family were greeting family and friends.

And while I was not allowed to photograph during the ceremony (this is a pretty typical rule I encounter as a Chicago bar mitzvah photographer), everyone told me afterwards what a touching, lovely ceremony it was and how fantastic Katie did.

Getting Ready

At the Temple

I am so thankful I met Katie’s mom a couple years ago. I did a candid family photography photo shoot for Carrie and her family. After that, she invited me to document Katie’s bat mitzvah.

Carrie is a wonderful blogger and author who writes about adoption and bullying, among other current issues facing girls and women. You can read more about Carrie’s work here. You can read her blog about adoption here.

If you would like to see more of my work photographing Chicago mitzvahs, please click here and here.

And my favorite thing to photograph is Grandparent Sessions. There is nothing quite like the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. To see examples of a Grandparent Session and hear why those are so important, click here, here and here.

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Susan Ryan Kalina is a Lake County, Il, Family Photographer, Lake County, Il, Event Photographer, Chicago Bar Mitzvah Photographer, Chicago Event Photographer, Newborn Photographer, Grandparent Photographer, Day in the Life, Documentary, and Candid photographer servicing Chicago, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook, and Glenview.