As seasoned photographers serving the Los Angeles Orthodox Jewish community, we have seen many acrobatic feats during receptions. From juggling, to balancing acts to double dutch jump rope routines, there is never a dull moment during an Orthodox party. In this image, we see a game of "Don't Be the Last Guy", where the groom is attempting a long jump over several of his friends. This shot has a great dynamic energy where everything seems to be drawn in to the focus of the image, the jumper. The perspective of the rows of guys on either side make it seem like the jump came from way back, rendering the stunt all the more impressive. It seems like every Orthodox wedding calls upon our skills as sports photographers too!
Off camera lighting helped a great deal with this image. Using very low on-camera flash kept the groomsman's white sleeve on the foreground right from "burning up" while 2 small off camera flash units strategically placed on tall light stands at both ends of the room, and radio triggered from the camera, lit, and froze the jumping groom dressed in white. The off camera lighting also allowed us to use a high shutter speed, freezing the jumping groom and at the same time showing detail in the background.
Location: 1910 Ocean Way, Santa Monica, CA 90405.