Operation Love Reunited for Military Families | Anchorage Portrait Photography
11 Oct
Operation Love Reunited (www.oplove.org) is an organization that I only recently found out about. At it’s core, it appears to be a moral booster to military families and the soldiers they have deployed overseas. OpLove hooks up families with photographers in their area who agree to donate their time doing photo shoots for the family and then creating and mailing a small portrait book to the soldier’s military post overseas. The photos can be taken before the soldier leaves, after the soldier is deployed, or even as a reunion shoot upon return at the airport. After having experienced the constant emails from my husband, Dave, the last time he was deployed for “more pictures, more pictures, more pictures”, this seemed like a no brainer for me!
Although this is my first official shoot for the organization, I’ve spoken with several family members regarding the program. Everyone I’ve talked with is dealing with deployments of a year or greater. I am in complete awe of how these families are able to hold down the fort and get the kids to all their designated activities. When Dave deploys it’s usually only for about three months because of the nature of the Air National Guard. That sounds so easy now! I totally feel like a whimp for taking the kids to my folks place for help! I promise that the next time – I will be stronger!
So, I have been in touch with the family in these photos since we started our journey back from Idaho. I immediately connected with their mom because her cellular phone number began with an Alabama area code! It’s a southern thing! We had scheduled an outdoor fall session and then realized that we were probably going to get pelted with rain so we bumped it up a few days. I ended up taking my boys along because of the reschedule and that added a new element of chaos to the adventure! My youngest, Sid, kept getting in the shots and posing everytime I asked one of the girls, also named Sidney, to stand next to her sister. It was soooo cute but needless to say my Sid was a bit exasperated with me before it was all over and he sulked off by himself and sat on a rock to pout.
The girls were awesome! They seemed to have a blast playing on the rocks and hamming it up for the camera. Their brother, however, was not at all thrilled at having some crazy lady stalking him with a camera. By the end of the evening when they were playing in the leaves he decided he might be having just a little bit of fun and started cracking a few smiles. Yay!
I am so looking forward to getting the book together and shipped out! What a great treat to have when you’ve been away from your family for so long! Kudo’s to Operation Love Reunited for coming up with such a great idea!
(**Note: The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.**)
For more information, check out their website at www.oplove.org.
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I love images with a story. Great session!
What an adorable family. You did a wonderful job!
Great location!! You did an awesome job on this session!! What a fun family
What a great initiative and well done to you for supporting it Melissa. The photoshoot turned out really nice, you seemed to have captured the personalities of the kids, which will give their father a real moral boost. Well done.
Such a fantastic scheme and well done on contributing some great work. I bet Dad is going to feel on top of the world seeing these :~)
Oh what a great family shoot! I love the autumn feel to these, and it looks like you captured the spirit of the children so well, I imagine their dad’s just going to LOVE these.
How sweet of you to participate in this. The photos are so fun and full of life. I’m sure he’ll love them!
These are great! Love how playful and fun the pictures are!
Love the way you make your subjects pop against an awesome background. stunning….
Hey Girlie!
I just want to say that I am sooo pleased you’re involved with OpLove. Your love and care in these photos is very evident and I adore them!
That last pic is so adorable!!
Aww… what a great initiative! I bet these are going to be well loved.
This session is simply amazing! So many beautiful photos! I love the way you capture the expressions. Very creative!
Beautiful Photos! Love the kids and their spirits are so evident!
These are just lovely. My favorites are the ones with the kids tossing the leaves.
Great color on this set!
I love your tones & colours. That shot on the rocks with the water is gorgeous!
What a lovely set! Great light and nice processing.
Words cannot begin to show the gratitude and appreciation we have for the photo session. I know my husband is going to LOVE the photos and I just wish I could see that smile on his face when he gets it!