miltary sessions
I have been getting lot of requests for military sessions lately, so I wanted to answer some questions about that. Over the last three years I have done sessions for an awesome organization called Operation: Love Reunited, providing photo sessions for military families for no cost. It was a wonderful experience and I met some great people. I was humbled by the sacrifice that so many families make. This year, my availability to do these sessions has changed and I am no longer able to continue volunteering the time that requires. I have continued doing homecomings for past clients and for those that they refer, and will continue to do so, but I am not able to take on any new requests. If you are in need of a session, please check the photographer database on the Op:Love site…..there are tons of talented photographers listed.
Homecomings are, by far, one of my favorite things to photograph. Here is a little video clip of some of the homecomings that I have the honor to be a part of. You can see more by selecting Operation:Love Reunited or military homecomings under my blog categories if you have the time…and the tissues. 
coming home – part 2 – the surprise
I wrote a few weeks ago about photographing a homecoming that was being filmed for the tv show, “Coming Home”…….I posted the first set of images here. Well, the surprise part of the show was actually for Jon’s dad, and since the show has now aired (finally), I am free to post about it. Actually, I think anyone that knows me is shocked that I was so compliant and made it this long. It is not like me.
AJ, Jon’s wife, had arranged to go to a Harley dealership with Jon’s dad, under the guise of looking at Harley’s for Jon, because he and his father had always wanted to take a road trip and ride together. Jon’s dad, step-mom, ad AJ looked at all of the bikes, and Jon’s dad was going to take one for a demo ride, thinking that the person accompanying him on the demo ride was going to be the employee that had been helping them. He had no idea that a switcheroo had been made, and that the person in the black leathers and black, full face visor helmet was really Jon.
When they pull up from the demo ride, AJ asks him how the bike was. He said that he thought it would be perfect for Jon. Then, she told him to turn around and see who his escort had been. Surprise. (You can read AJ’s blog about the surprise here.)
I am so honored to have been asked to photograph so many families reuniting after a deployment. I know that not every family is so lucky. This Memorial Day, I am so grateful for the sacrifices made by all of these families, and am humbled by those that have given their lives for my freedom.
Welcome Home!
I could write a whole bunch of words about this homecoming session, but, I am pretty sure the images tell the story better than I could, on their own. So, I will just say thank you, Ryan, for your service, and thank you Sara, Shelby, and Taylor for the sacrifices you make as a family. I am so happy you are all back together again.
If you are interested in seeing more of this homecoming, my daughter, Sophie, was with me, and has her own video about it here. She interviewed Ryan and Sara’s daughter, Shelby (when they weren’t talking about tacos, Jell-o, and bacon), and gives her account of the homecoming.
I am Sure My Camera Bag is Big Enough…
This is Adeline. I tried to keep her after this session. And I am not in the market for any more kids, believe me. But if you would have met her…you would have probably tried to keep her too. She does a mean Hokey Pokey and likes Cheerios…..even when promised goldfish crackers, only to find there are none. Hate it when that happens. Goldfish crackers are pretty awesome.
This is Adeline with her mother, Catherine. I could write a whole lot about Catherine, but I already did that for the Notes Girls Write blog, because she wrote her own note for the project. It was taken the night before she deployed to Afghanistan for a year. And had to say goodbye to Adeline. You can see the note and read more about Catherine and Adeline here.
Ok…now see in the next image? She is all upside down and cute? Well, I am kind of responsible for that……um…well, not the cute…but…the upside down part. And I am afraid it may be a long time before her family is ever able to take any upright pictures of her again….I am basing this on the fact that, when I went back to shoot Catherine’s note image, that as soon as Adeline saw me with camera, she immediately turned herself upside down like this.
Here, I have video to prove it.
And, that voice you hear saying, “Say cheese!” is not me. I never do that. I am anti-cheese. Well, not cheese itself, I like cheese (especially in goldfish cracker form)…but…anti having your kids say cheese for pictures. (Which reminds me, I am about to start adding some posts with some tips for taking better pictures of your kids when you don’t happen to have a stranger with a camera following you around your house. Look for those to start next week.) But…considering how cute she looks saying cheese, how could I possibly object?
And while I have got you here, why not watch the full slideshow of Catherine and Adeline’s session?
Sometimes a Frozen Butt is a Small Price to Pay
If there is one thing I have learned with these Op:Love homecoming sessions, it is that, when working with the military, scheduled arrival times mean nothing. This homecoming was a rough one. It went long past the time they were expected to arrive. It was cold. It was late. Nothing more sad than a sweet little boy rushing out to meet his daddy…only to have to wait in the cold for well over an hour longer. Poor Angilo. Tired and cold..trying to keep his little self warm with a hand warmer packet. 
But….it all ends up being worth it. In one moment, the cold, and the tired, and the long wait is forgotten….although, it did make me wish my car had a seat warmer. It took hours for my butt to return to normal temperature.
Welcome home, Anthony!
Hard to Stay a Grinch This Way
This session was done just a few days after this sailor got home from deployment. And in a few short hours, I will be heading out to another actual homecoming at Camp Pendleton. Just in time for the holidays. Awww. It is filling me with warm, gooey feelings, and Christmas spirit, and all of that crap. And now I even have “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” stuck in my head. I hate it when things force me to stop being cranky and jaded.
Yeah, and a dad playing football and letting this little guy “tackle” him? Yeah, that doesn’t help much either. Can’t you just stop with all of the cute and let me be crotchety? (Is it just me, or is crotchety a funny word? Crotchety. Croootchety. See? Funny.)
And how can I be all grumbly when this little girl is doing this? Never mind how adorable she was doing her ballet.
And then…..although, you may not be able to tell it from this image….this one is a total crack up.
So, yeah….despite my best efforts to stay all aloof and unaffected….watching all of these families being reunited for the holidays is just not going to let that happen. So, thank you to this awesome family, and to all of the other military families who may or may not be celebrating Christmas on the same continent, and who make sacrifices, that most of us will never understand, everyday.
Maternity Photo Session – Temecula
This last week has kind of been a sleepless haze for me. I have been trying to get this sneak peek up for days, but the short, needy people in my house have given up sleep. My daughter isn’t sleeping well because of a certain neon pink cast….which makes the wee hours of the night, which is the time I usually get all of my work done, keep-Sophia-from-having-a-whiny-exhausted-meltdown time. Fun. Only two more weeks until that stinky, dirty, uncomfortable thing is off, and hopefully, we all get some sleep. Did I mention her shrieking and complaining keeps my son awake too? And he sends me aggravated text messages at 3 am… “She’s calling you AGAIN!@!@!”
Now I am pretty good on very little sleep…always have been…but this is working me over. I have taken on a vampire schedule. Going to sleep at sunrise and sleeping all day. So frustrating. And almost impossible to get stuff done. But the good news is she seems to be getting better…and I may see daylight again soon.
But enough about me, me, me….
This is Leigh. Leigh, who had to wait too long for her sneak peek. Thank goodness I got some images up onto facebook for her right away, or I would feel like a total loser. Because waiting sucks. I hate waiting. And I am pretty sure Leigh hates waiting too. And she is already doing enough of that. Her husband is deployed…..and that involves a lot of waiting. But! He will be home for the holidays! And the birth of their baby girl! Which, at some point, will make all of the waiting worth it…..but that doesn’t make it not suck right now. Soon, Leigh. So close.
How Could I Ever Forget This One?
I put this on facebook and completely forgot to put it here. I am such a blog neglector (apparently, neglector is not a word. Psssh, whatever spell checker. I disagree). Maybe if my blog had farms and Mafias, like facebook, it wouldn’t be so easy to forget about. I can’t send people sheep and M16′s on my blog. Hmm, at least not yet…..
So, a couple of weeks ago, I got to shoot the homecoming for a man that I had done a deployed session for. I had already gotten to meet his beautiful wife, baby girl, sweet mom, and very energetic dog, so I was pretty excited for this one.
The scary part is…I almost missed it! Argh. Curse you AT&T and your crappy reception. If I didn’t love my iphone so much, you would be dead to me. Dead to me! Hrmph.
But with a little luck…and maybe some breaking of the speed limit…..I made it! Woo hoo!
This is Mari and baby Ailah waiting for daddy.
Woo hoo!
Ailah was a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. But there was a ton of people, a lot of commotion, and two big, loud buses.
As soon as the commotion died down, she was fine.
But! The homecoming wasn’t over yet…Friends and family were gathered at Indigo’s house to welcome him home.
And so was Sammie.
They hugged, said a prayer, had some cupcakes, and then disappeared…..no one wanted to be the third, or fifth…or 27th wheel.
Welcome home, Indigo!!!
Op:Love Pre-Deployment – Tyler
This weekend I did a session for Tyler and Sophia and their family. It was one of those things that I almost didn’t do….You know the ones…..
too busy….too short notice…..no time……no one to watch my two crazies. Tyler contacted me about doing a session with his family before he deployed on Tuesday…he was deploying on Saturday. I was just about to send him an email telling him that there was just no way I could get it done before he left…but then, I thought….Really? Can I really not make this work? Am I really going to tell this man, who devotes his life to protecting my country, that I couldn’t find a few hours to take pictures of his family before he left them for months?? Lame, right? So we worked it out…and I am so glad that I did. I was having like, the crappiest of crap days ever. I am talking Crap. Py. I was all grumbly and on edge all day. I was ready to crawl in bed and tell the world to suck it. (Can I say that here? Oh wait, it’s my blog…..Yes. Yes, I say I can.) So I packed up and headed off to the session, and it was all humid. Bleh. I hate humidity. My hair hates humidity. So, I looked like poo and I felt like poo…but I was there and ready to go. And you know what? Almost as soon as I met his family, the whole bad day thing? I forgot all about it. And I know that right about now, some people (::cough::Lynsey::cough:: ) are probably rolling their eyes at my sappiness, but it is the absolute truth. I left that session feeling better…and I realized how absolutely lucky I am to have this as my job. So the next time I am up to my ears in editing to finish, and I wonder why I never say no……I will remember this. And the next time someone asks me why I am killing myself with all of the free sessions….I will remember this. Because any job that can take a day that is suckish and turn it around like that…well, it kind of rocks….well….that, and the fact that I can wear jeans and converse to work every day or even work in my pj’s….that is a pretty big selling point too.
So here are some images from the session that turned my day around with a bonus slideshow at the end….
This is Elise. She was such a pro at this whole getting her picture taken thing. She needs an agent. She could do cartwheels and flips and pose like nobody’s business, and was so not impressed with my bad jokes or my extensive knowledge of all things Disney Channel. I’m pretty sure I was just some crazy lady with frizzy hair and a camera to her. Did I mention I hate humidity? She gave me several looks of pity and a few courtesy chuckles, but I was able to get the upper hand again…oh yeah, I was…..
Want to know how to completely gross out a 7 year old? Tell her parents to kiss.
Op:Love – Pre-Deployment Session – Temecula
This weekend, I got to spend some time discussing Transformers with Kyle and Brandon. Getting to talk about giant alien robots kind of makes for a pretty cool session, in my opinion. What does it say about me that my favorite Transformers are Decepticons? Don’t answer that. Maybe it is just too cliche for me to like Optimus Prime, like everyone else. Although…laser rifle? Dude…that is pretty cool. Any kids (or really cool adults) out there, who would like to bring your Transformers action figures to a session with me…I am totally ok with that. Just saying.
Ok, ok…back to Kyle and Brandon….Their dad, Ryan, is in the Navy, and will be deploying soon. Their, mom, Shelley, emailed me to see about doing a session for them through, Op:Love. Then we had a month or so of the most sketchy email exchanges. I didn’t get half of hers, and she didn’t get half of mine. Thanks a lot, gmail. Um, so, yeah…if you have emailed me, and didn’t hear back…gmail may have eaten it. Sorry.
So, it was a pretty relaxed session…we hung out at the park…and thankfully, it wasn’t a million trillion degrees outside, like it has been…and I think they even got ice cream after. Which makes me a little jealous…..I really love ice cream….and also? I really love taking pictures of kids and ice cream….So…anyone who would like to include getting ice cream at any future session? I am totally ok with that too. Just saying.
Ok, on to the images….
This is Kyle (top) and Brandon (bottom)…Yes, they are twins.
Op:Love Deployed Family Session – Murrieta
This weekend, I met Ailah.
She is an avid reader.
In fact, she has many interests….
She also has a mom that adores her…
And a friend that can do this…..
And a grandma that make her laugh out loud.
She also has a daddy who is currently deployed. Indigo, I hope you enjoy these images of your beautiful family. Thank you so much for serving our country.
Op:Love Pre-Deployment – Christie
Family Session – Temecula
This weekend, I had a session with Tandy, and her family. So, not only was there a sweet family, with three cute kids, BUT! Tandy sent me home with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. I joked that I was going to hide them from my family, so I wouldn’t have to share, and that wasn’t that far from the truth. I refuse to admit how many I ate in the car on my drive home. Ahem.
I am not sure exactly what I said before this shot, but apparently, it was funny. Or maybe they were just laughing at me. Um, yeah, that could be it too.
Someone else was not as much of a fan.
She did eventually warm up to me though, I swear.
I have recently decided that freckles are the best thing, ever. In fact, I may just request that all of my future clients have freckles. What? Bad plan?
I have other family shots, but I picked this one to share because I love the little one’s face. You can almost hear the “What the…?”
Tandy, it was fun. Your kids were awesome, I promise. They were funny and cooperative. Which reminds me…Moms…please do not stress about your kids’ behavior. I have two psycho completely nuts erm… energetic and unique kids at home. Your kids can’t scare me. I have seen it all, people. Seen it all.
Family Photo Session – Temecula
This is Vinny. Vinny is three years old, which means, this next shot was probably the only moment he was not moving around for our entire session.
And this is Alex.
Alex spent a lot of our session like this……
Ahhh, brotherly love.
Sometimes love hurts.
But everyone knows that mama can fix it. Mamas can fix anything.
Victoria, thank you for waiting so patiently for your sneak peek. My schedule this week just kind of had me buried….but for some reason, I think you may know what that’s like. 
Victoria’s husband is a Navy Seal. How cool is that??? My husband was very impressed. Being a Navy Seal is kind of his dream job. Yeah…um….never give up on your dreams, honey. Hey! It could still happen.
Thank you for a fun session Victoria, Vinny, and Alex!
Family Photo Session – Camp Pendleton
This weekend, I had an awesome time with Christie and her family. I have more I want to share about this session in the next day or so, but for now…a little sneak peek.
Thank you all for a super fun session. More to come….
Family Session – Temecula
This weekend, I got to do a session with Modesta, and her three boys. Now my sessions alway work best when people are up for anything…and Modesta and her boys? Well, let me just say, that within about 5 minutes of the session starting, Modesta was shoving and pushing her oldest son into a tree. A very tall tree. I swear it wasn’t even my idea. It was at that moment that I realized the session was going to be awesome. Her boys climbed things, jumped off of things, rolled down things, crawled through things, ran up things, ran down things, and even braved a patch of some really questionable um…wildflowers? weeds? All to get some great images to send to their dad, who is deployed.
Modesta, your family is awesome. We would have totally been up for a pizza break with you all before we hit the waterfall.
Op:Love on TV!
So our Op:Love regional coordinator, Gina Geigley, was on tv this morning, talking about the organization. If you take a look behind her, you’ll see one of my images. Woo hoo! So cool. Check it out…..See the lovely blonde in the blue shirt? That’s my image.
Family Session – Rancho Cucamonga
This weekend, I had the honor of shooting a family session for Lucy. Lucy’s husband is currenty deployed, and I will be mailing an album of these images to her husband for Op:Love.
Lucy’s kids were pretty awesome. I mean…hello? Look at this face……
This is Desiree. Desi is going to take over the world someday. She is a crack up and a force to be reckoned with. She is pretty freaking cool.
Chance and his Mama…
This little sweetheart is Mia. It took a few minutes to find the smiles in Mia, but it was so worth it…..
All the ladies…to be said The Lay-daaze….
Lucy, I had so much fun. Your kids are awesome and so well-behaved, I swear. I hope they got their ice cream.
Operation: Love ReUnited – Foehl Homecoming
Stephanie was actually, the first person to contact me after I signed up for Op:Love. I have been excited for this homecoming since January!
Let’s get right to it…..
Stephanie gets a text from her husband saying they have landed and are on their way!
How cute is her sign? And she has signs on their condo too. Which her husband would be seeing for the first time! See the cute purse? Yeah, both that sign and that cute purse got ditched the second she spotted her husband. She left the purse about 30 feet away in the middle of the crowd, and dropped the sign, I think before her husband even got to read it! Priorites, right Stephanie? Purse? What purse? My husband is home!
This homecoming was so odd. Without the buses pulling up or anything, a couple of men came walking from behind the building. Before anyone could figure out what was going on, Stephanie spotted her husband! Keep in mind it that, although it doesn’t look it, it was almost completely dark when these images were taken.
Like this dark…..
Which made me sad, because you should have seen the beautiful light (and sunset) just a half an hour or so earlier. Oh well!
He’s home!
Welcome home, 1st Lt. Foehl!
Operation Love:ReUnited – Correa Homecoming
Kristin contacted me about shooting her fiance’s homecoming session, I think on a Thursday. The catch was, he was coming home on Tuesday….like the following Tuesday. Like four days away. Oh, and they were set to arrive at ……4 am. Okay, so maybe there were two catches.
But Kristin was so sweet and so excited, I would have been crazy to say no. Did I mention Kristin was flying in from Mississippi? That she was arriving just hours before the homecoming? That she would have to fly home that same night, having only a handful of hours to spend with the fiance she hadn’t seen in forever? Aaaaaand, he didn’t know she was coming! See? How could you say no to that?
A day or so later I got the final details….I was scheduled to meet her at 3:15 am. Which means I had to leave my house at 2am. Eeek!
We arrived at Camp Pendleton and waited. Thank goodness that most of the waiting was done inside, because it was pretty chilly. They arrived a little later than expected, but not too bad. We saw the buses pass and head for the armory. We waited some more. And then, it was time! Everyone headed outside….
More waiting……
And then there they were!
Derek was on the very first bus!
Welcome home, Derek. It was a pleasure meeting you both. Have a wonderful wedding and life together!
Check It Out….
Okay, I found a new option to share some slideshows. Too soon to tell if I love it or not, but it works for the moment. I have another Op:Love slideshow, from this session, to share. Click here to see it. Make sure you click on the little icon that lets you view it full screen.
Op:Love – Bentley Homecoming Slideshow
Op:Love – McKinney Predeployment Family Session
This weekend, I had the honor of shooting another session with Operation: Love ReUnited.
This is Gage. Gage is a twin, but his brother, Harlan, needed to stay a little longer in the NICU.
This is Gage’s dad, Harlan McKinney. He is an Army Airborne Ranger. He is on his way to another year long deployment. He had three weeks leave to see the birth of his sons and visit with his family.
This little cutie is Reagan. She loves marshmallows, and is an awesome photographer’s assistant.
This is Alicia. She is such a helpful big sister….even if it means occasionally being bitten.
Remember that I mentioned Reagan being a good assistant? She helped take this next shot of her dad and her mom, Holly….and a couple of the grass and sky too…but I really think she nailed this one, don’t you?
Holly sews and makes hair accessories for kids. She is planning on starting a website and online store. My daughter will be very excited to relieve her of some merchandise.
With each session I do with Op:Love, I am reminded of the sacrifice that the men and women who serve our country make, along with their families, and I am so grateful.
Can you imagine having to leave a face like this for a year?
Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your family Harlan and Holly. It was a pleasure meeting all of you. It would be an honor to photograph your homecoming. ……If they’ll have me back. In the course of our session, I managed to give myself a papercut and fall off of a curb. Graceful, I am not.
Op:Love – Bentley Homecoming Sneak Peek
About a month ago, I heard about an awesome organization called Operation: Love ReUnited. Op:Love is an organization where photographers volunteer their time to provide sessions for members of our military and their families. You should take a minute to check out the website. Go on. I’ll wait….
If that site doesn’t make you tear up even a little, you have no soul…or are a robot…or are a robot with no soul. And since I’m pretty sure my blog doesn’t have a big following of robots, especially the soulless type, I am going to guess that a visit to the site gave you a good idea of how awesome a thing it is that this organization does.
So, about six days after I was accepted as a volunteer, I received an email from Jamie. Her fiance was going to be coming home from a year long deployment in Iraq, and she was wondering if I would be able to photograph his homecoming. Heck yeah. So on Sunday, I got to spend a few hours with Jamie and the family of Sgt. Jared Bentely, as they awaited his homecoming at Camp Pendleton. Here is a sneak peek of some of the images of that day, and there will be a slideshow coming later.
This is Jamie. Jamie and Jared are getting married in September.
This lovely lady is Jared’s mom. She does not look like a woman who has a son old enough to be getting married, does she?
Jared’s family was eagerly awaiting his arrival…and waiting, and waiting, and waiting.
I have learned that these homecomings don’t actually occur on any kind of set time schedule. I believe I was told “the only four letter word the military doesn’t know…is plan. ” But the wait is well worth it.
Word comes in that they are on base…..
The buses passed and the excitement grew. And then….there was some more waiting. And even more waiting. And then……
So exactly what would it look like to see a mom, who hasn’t seen her son in a year, finally get to see his face and know he is safe?
Enjoy your time at home Sgt.Bentley!
