Operation Love Reunited Session at Loose Park August 14, 2009

I met up with these lovely ladies to do an Operation: Love Reunited session for the deployed soldier in their life (just don’t tell him… the photo shoot is a secret!). I’m so excited to send him an album of photos of his girls. We met up at Loose Park for a session on a very warm August night. :)

See how gorgeous they all are?

I always take a variety of group shots and individual portraits of family members for OpLove sessions. I imagine that deployed soldiers love to have a variety of photos with everyone in them, and good close-ups of the faces they love. :)

I love capturing smiles and giggles and happy faces to brighten the soldiers’ days.

It was so great to meet you. Thanks for asking me to take photos of your family to send a little piece of home to your soldier while he’s away. :)

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation Love Reunited Session in Kansas City July 9, 2009

I love doing Operation: Love Reunited sessions. It’s so great to meet families and soldiers who are going through a deployment. I got to meet up with this adorable couple for an OpLove session while the soldier was home for a few weeks on leave from Iraq. I am so glad it worked out — and I absolutely love the photos we captured!

You’ll notice that in OpLove photos, the soldier’s name is blurred out on their uniform — that’s for their protection and a new regulation from the OpLove organization. :)

We met up at Liberty Memorial in downtown Kansas City, which is home to the World War I Museum. It’s a really neat location and also perfect for OpLove sessions.

Okay, on to the cuteness. You know I love “series” shots, and that’s definitely how I shoot — several frames in a row to capture the in-between moments that really show off a relationship, personalities, etc. So to kick off this post, I’m starting with three shots in series that I love.

Don’t they look great together?

They were so natural in front of the camera, it was almost unreal. I’m starting to think they’re professional models disguised as normal people… :)

There’s nothing quite like the summer sun. I love how casual and connected they look in these.

Maybe my favorite:

I like the look in black and white, too. Especially the look on this soldier’s face! :)

I am a big fan of close-ups. :)

Red shoes = No place like home = Kansas. Brilliant idea! :)

Thanks so much for asking me to take your photos! I hope the rest of your deployment goes very quickly, and we’ll be praying for your safe return back home! :)

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation Love Reunited Session at Overland Park Arboretum June 18, 2009

I met up with this family for an Operation: Love Reunited session at the Overland Park Arboretum. They had an adorable baby girl 5 months ago, and her dad is getting ready to leave for a military deployment next week. I was so glad that we could schedule in a session before he is away from home for a year. A big thank you for putting up with 100 degree heat index today… although I think we finished our session in record time. :)

Hopefully these photos will help this soldier take a little piece of home with him overseas.

I love these photos of dad and daughter! :)

And, of course, we had to get some with just mom and dad together. :) I think that’s so important!

What a cute family!

Thanks so much for asking me to take your photos before deployment, and thank you for the sacrifices you make every day (and especially over the next year) for our freedom.

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation: Love Reunited Portraits at Liberty Memorial, Downtown Kansas City May 12, 2009

I recently met up with this family, really soon after their soldier returned home from his deployment for a reunion shoot! I was so excited to do an Operation: Love Reunited session for this family — all of them together and happy on a beautiful spring day in Kansas City.

Having a little fun:

What a beautiful family!

Love from their dad… these are just so cute:

I had to use a few tricks to get these little guys to look into the camera… :) Sometimes I have to be a little bit sneaky! :) It worked, though! 

Thanks so much for scheduling your session with me! It was so nice to meet you… I’m glad I got to meet the WHOLE family! :) Enjoy your time together, and welcome home!

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

One more — super cute — Operation Love Reunited Session! April 22, 2009

After our full day of OpLove sessions (by the way, a huge thank you goes out to Ryan Edick for driving all the way from Manhattan to help out!!), I headed over to visit one last family while I was in Leavenworth. And I love how these turned out.

These photos are all taken in their living room, backyard or front porch area. I absolutely love capturing kids being kids… and it helps when they’re in a place that’s familiar to them. Add in two beautiful blue-eyed kiddos and we have the makings of an awesome photo shoot. :)

Their dad is coming home soon, and I can’t imagine how excited he must be to get back to his beautiful wife and kids.

Look at this face! I couldn’t help but say “awwww!” out loud at every photo. I couldn’t decide which expression is cutest (seriously, a baby boy who smiles right into the camera?!), so I’m giving you three to view. :)

And big sister with her super cute ponytails was just as adorable:

Making handprints:

And the whole family, ready for a certain soldier’s arrival home… :)

Sally, thank you so much for letting me meet your family and capture some images for your soldier. I’m so excited for you to be reunited soon. :)

 

Blog readers, stay tuned. I have an awesome senior portrait session, a newborn, several engagements, some more great seniors and a wedding (yes — it’s officially wedding season!) coming your way in the next few weeks. :) Get excited!

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation Love Reunited Day at Fort Leavenworth: Part III

A big thank-you to the families who have been waiting to see their sneak peek from the afternoon sessions! Here’s my final post about the Operation: Love Reunited day at Fort Leavenworth. We fit in as many families as we could in one day, offering free portrait sessions to the families of deployed soldiers. The soldiers will all get an album of photos in the mail while they’re away — something to cheer them up and remind them of the people back home who love them!

This was such a fun day. I love doing OpLove sessions, and it gets harder to fit them into my schedule during the busy summer season, so I’m very glad we were able to work in a day FILLED with them!

Here are the photos:

For all of the families who participated, your online galleries should be available soon! Watch for an e-mail from Pictage. If you missed the first two posts, click here and here.

Other families of deployed military personnel: since the busiest time of year is starting up, I can only accept a limited number of OpLove sessions each month. If you’d like to schedule a session, don’t wait! :)

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation Love Reunited Day at Fort Leavenworth: Part II April 20, 2009

Here are more photos from our Operation Love Reunited day at Fort Leavenworth, where we did as many family sessions as possible in one day for the families of deployed soldiers. If you missed the first post, scroll down — it’s right underneath this one! :) I’m just posting a few shots from each session so everyone’s images are on the blog quickly! One more group still to come… stay tuned!

I got to meet some beautiful families this weekend… it was so much fun!

We made good use of the big wrap-around porch and salvaged an otherwise dreary day! :) I am so excited to send each of these families’ soldiers an album of images. Most of them don’t know it’s coming, so it will be a very fun surprise!

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation Love Reunited Day at Fort Leavenworth: Part I

This past weekend, I traveled to Fort Leavenworth for a full day of Operation: Love Reunited sessions with the families of deployed soldiers. The Army Community Service office at Fort Leavenworth did an awesome job spreading the word and signing up families to come all day long for their sessions. It was such a fun way to connect with families and give back something to them, since they are all sacrificing so much for our freedoms.

The morning was cold and the rain was coming steadily… not quite the ideal weather conditions for a day of portrait sessions. Thankfully, Fort Leavenworth is a beautiful place and the building we were all meeting at had this wonderful, huge wrap-around porch. So we did all of our sessions there and captured some great shots of families. Then, I’ll be sending an album directly to the deployed soldier, filled with photos of their family.

I’m going to share these images with you in phases, with a few families in each post. We’ll start off now with some of the morning sessions!

A big thank you to all of the families who came to participate and to the wonderful people who coordinated all of the sessions. I’ll post more photos of the other sessions very soon! :)

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation: Love Reunited Session at Shawnee Mission Park April 14, 2009

This evening I met up with this beautiful family for an Operation: Love Reunited session — a portrait session for military families of deployed soldiers. The deployed soldier receives an album of photos while they’re overseas, and it’s one of the most fun things I do. I love getting to meet families who are stationed at Ft. Leavenworth and the other surrounding areas, and I love sending packages with surprise photos to soldiers I have never met (and maybe never will). In case you’re new to the blog, we’re also doing a full day of OpLove sessions in Ft. Leavenworth this weekend!

Family sessions are some of the most challenging, especially with various ages of kids. This session went wonderfully, even with the range from 11 years old to 6 months old (and 4-year-old twins in the middle!). They are just the cutest family!

Cute, cute kids. I can’t wait to send these photos to their dad!

And their really beautiful mom:

I love how the twins are both sticking their tongues out in this next one… ha ha! :)

I think this one might be my favorite!

Thanks so much for participating in an OpLove session! I know your husband and dad will love these! :)

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

Operation: Love Reunited Session, Kansas City April 5, 2009

I met up with this adorable family last Friday for an Operation: Love Reunited session. Their dad/husband has been deployed since last October, and we captured some great photos of his wife and boys to send over as a surprise. 

We met up at Antioch Park, which is a really fun place for kids to have a photo session, because there is so much to see and do! 

Four-year-olds are great during photography sessions… this little guy was no exception! :) What a cute smile!

Two-year-olds don’t like the camera quite as much as their older siblings. :) Sometimes, distraction is the key to great photos!

I love these photos of mom and her boys!

Boys are so adventurous. I love getting to capture their exploratory personalities. :)

Enjoy the photos! I can’t wait to send a surprise album to your husband/dad overseas.

If you’re a photographer who wants to participate in a wide-spread Operation: Love Reunited session at Fort Leavenworth — click here for details!

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.