Here’s some tips on getting into contact to become a photographer, get a session, or donate.

To participate with our organization you or your loved one must be deploying over 4 months (typically). The deployment must be out of the country and cannot be to a location where family COULD go. Korea is one of those locations, and unfortunately does not qualify at this time. You must have orders in hand, expected orders will not work.
Participants may partake in 2 of 4 sessions. The sessions must follow a patriotic theme and the military member should be in uniform for a portion if not all of the session, unless prohibited for traveling or safety purposes. Sessions are FREE, 100%. If you are asked to pay anything you MUST report this to Admin. The sessions provided are: a pre-deployment with the military member prior to deploying, Saying Goodbye (at the deployment) or While Away – Deployment session following patriotic theme without the military member who is deployed. Secondly, you may participate in a Homecoming session. So, one of the first three options, and the homecoming. Please know that not every photographer offers all the sessions. Some don’t do homecomings, and vise verse’. You do not have to use the same photographer.
You will contact a photographer directly from our OpLove Finder (http://www.oplove.org/oplovefinder)

IMPORTANT: The albums are sent overseas by the photographer and are NOT GIVEN to the family member still in the States, unless the session is a homecoming and the service member is obviously now home.

Because our ENTIRE organization is ran on 100% volunteer work, we cannot answer every email personally, or call unless it’s a specific matter. So, we do have an auto response set up that answers nearly every question you may have. Sometimes the auto response will hit your junk box, so if you do not hear from us, check that out and see if it was filtered.

To be a photographer in our organization, you must apply and be approved. To apply you MUST HAVE a professional website; Facebook, MySpace, etc will not work. We prefer a real .com, .net, .tv, .info, etc. site. Usually Wix and Weebly free sites are not developed enough to show a solid portfolio. We LOVE blogs because we can see how active you are with your online community and it’s a constant update to your work. The main reason we require a website is so clients can see your work before contacting you. You must also be acting as a legal business and paying taxes. We prefer 3 years of business, but if you have a portfolio and haven’t been in business that long, still apply because we do make exceptions. EVERY application is looked at by a panel of individuals. Not just one person is approving the applications.

We are volunteer work. We do ask for donations from our photographers to help with all the behind the scene stuff to make this organization run. If you are not a photographer and just want to donate, please go to our splash page at http://www.oplove.org and click on the DONATE link. We appreciate VERY MUCH all the help and support we get.
Sometimes funds are used to provide images for funerals. Funds are also used to provide prints and albums to families who photographers do not, for whatever reason, fulfill their obligations. Funds are used to maintain the website, blog, and event site for mass uploading from large events. We do have a Board Administration, and in respect of our 501c3 we follow ALL LEGALITIES and DoD regulations. If you cannot donate, that’s OKAY! Just let us know, and try not to send hateful emails.

Photographers that do not fulfill their obligations to the families are removed from the organization. In retrospect, families that abuse the opportunity to use our organization are also no longer able to participate. Respect goes 2 ways… it’s given and received. Please remember this.

If you need a photographer or are a photographer, please send an email to oplove@oplove.org or from our website. We DO NOT reply to blog comments.

Again, thank you so much for the overwhelming amount of simply touching comments. I am just in awe. <3

If anyone knows of a good database input/search output software please let us know.  I think we might need to start looking that direction.

The first round of albums have been shipped not this last Friday but the Friday before that. I was instructed to hold onto all the MP families albums. Some families were instructed to be sent down to Ft. Bliss, and those whose units were not identified.

So shortly you should be getting emails from your spouses stating they have received their albums.

Thanks for your overwhelming patience in this awesomely large project.

My kids, Amy & Paul, Andrea, Lana, Amy and I managed to stuff albums for a good 4-5 hours until we ran out of them, waiting for another order to arrive.  Thank you guys!

After all the albums were arranged, came the excrutiating task of sorting, which the pictures are below.  My dining room, half walls, and the pool table is covered in boxes and piles of albums going to different units and companies.

The biggest thank you must go to our military men and women.  Without you all, we- AMERICA would not be!  We love you all so much, be safe, come home!  Expect your albums with in the next month or so, consider shipping times.  They are one their way ASAP!  PS- this is a tournament size table from the 1950s.  BIG TABLE… LOTS OF ALBUMS AND BOXES!

I don’t know of any other program that boosts moral like Operation: Love ReUnited. This program works, and it is WORTH the investment. I have about 30 people, and so many families that will attest to that.

The people that have been in the military for quite a while, those who have “lost count” at the number of deployment this will be in May, I have to say came in pretty….. cold to the idea that their picture was being taken, or maybe it was the fact that they had to get dressed up… Could it be the ball they all attended the night before hehe. I can say that I had one family in particular who had 2 children, a preteen and a teen. Dad has been in for who knows how many years and had indeed lost count of which deployment this is (number wise). By the time I had separated out the children with their father, I had finally started to bring out the “family” in them, and I managed to capture quite a few real smiles, the smiles and giggles they share at home- not in front of a camera. I wish I could be there to see Dad’s face when he opens that album for the first time in June. My heart is so warm just thinking about the joy he will feel.

Another couple that stood out to me had told me about 1/2 way thru their session that they had just found out that she was 8 weeks pregnant!! Hooray! They were SO EXCITED… But I sensed a bit of sadness from them knowing that the new daddy wouldn’t be there to help bring that baby into it’s new world.

Anyway, we all should be safely home with our some 3000 images to sort thru over the next few weeks. Watch here for pictures, and news!

Congratulations to all my photographers, and all the help we received it was AMAZING!

Again, we did what we thought was impossible.

yay us!

While there are quite a few changes, we’re committed to them, as we know they will better protect our clients, our photographers, and our organization.  A few to point out among others are:

• Disassociating the organization from any sales, if they were to come up
• The Privacy Act
• There is now a policy that if a photographer is reported to be charging for any service or album associated with the OpLove name, that said photographer may be removed from our list without warning.
• It is now a requirement that if an image is to be displayed publicly the DoD disclaimer must accompany it, and any surnames be removed from the images, by means of cloning or otherwise where they may not be technically recovered.
• We are now a 501c3 and have decided to implement a yearly membership due of $25.00, which you will may write off at the end of the year.  The dues apply to all photographers, those who are current and those who wish to join.  If you are a current photographer, but haven’t paid the subscription before, please do so before June 1st, then you will be good for a year   These dues help our foundation out to buy banners for events, and will help to support our photographers more thru this struggling economy with printing, marketing, etc.  We know it’s rough!  We are all feeling it, so if you must have the membership fee waived, please write to us and we’ll discuss it privately.

For our current photographers, we’ll be posting the new policies on our collaboration forum.  At this time you will NEED TO REVIEW THEM, and simply if you do not agree, let us know and we can remove your listing.

These policies are in the best interest of everyone and must be followed in all aspects.  They are put in effect for a reason, to make this organization grow and grow and support every person that is affected by a deployment.

Thank you SO much for sticking thru all this mess with us.  It should be pretty smooth sailing from here out.  We’ll be electing additional board members before the 15th, we have the Texas event that we are planning for THIS WEEKEND, also the San Diego event is under way for planning, and we are organizing a Denver event.  These are just a few of the great things we do for our families each day.  In turn it’s a wonderful feeling to know that we have brought them closer together, and that they have welcomed not only our organization into their lives and families, but also the photographers personally.

OpLove members, give yourself a pat on the back… We LOVE YOU!

Congratulations everyone! Pat yourselves on the back, this is a huge accomplishment for our organization!