The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association launched its fourth annual Portraits of Love project in November 2012, with the goal of providing even more families with free holiday portraits for their loved ones in the military—whether they are deployed overseas or serving here at home.
A joint effort between PMDA and the USO military support organization, the Portraits of Love project seeks to provide professional photographers with an opportunity to use their talents to show their appreciation for those serving our country—and it is PMDA’s way of saying thank you to the brave men and women who defend the United States of America.
“Each year, it is PMDA’s great honor to support our servicemen and women through the Portraits of Love project, a meaningful way for the photography community to give back to those who have sacrificed so much for our nation,” said Joellyn Gray, outgoing president of PMDA. “This season, we welcomed all active duty military personnel and their families to participate—not just those with deployed family members—and we made it easier than ever to view and order free prints online.”
From November 1, 2012 and running through February 28, 2013, active-duty military families can sign up for a free family portrait session hosted by the program’s growing network of photographers. Participants receive their photos in an e-mail via Shutterfly Share and are able to redeem two free 5×7-inch prints using a unique code provided to them during their photo session. Families can participate at select USO facilities, military bases hosting portrait sessions and at Portraits of Love’s nationwide network of local photography studios.
In addition to the hundreds of individual photographers who have signed up for the program, PMDA announced that the project would take place at nine different military base locations nationwide: USO Nellis AFB, USO Fort Campbell, USO MS Gulf Coast, USO Houston, USO San Antonio, USO Travis AFB (Bay Area), USO Fort Carson, Fort Hood Military Base and Tinker AFB.
The Portraits of Love program was originally conceived by PMDA in partnership with the Soldiers’ Angels volunteer organization, creating the PMDA Soldiers’ Angels Portraits of Love project. The goal of the project was to provide 10,000 U.S. soldiers around the world with portraits of their families and loved ones during the holiday season, taken by the incredibly talented photographers within our industry. It has since grown beyond its scope and original network of photographers in cooperation with the USO. Sponsors of the project currently include Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Sony, Digital Photo Academy, Photo Industry Reporter, Samsung, Shutterfly, Sigma, Panasonic, Hewlett-Packard, Tamron and The Tiffen Company.
Portraits of Love has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, as part of his “Making a Difference” segment, CBS Sunday Morning and the Today Show, as well as in USA Today. It has also been covered in local television stations and newspapers across the country.
