Wildfire First Responders Get Free Family Portrait Sessions

SANTA MONICA, CA — Families of first responders who fought the recent California wildfires can get a free group portrait session from the faculty and students of the Santa Monica College Photography Department.

The photo sessions, which will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, January 10 and Saturday, January 11, 2020, the SMC press release said.

Each family will receive a private 20-minute session in the photo studios at SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica. The package includes hair and makeup touch-ups by SMC Cosmetology students, and SMC Fashion Design & Merchandising students will help with last-minute wardrobe styling adjustments, the press release said. Families will receive black and white matted prints and a flash drive with all the images from the session.

Those interested can book appointments through the reservation link at smc.edu/photo.

In January 2019, the SMC Photo, Fashion and Cosmetolgy Departments offered free family portraits for those who had lost their homes in the Woolsey Fire.

"The overwhelming gratitude we and our students received from those who’d lost so much in the Woolsey Fire last year touched all of us deeply," Craig Mohr, SMC Photography professor, said. "And when the devastating fires struck again this fall, we knew that we had to do something again — this time round, for the fire responders who worked tirelessly and in grave danger to save life and property. It’s our way of saying, ‘thank you’ from the bottom of our hearts."

Contact Craig Mohr at 310-434-8163 or Mohr_Craig@smc.edu for additional questions about the free portrait sessions.