SMC Offers Free Family Portraits To First Responders

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College offered free family portrait sessions for firefighters and first responders that battled the California wildfires, and nine families were able to make memories thanks to the program.

Cosmetology and fashion students helped the 29 participants (as well as seven dogs and a cat) with family members from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, the Ventura County Fire Department and more, get ready for the photo shoots, the SMC press release said. More than 35 SMC faculty, staff and student volunteers participated in the photo shoots on January 10 and 11.

This wasn't the first time SMC has offered photo sessions to those affected by the wildfires. In 2019, several Woolsey Fire survivors received free portraits at SMC.

Daniel Bresler, an LA County Fire Department firefighter, was fresh out of fire academy when the Woolsey Fire broke out. His wife Marla said she was so anxious, constantly watching the news for updates and to see if she could see Daniel, the SMC press release said.

"This is something I always had in my heart to do, something with meaning and responsibility," Bresler said.

Bresler said he plans to continue working as a firefighter for a long time, and his four-year-old son D’Angelo said he "wants to be like his daddy when he grows up," the SMC press release said.

Each family received archival black and white matted prints, as well as a flash drive with all the images from the session. The student photographers participating in the project are enrolled in classes taught by the entire department’s faculty under the guidance of Chair Josh Sanseri. Photography professor Craig Mohr was the faculty lead on this project.

For more information on the SMC Photography Department, visit smc.edu/photo. For SMC Cosmetology, check out smc.edu/cosmetology and smc.edu/fashion for the Fashion Department.