The "L" Family | Military Homecoming

Evening reunions in December are imperfect in many ways for a photographer. The lighting is bad, the cold saps the energy from batteries (even spares), and flash units devour their batteries with the voracity of a competitive eating champion. For a mother with two young children, I imagined it would be a long, arduous wait. My client (and her sweet little ones) proved me wrong.

Whereas I had a wide awake runner at my husband's reunion, her children were primed for sleep, and they did, despite the pounding of music from the DJ booth. So the wait was a calm one, punctuated by the occasional announcement and stirring of the eldest. When the buses pulled up, they were wide awake and smiling. Despite the dark and the cold. Their dad was home just in time for Christmas. No wonder there were such smiles.