POPSUGAR UK

1 Teen Honoured Her Late Father by Including Him in Her Senior Photos — and They're So Emotional

20/08/2019 - 04:10 PM

Susanne Beckmann, a photographer based in Nebraska [1], knows how much military families have to endure [2] as a military wife [3] herself. So when she was approached by high school senior Julia Yllescas about doing a photo shoot that honoured the teen's late father [4], she did everything she could to make Julia's vision a reality.

"Julia's father's name is Captain Robert Yllescas," Susanne told POPSUGAR. "He was serving in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED, which caused him to lose his legs. He was sent to Germany and then Maryland, where he died a month later."

Along with numerous other sweet portraits, Susanne shot two photos and added faded images of Robert into them afterwards. After sharing her work on social media, the emotional photos instantly went viral [5]. As someone who's known the family for years, the response meant a lot to Susanne.

"I have been taking pictures of Julia since she was 9 years old, and I thought it would be a great idea to do these angel pictures for her as a special gift for her big milestone and to her family," explained Susanne. "I take a lot of pictures of military families, and it is always an honour for me to capture their special memories."


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/parenting/Teen-Includes-Late-Military-Father-in-Senior-Photos-46518846