As people take to FaceApp to see what they will look like as older versions of themselves, one photographer wanted to see what little babies could look like with Cheshire Cat grins.
Amy Haehl, a 36-year-old photographer based in Shelbyville, Indiana, has been capturing sweet portraits of infants for 11 years.
She was compelled to create the ‘if babies had teeth’ series after seeing a friend transform a picture of their own baby using the popular mobile phone application.
Viral: A photographer’s Facebook series titled ‘If babies had teeth’ has been shared 50,000 times online
Hilarious: The parents of the babies in the images gave the photographer permission to share the results of the editing
Toothy: The images of the babies toothy grins were deemed ‘so funny’ by Facebook users
Amy edited one of her professional shots of a baby and found that adding a cheesy smile had her cracking up with laughter.
She reached out to the parents of the babies in the images and asked for permission to share the heartwarming pictures.
‘When I realized how absolutely hysterical it was I just had to share with my followers,’ she told Bored Panda.
Heartwarming: Indiana-based photographer Amy Haehl said that she always seeks to share heartwarming and positive content online, and she knew these photos would make others smile
‘I’ve made it my mission to try to always put positive and heartwarming content in my followers’ news feeds,’ she added.
‘I feel like we are all bombarded with negativity and the depressing parts of the world we live in, and I love it when I have the chance to make people laugh and smile and forget all of that for a moment. I felt like these photos were a perfect way to do just that.’
‘I just thought it was so funny and would be a great way to put a smile on peoples’ faces – literally,’ Amy also told Today.
‘I think people love these photos because they are so different from the way babies normally look and are quite hysterical.’
Facebook users commented that the images were ‘so funny’ and ‘genius’, while others said the babies now looked like ‘little sharks’.
Some people even remarked that having teeth made the tots seem ‘a lot older’.
‘I loved having a variety of images in the album… some that were hilarious, but some that you almost wouldn’t notice what is ‘off’ about them at first glance,’ Amy stated.
The series of 16 images went down a treat with her 19,000 fans on Facebook.
The original album has been shared over 50,000 times to date, and has garnered tens of thousands of comments and likes.
‘[Oh my god] guys… I decided to have some fun and give babies teeth. [hahahaha] I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. I could have gone back and done this to every single baby that has ever come in my studio. Can’t. Stop. Laughing. So I just thought I’d share and give you all a good laugh too,’ she wrote when she shared the initial post online.
‘I never guessed they would be so popular but I’m so glad they’ve brought smiles and laughter to so many people. Overall the internet has reacted in such a positive way. I’ve received countless emails and messages from people thanking me for brightening their day. That makes my heart so happy,’ she said.
Baby shark: Some social media users joked that the smiling babies looked like sharks with their new teeth
Cute: The adorable images went down a treat online, garnering 30,000 likes
‘Hysterical’: The photographer behind the snaps said that users probably loved the photos so much because they are ‘so different from the way babies normally look’
Two’s a charm: Some cute baby twins got the smile-makeover treatment
Amy also praised the parents of the babies for allowing her to carry out the editing experiment.
‘I would also like to add a thank you to all of the parents of these babies for being so understanding and allowing me to share these with the world. If it weren’t for their beautiful babies these photos wouldn’t be possible… and their babies are of course perfectly adorable without teeth,’ she applauded.
While Amy is trained as a nurse, she is no longer working in a hospital as she focuses on her photography and running her venture, Coffee Creak Studio.
‘I first learned how to use a film camera as a child and have always loved the art of photography,’ she said.
She added that she feels photography is a way to ‘help’ people and give back.
Happy: The addition of the smiles made the babies look infinitely happy, even if they were sleeping in the photos
‘While working as an ER nurse I often felt like so much was out of our hands. We could do everything possible to save someone but sometimes it just wasn’t enough, no matter how hard we tried.’
‘I always felt a calling to photography because I felt like it was a way to create tangible memories for people and a way to ‘help’ others even in the most helpless situations. I love to use my photography as a way to give-back to others.’
The edited baby pictures come in the wake of the viral FaceApp age challenge, which saw thousands or users across the globe sharing what they looked like with the mobile application’s ageing filter applied to their selfies.
However, experts quickly began warning users about security concerns, cautioning that people were giving the app’s Russian developers permanent access to their photos.
Security experts told DailyMail.com that the Russian owners of FaceApp don’t have access to your camera roll but said the viral app ‘might store’ the image that was modified.
FaceApp also addressed the privacy concerns saying the main reason they store the uploaded photo in the cloud is for ‘performance and traffic’.
In the statement, they said that while the app’s ‘core R&D team is located in Russia, the user data is not transferred to Russia’.
Say cheese! The app allows Amy to perfectly edit a grinning adult smile onto the babies’ faces, making it look almost entirely seamless – all of which adds to the slightly creepy effect
Headbands: With their hair accessories and their new smiles, some of the babies could indeed pass for mini adults
Sweet: Amy has been capturing images of infants for the past 11 years