Photographer Defends Adorable Photo of New Baby and Old Glory

Sign up for the Ashburn Patch newsletter!

Image: Facebook

A photo of a baby nestled in an American flag has drawn wide praise, but a few objections, after being posted on Facebook and going viral.

Vanessa Hicks, the professional family photographer in Virginia Beach, Va., who posted the picture, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that more than 12,000 people had seen it on her business webpage.

“I love the shot. The family loves the shot. Most of you loved the shot,” she said.

In the photo she took, a Navy sailor holds his newborn son in a vinyl prop flag that Hicks purchased at a Dollar Store.

On Monday, however, Hicks discovered that the photo had been shared on a group website “meant to bash other photographers,” she said. “It was in their opinion I had disrespected our nations [sic] flag. I had disrespected our country by taking this picture.”

Members of the group bashed Hicks, her husband and even the service member who posed for the photo.

Hicks thought about taking it down from her business webpage, but decided that she wouldn’t let the cyberbullies win.

“So I went to the group and I stood up to them,” Hicks said. “I stood up for what I believed in! And you know what, so did so many others!”

What do you think of the photo? Please post your comments below and share them with our readers.

Another photography group looked at the photo, decided there was nothing disrespectful about it and voiced their support on her webpage. Her friends have posted messages of support, and two reporters have contacted Hicks to talk about the image and the effects of cyberbullying.

“I didn’t ask for any of this. I just took a picture,” Hicks said on Facebook. “But, I stood up for the picture. To me, that is what being an American is about.”

She invites readers to share the photo. “I’m not doing this for any other reason except for every service member ... who has wrapped in this flag that so many wanted to defend, the main thing he would fight for, his family.”

By around noon on Wednesday, the photo had drawn 1,940 likes on Facebook, with many expressing overwhelming support. More than a few of those who posted comments are current and retired members of the U.S. military.

One retired veteran said the image brought tears to her eyes. “I find this to be one of the most beautiful, touching photos I’ve seen in a while. To me, this depicts a new American being supported by his/her country. This shows a father ensuring the safety of not only his new life but mine and yours as well.”

The wife of a sailor said the photo shows no disrespect to Old Glory. “The Flag is not being sat on, used as a cape or wrapped like a towel. The picture is tasteful and to us shows the Flag supporting the future of our nation.”

But a few who posted on Facebook chided Hicks for disregarding the military’s rules on handling the U.S. flag. One retired veteran said that under the Flag Code, the photo “disrespects the American Flag. ... The flag is a symbol of the United States, not a baby carrier.”