When Karen Marie Taylor photographed six newborn baby girls dressed as Disney princesses in 2017, the California photographer had no idea her whimsical images would be seen by millions.
Taylor, who worked as a maternity nurse before becoming a pregnancy and newborn photographer 12 years ago, says she loves all things Disney — the idea to create elaborate backdrops and props and dress newborns up as princesses came from her love of the brand.
"We have generations of amazing family memories at Disneyland," Taylor told TODAY Parents. "I have seen all the movies and believe in the magic. I really love doing creative projects like these."
Taylor describes the time when her first newborn Disney shoot went viral as "a whirlwind." One year later, Taylor reached out to the families of her original princesses, asking to do first birthday shoot — including a smash cake — with her original Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle and Cinderella.
The second photo shoot shows sweet toddlers with toothy smiles and heads of hair, one year older and as adorable as ever dressed as their respective princesses.
"All the parents were so excited to come back and do the cake smash," said Taylor. "It was so much fun to see the newborns as toddlers running with curiosity and excitement — and there was cake everywhere."
Since the viral shoot, Taylor has photographed babies as Princess Leia, Peter Pan characters and more.
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But the princess shoot captured that viral magic. Amanda Ballard submitted photos of her newborn niece, Willow, to Taylor last summer, after seeing a Facebook post from Belly Beautiful Portraits, Taylor's photography studio, asking for babies to model as princesses. A few weeks later, she received an email saying Willow had been chosen to play Snow White.
"I had to tell my sister Willow was booked and busy that day," said Ballard. "We had no idea what the shoot would entail or how amazing the pictures would turn out, but now we'll have these amazing memories forever and, when Willow gets older, we can tell her she is a Disney Princess."
