Mom Defends 'Walking Dead'-Inspired Photo Shoot Starring Neighborhood Kids
Alana Hubbard has received both praise and backlash for her project.
— -- One photographer mom is proudly defending her "Walking Dead"-inspired shoot that's been receiving both praise and backlash on social media.
"I don’t understand why it's gotten so controversial because I didn’t create the scenes, everyone's seen this before on TV," Alana Hubbard of Woodbridge, New Jersey, told ABC News today. "I would never do something to be negative, or to hurt my business."
She added: "I'm so happy to see the comments from people saying, 'This is awesome.' Or, especially some of the comments that say, 'I've never seen the show before, but you made my day.'"
Hubbard, owner of Mother Hubbard Photography, is a huge fan of AMC's gory TV series -- so much so that she decided to feature the children in her neighborhood, including her own two kids, in a "Walking Dead"-themed photo shoot.
"I just love it," she said. "It's funny because I was never into zombies and my husband said, 'You’ve got to watch this show.'" As soon as I watched it, I was addicted. Ever since then, I never miss an episode."
Hubbard posted a casting call on a community Facebook page for parents of kids ages 4 to 7.
All in all, 24 kids participated in the June 3 photo shoot. Some played walkers, while others starred as the show's main characters, including Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Michonne, Carl, Sasha and Abraham. Hubbard's son Mason, 5, played Rick and her daughter Mariana, 3, played Carol -- gray wig and all.
Any wounds and blood were Photoshopped into the images and the scene was set on abandoned train tracks, Hubbard said.
"I would never put other people's children and my children in harm's way," Hubbard said. "We chose not to use the real zombie effects because there were young siblings there too. We didn't want the kids to be scared. We wanted them to have a good time."
Hubbard shared the photos in a Facebook album that's received more than 42,000 likes so far. While some appreciated the project, others felt it glorified the use of weapons and violence.
“Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this? I mean it's practically teaching kids about killing and teaching them to point guns at each other," one user wrote.
"That’s wrong. What is that teaching these kids?" added another
"For those people who hounded us about the toy guns and weapons used, I actually bought my son's crossbow last minute at none other than Toys 'R' Us," said Alexandra Velaquez of Piscataway, New Jersey, whose son, Adan, 6, played Daryl in the shoot. "I disengaged some features on the crossbow so that it couldn't shoot any projectiles ... during each take, the kids would start playing with each other and it honestly looked like a modern day cowboys and Indians, just with a zombie twist."
After Hubbard posted the pictures on Facebook, some were anonymously reported and she was blocked from using the site for 72 hours, until the company reinstated her account and apologized, she said.
A Facebook spokesperson said the post was removed in error and restored as soon as the company was able to investigate.
"Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We're very sorry about this mistake," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Murland Pierre of Edison, New Jersey, said she was excited for her daughter Emily, 4, to participate in the photo shoot as the character Michonne.
"I showed my daughter a picture of Michonne and she said, 'Oh mommy, I can't wait," Pierre told ABC News. "They loved it. At the end, they didn’t want to go home so we went to the park and we had 'Carol’s cookies.'
"They never played pretend before when they were kids?'" Pierre added of the naysayers on Facebook. "It doesn’t even bother me with the comments. My daughter had fun, she made great friends and that’s it."
Peter Leong's son Logen, 8, played the character Glenn in the shoot that day.
"I totally support [Hubbard's] idea," Leong of Staten Island, New York, told ABC News. "'The Walking Dead,' I love the show myself. [My son] never watched it, but I brought him there and he was playing around and got to be a little model. He was really looking forward to that day and he couldn't stop talking about it."
While the negative comments may be overwhelming, Hubbard said she "tries to have thick skin" and is focusing on the joy her photos brought to her community.
"Overall, they're thrilled with the pictures," she said. "They're proud to see their children on 'The Walking Dead''s [website] ... everyone's really excited to see our little town in the spotlight."
