Vanessa Hicks, the owner of Vanessa Hicks Photography in Virginia Beach, Virginia is the photographer who took the photo of the newborn during a photo session. The Clevenger family wanted to celebrate the newest member of their family’s arrival, and being patriotic American’s the picture of their baby cradled in the American flag was special.
Hicks said she had no idea the photograph would cause so much controversy. “The mom shared it on her Facebook page,” Hicks explained to USA Today. “The grandmother was there and loved it. I had gotten nothing but positive feedback.”
The trouble started on Monday when Hicks, a Navy veteran herself, who is married to an active-duty sailor, posted the picture online. The picture went viral. Somehow, the picture reached a Facebook online community called, You Call Yourself a Photographer. They posted the picture to their website along with a lengthy description of the U.S. Flag Code.
At the end of the flag code, the administrator of the site added a more personal note addressed to Mr. Clevenger saying: “Mr. Clevenger, you have disgraced our fallen soldiers as well by disobeying that code. I don’t know what the military teaches these days but I do know my son was taught the flag code and also taught that any disobedience towards that code would result in repercussions from your command….yet here you are in uniform, name fully visible, on a photographer’s Facebook page disobeying that code and dishonoring our fallen soldiers and you obviously don’t care.”
Hicks has defended her photograph, saying she knows first-hand what desecration of our flag is about. She cited her experiences in the military, saying, “At the end of the day, I didn’t do anything that disrespected this flag.” She also pointed out in an open statement on her business’s web page, writing: “I didn’t ask for any of this, I just took a picture. But I stood up for the picture. To me, that is what being an American is about.”
While there have been many people who posted on the You call yourself a photographer website, even more people have contacted Hicks or posted on her business page, supporting her and the picture. Hicks says the scorn and outrage expressed by so many on the Facebook page backfired because she has received an influx of photo shoot requests. What do you think? Was the picture disrespectful of the American flag or just a cute picture of a newborn?
