A 3-year-old points a toy gun at the back of another young girl's head in one of the photos depicting key scenes from hit zombie apocalypse show.
In one photograph, a 3-year-old points a toy gun at the back of the head of a girl kneeling near abandoned railroad tracks. In another, a boy holds a wooden bat against the back of a child in a baseball hat who is lying face down on the ground.
The images, which have generated a viral firestorm of criticism, were captured by a New Jersey mother during a photo shoot featuring young children reenacting key moments from the hit zombie apocalypse show "The Walking Dead."
But Alana Hubbard, the 29-year-old Woodbridge resident behind the photographs, is standing by the photo shoot and says she's done nothing wrong.
"I'm not the first person in the history of America to have children reenacting violence," Hubbard said, in an interview Wednesday with NJ Advance Media. "This is what child actors do."
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Hubbard said she first had planned to only include her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son in the shoot but ultimately recruited two dozen children, all under the age of 7, to take part. Hubbard describes herself as a "huge fan on the show" and said she wanted to do the photo shoot for herself and other "Walking Dead" devotees.
None of the parents expressed concerns about allowing their children to be involved in the project, Hubbard said, and she didn't expect to face serious backlash when she posted the photos to her Facebook page over the weekend.
But the criticism was swift and harsh.
Commenters railed against her, saying she was exposing children to a world they can't yet comprehend and blasting her for allowing young children to point guns, though fake, at one another. One person posted photos of actual dead children to her Facebook page, Hubbard said, and her account was temporarily suspended.
Hubbard said she understands why some people aren't comfortable with the photographs but defends her work, which has received praise online as well.
Hubbard said she would never allow her children to watch "The Walking Dead" on television. There's a distinct difference, she said, between allowing a child to reenact a violent scene from a television show and actually watching that violence on television.
"Everyone is overthinking this way too much. It was a one time thing," she said. "They went home and went back to their regularly scheduled lives."
Hubbard said she has been working as a photographer for more than eight years and officially started her own business, Mother Hubbard Photography, about five years ago. Hubbard specializes in maternity and engagement sessions, as well as other milestone events like birthdays and anniversaries.
Hubbard previously gained attention in 2014 for her photographs of a 5-year-old cancer patient posing with a woman donning a bald cap and dressed as Cinderella. Hubbard said she also previously did a princess zombie shoot but nothing that stirred controversy like the "Walking Dead" inspired session.
The photo shoot, which took place on abandoned railroad tracks in Metuchen in early June, featured young children dressed as some of the main characters in "The Walking Dead."
Hubbard's daughter, Mariana, is pointing a gun at another girl in one of the photographs, which depicts a difficult scene from the series in which one of the characters, Carol, shoots and kills a young girl, Lizzie.
Hubbard said she's heard the "gun safety preach a thousand times now."
But, she said, "They are kids. They are toys. She is not holding a gun. She is holding a toy from Toys"R"Us."
Hubbard said she understands the photos aren't for everyone -- and they aren't intended to be.
"Everyone involved is 100 percent proud of the project and support me 100 percent and the bottom line is that all that really matters," she said. "I stand by it and everyone else stands by it."
Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.