Photographer Has Children With Down Syndrome Pose As Disney Characters For A Beautiful Awareness Campaign
All children are beautiful, that's for sure! And that is the principal idea behind British photographer, Nicole Louise Perkins' incredible Down Syndrome awareness campaign. Nicole's campaign celebrates children who have Down Syndrome with a series of photos of gorgeous kids dressed as Disney characters.
The campaign, aptly named 'Down With Disney,' features several children with Down Syndrome, dressed as characters from 'The Little Mermaid,' 'The Lion King,' Toy Story,' and lots more!
Perkins explained where her inspiration for the project came from. “I created ‘Down With Disney’ because last year I began my awareness/celebration campaigns. I had done a Down Syndrome awareness campaign ‘Down Right Beautiful’ and it got a lot of interest,” she said.
“It was full of information that would hopefully help new parents. As my following on social media grew with parents of children with Down Syndrome, I wanted to do something for them again this year which is where ‘Down With Disney’ came from. I absolutely love Disney and I know I am not alone, so I thought this would be perfect.”
Nicole's aim is to raise awareness about Down Syndrome, whilst reminding people that all children are beautiful no matter what.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise“The greatest challenge was knowing when to stop. I could have gone on forever with these photo shoots but the props and everything is just so expensive,” Nicole said of the campaign's trials.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise“Well worth it though to see the joy my images have brought to everyone,” she said.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
“The reaction has been amazing I never imagined I would go viral! It’s been a crazy few months but absolutely amazing at the same time. I couldn’t be happier."
Nicole Louise
“I’ve always loved photography, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to get a job straight away after college if I studied it, so I did childcare instead,” Perkins said of her career.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
“My last placement at college was in a special needs school. It seriously changed my life, I still work there to this day due to falling in love with people who have special needs,” she explained.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
“I taught myself photography on the side and started up my own business with that. When I was happy with where I was photography-wise, I thought I would put my two loves in life together.”
Nicole Louise
Nicole's advice to other photographers interested in pursuing similar "outside the box" career paths? “I would say go for it,” she says.
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
“I spent a very long time trying to be like everyone else getting those newborn poses right, but then I realized that it just wasn’t the style I wanted to do. So I stopped and done them my way instead.”
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
“I have always wanted to put my love for photography with my love for people with special needs and the day I did that was when I realized this is what I am best at,” Perkins added.
Nicole Louise
“Show off your work: people will either like it or they won’t, it doesn’t matter as long as you have been true to yourself.”
Nicole Louise
Nicole Louise
People's reactions to the campaign have been positive.
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