While FaceApp was having a viral moment with people posting photos showing what they'll look like as senior citizens, photographer Amy Haehl decided to have fun with another feature in the app.
Haehl, who takes beautiful portraits of newborns at her studio in Shelbyville, Indiana, wondered what those baby photos would look like if they had big, toothy grins. She decided to run some of the photos through the app and it turns out, the results are hilarious.
She shared some of the photos on her Coffee Creek Studio Facebook page — with permission from the parents. The images of newborns with megawatt smiles have since captured plenty of attention on Facebook from people who either find them hysterical or creepy.
"I just thought it was so funny and would be a great way to put a smile on peoples' faces — literally!" Haehl told TODAY. "I think people love these photos because they are so different from the way babies normally look and are quite hysterical."
Some of the massive grins look out of place, while others appear more subtle.
"I loved having a variety of images in the album ... some that were hilarious, but some that you almost wouldn't notice what is 'off' about them at first glance," Haehl said.
FaceApp works by running user-submitted images through an artificially intelligent algorithm. The app then produces a photo that shows the desired change to a person's face, whether it's seeing what they'd look like as another gender, aging them 40 years, or in this case, adding teeth.
While the app had another viral moment recently thanks to its #OldAgeChallenge, it has also raised concerns over its Russian ties. Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI, urging them to investigate FaceApp. He also advised all Americans to delete the app.
Haehl said her entire goal was just to make people laugh, and thankfully the babies' parents have been "very understanding."
"I don't think any of us anticipated them going viral, but they have all been very understanding and I've been trying my best to keep them informed throughout this whole thing and gifting them some free photos as a thank you," she said. "Overall, we all had a good laugh, but still agree their babies are perfectly beautiful without teeth. Now we know why babies are born without them!"