Taylor Swift is a multi-platinum, award-winning artist, celebrated not only for her extraordinary talent but also for her high-profile romantic relationships.
However, photographer Andrew Orth will always see her as the cheerful little girl next door.
As a longtime family friend and former neighbor of the Swift family, Andrew has shared his personal photo collection, offering a stunning visual record of Taylor’s early years, spanning from ages four to 16.
Over the span of a decade, Andrew’s photographs chronicle Taylor Swift’s transformation from a cute, white-blonde toddler to a stunning teenager on the path to stardom.
He recalls the time when Taylor’s parents, Andrea and Scott Swift, brought their newborn daughter to his parents’ house, just across the fence from their farm in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Andrew’s mother used to babysit Taylor, and whenever he returned home from Los Angeles, where he worked as a celebrity portrait photographer, Andrea would ask him to capture family photos.
Andrew’s first photos of Taylor were taken when she was just four years old in their family barn.
He recalled, “Taylor was such a beautiful little girl, as evident from her early pictures. She had white hair, crystal blue eyes, fair skin, and pouty lips. She was truly something special.”
He described the earliest photos, showing Taylor smiling in the barn with her two front teeth missing, saying, “She had this charm about her—she knew she was cute, and she really was the most adorable thing in the world.”
He remembers young Taylor as a “huggy little girl” with an “extraordinary talent.”
Andrew, who frequently worked with children for talent agencies in Los Angeles, reminisced, “I would tell her parents, ‘You don’t get it, she’s incredible. She’s the most remarkable little girl you’ll ever meet.'”
He continued to capture Taylor’s journey until she turned 16, just before she and her family moved from Pennsylvania to Nashville, where she would rise to fame in country music.
As Taylor’s career took off, he photographed the cover for her first EP and her debut self-titled album.
He recalled, “I would head to Nashville and stay with her family. We’d spend time together, have meals, and I’d stay for about a week, shooting for three days at various locations I had planned.”
Many of Andrew’s iconic photos were taken during a Nashville shoot when Taylor was just 14. He added, “She was so photogenic, I couldn’t take a bad photo of her!”
A memorable photo from a childhood shoot captures Taylor holding her guitar in front of an empty Nashville stadium. The photographer recalled telling the young Taylor, “Pretend you’re famous. Jump up there and hold your guitar as if millions of people are cheering for you.”
This pose later became a trademark of Taylor’s performances in front of packed stadiums around the world. However, back then, it was just him and Taylor.
The photographer also remembered watching Taylor play guitar at her childhood home. “When she was about 12 or 13, I’d ask her to sing me some of her new songs, and she’d immediately grab her guitar, focus on her frets, and start singing. It was so sweet, it gave me goosebumps. I thought, ‘She’s incredible, just wait until the world sees her!'”
Along with photographing Taylor, Andrew formed a close bond with her, watching her transform from a talented little girl into a successful young woman. He described her as “a quiet soul” and a “loner, but in a good way,” noting that she was content being alone, not hiding away in sadness.
