Anne Geddes In Art Essay, Research Paper

The name Anne Geddes is synonymous with precious children in creative

backgrounds. She is known in North and South America, Europe, the British Isles,

Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. She is often called ?One if the world?s most respected

and successful professional photographers,? because of her ability to ?capture the

imagination and hearts of people around the globe? (Biography 1). The heart of Anne?s

success is her ?deep and abiding love? for children (Biography 1). She has a unique style

and her artistic vision distills all we could dream of cherishing in babies and infants.

Although people would never know that Anne hasn?t always photographed babies,

she actually started her profession at the age of 25. Anne states, ?I had always loved

looking at photographs, but unfortunately when I was still at school, there were no

photography courses, and I never really considered being a photographer myself. I didn?t

even think it was an option until I was 25, and in a position where I could make a career

change? (Conversation 1). Anne says that her creative venues for photographing children

came from her desire to be different. She said it didn?t look realistic for children to come

to a studio dressed up when that aspect didn?t portray the real personality of the child.

Anne used to ask her clients, ?When your child has grown and left home, would you

rather have a formal photograph to look back on, or an image which reminds you of the

baby?s wonderful and unique personality at the age of two? (Conversation 1). Evidently,

her idea caught on like wild fire and she has been out of control ever since her career

began.

When asked about the difficulty of photographing babies, Anne replied, ?Children

have absolutely no respect for photographers, but I don?t really find them difficult to

photograph at all. You just have to keep an open mind and a sense of humor?

(Conversation 2). She said her fellow workers go to great lengths to create a ?peaceful

and comfortable environment for the babies and their parents? (Conversation 2). Anne

said that the main reason why all of the babies in her pictures are sleeping is because their

ages range from newborns to 4 weeks. ?Slumber is the key to photographing often cranky

and always unpredictable infants,? said Anne in an American Photo article. These infants

sleep all day as long as they are kept fed and dirty diaper free. In a September 1996 issue

of People Magazine, Anne said her secrets of success are ?meticulous preparation and

endless patience? (People 1). Although most of her shots are taken after the infants have

dozed off, she does do occasional work with 6 month olds. ?You have 20 minutes of

attention, so when we bring a baby in the studio, everything has to be ready, says Anne

( People 1). She also stated to People Magazine that ?holding a baby and waiting for it to

go to sleep might be pressure, but it?s a nice kind of pressure.?

Anne has sold over 11 million books worldwide and that number doesn?t include

things like calendars, stationary, stickers, posters, etc. She and her husband, Kel Geddes,

are the directors of two companies: The Especially Kids Company Limited and Kel

Geddes Management Limited. Especially Kids Company Limited is responsible for image

creation, and Kel Geddes Management Limited does marketing, business administration,

promotion, operations, and the productions of books, calendars and other miscellaneous

items (Biography 3).

Anne Geddes? latest release is a book entitled Until Now, which is a collaborative

collection of hand picked photographs taken over the many years of Anne?s career. Until

Now has been printed in seven different languages and has ?taken Europe by storm?

(Biography 1). It was almost an immediate success and has appeared on The Sunday

Times bestseller list in the UK, and is quickly becoming the #1 Best-selling Illustrated

Book in France. Until Now has been reprinted five times in Germany since its first launch

and was also a bestseller in Holland. The collectors item also received the ?Kodak

Fotobuchpreis 1998? award which is the ?most prestigious award an illustrated book can

receive in Germany? (Biography 1).

Anne Geddes gift book, Down in the Garden has sold over 1 million copies

worldwide and has been topping the charts every since it debuted in 1996. It was

considered the #1 gift book in the Untied States and #3 on The New York Times bestsellers

list where it remained for three months. ?Good Morning America? called it ?a treat? and

?Entertainment Tonight? dubbed it a ?fanciful, delightful eye? (Biography 1,2). TIME

famed Down in the Garden with the expression of ?whimsical and colorful collages,? and

People magazine said ? Anne does wonders with minor models and a fertile imagination?

(Biography 2).

Anne?s work seems to continue to receive praise and citations from critics all over

the globe. She has been awarded a Lifetime Membership in the professional

Photographers of America, an Honorary Fellowship with the New Zealand Institute of

Professional Photographers, and was the first woman to earn a Fellowship from the

Institute through its awards system. Since then, she has received additional gold and silver

merits as well as the ?prized Gold Bar? (Biography 2).

In 1991, Anne combined her interest in creating a calendar with her desire to give

back to people and charities. Her first project was to assist a prominent New Zealand

personality in the Prevention of child abuse. Her calendar brought in over $50,000.00

through sales and every year since, the infamous calendars have been best sellers. The

funds still go to prevent child abuse, and have been raised and given to Australia, New

Zealand, and the United States.

Anne gets the children for her photos from several different places. She said she

receives approximately a dozen pictures a day of parents and friends sending in pictures of

babies and this assures her that ?everyone is enthusiastic and supportive? of her work

(Conversation 3). She also has her own model file which contains hundreds of babies.

Anne says that once a year she travels to the United States to create images using African

American babies. According to Geddes, ?there is only a very small African American

community in New Zealand, and it is very difficult to find many African American Babies

for our New Zealand shoots? (Conversation 3). Anne said that this is the only major

difficulty with working from New Zealand.

Anne Geddes and her unique style has captured the hearts of people all around the

world and will continue to do so as long as she works. Anne gave the following statement

when asked how she finds the strength and inspiration to do her work. ?I photograph

from the heart. I adore little babies and I think that shows. My images are really very

positive, very simple, and from the heart. Babies speak a universal language. Little babies

are my inspiration, and I cannot imagine photographic life without them playing a major

part. I have a deep love and respect for children. I hope that through my work as a

photographer, I have been able to pass on my appreciation of their beauty and charm?

(Conversation 2). Inspirational is the word for Anne Geddes as she captures emotional

climaxes with the snap of a lens and mystifies the world with her amazing talent. ?I think

that emotional content is an image?s most important element, regardless of the

photographic technique. The other key element is simplicity. Together, emotion and

simplicity create a memorable image? (Conversation 2). I will end this paper with a quote

from Anne Geddes which entails so many aspects of life itself. Not just photography or

art, but everything.