DAY 43

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS

Anne Geddes (1956–)

BABY LOVE

Babies in flowerpots. Babies dressed as sunflowers, or as a tiny fairies sleeping soundly on a giant branch. These are typical images created by Australian photographer Anne Geddes, who became a worldwide photographic sensation with her colorful, whimsical images of babies and young children dressed in elaborate costumes and placed in fairytale or fantasy settings. Often humorous, her images are a celebration of babies and motherhood. In the past, all of the costumes and props were created by hand, but currently she often shoots the subject and the background separately with a 4 × 5 camera and then fuses them together into one final image using digital technology.

A self-taught photographer, Anne began to work as a photographer in Hong Kong, after moving there with her husband. Her photography business quickly became successful¹ and busy; however, she made sure to set aside one day each month to pursue her own artistic inspirations. During this time, while reading bedtime stories to her young daughters, she began to dream of creating a fairytale told with photographs, an idea which eventually became her first book, Down in the Garden.

Her books and calendars have been published in 83 countries and translated into 24 languages. They include: Down in the Garden (1996); Until Now (1998); Pure (2002); Miracle (2004); Cherished Thoughts with Love (2005); and Anne Geddes: An Autobiography: A Labor of Love (2007). Several images have also been used by the French and American postal services for postage stamps.

In 2009, Anne was honored by The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) with the Lifetime Achievement Award. —GC