Anne Geddes Report + 3 photos

Anne Geddes is a photographer, clothing designer, and businesswoman. She was born in Queensland, Australia, in 1956. She was a true country kid, and growing up she was an avid reader of National Geographic and Life, because of the strength and quality of their photographs. When she was 17 she took a job with a chain of tourist hotels in New Zealand, taking pictures of her day to day adventures. When she was 22, she opened a small clothing store, but was then hired as a secretary at a local television station in Brisbane, Australia. In 1983, she married Kel Geddes the station’s programming director. In 1984, their daughter Gemma was born. In 1988, a picture of her in a tutu became her first published photograph. Anne decided to specialize in children’s portraiture, working out of her own tiny studio. 

In 1990, she took one day a month to create images purely for herself. An outcome of this was her most recognized photographs of “Cabbage Kids”. In 1992, Kel left his career and became Anne’s business partner. She was became professionally recognized, and published a calendar.

Geddes believes that “emotional content is an image’s most important element”. She thinks people are drawn to her work because of its simplicity and personality. She prefers black and white photography to color photography. She says that a typical sitting takes place in the morning when the babies are well rested and lasts about half an hour. Geddes travels to the United States every year in search of black infants because New Zealand has a very small black population. 

In 1993, Anne and Kel took a leap of faith to publish her second calendar. They made over 40,000 copies. In 1996, Geddes published Down in the Garden. This is just one of her many published books. She has received many awards. In 2009, the Professional Photographers of American Honored Anne with it’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. She is an advocate for child abuse and neglect, as well has the health and wellbeing of both mother and child. Her images have been published in 83 countries. 

According to Anne Geddes, the "delicate, fragile, and yet fleeting beauty of flowers is so connected to the newborn. The synergy between the two is perfect." Geddes used to develop her pictures in a darkroom. However she now embraces technology to magnify her creativity. She works with photoshop experts, her role is to relay her visions to technical computer artists. For her baby portraits she uses a medium format digital camera that produce 110MB of image files. She prefers LED lighting rather than conventional heat radiating light. Her advise in making original pictures is to "shoot from the heart."

She gives the following tips:
from http://www.babycenter.com/0_20-tips-from-anne-geddes-for-taking-great-photos_10338944.bc

Do your own thing
Please don't try to replicate any of my images. They are created after hours of preparation and under careful controls in my studio, where I am supported by a team of talented professionals.

Be prepared
Keep your camera at the ready at all times. The more familiar your baby is with a camera, the more natural your photographs will be because your baby's curiosity won't be aroused by the camera. And with a camera at hand, you'll always be ready for those special spontaneous moments.

Consider the background
Keep your background simple to let your baby take "center stage" in the image.

Change your perspective
For a more personal point of view, get down to your baby's eye level.

Get ready
Ensure that your baby is safe, well fed, happy, and comfortable and you can be guaranteed some lovely images.

Time it well
Choose the time of day when your baby is happiest. Every baby is different.

Let there be light
I love using natural light. It is always more flattering to use the soft directional light coming in a window than the flash on a camera.

Go early or late
If you are photographing outside, try to take advantage of the early morning or late afternoon light. The mid-day sun doesn't bring out the best in anyone, and it can be especially harsh on your baby's perfect skin!