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Everyone has at least once seen images of newborn babies held in the palm of a hand, hidden among the flowers or dressed as snail, twins and trigeminis asleep in the strong and big hands that support them or wrapped in candid gauze that protect them like little birds in the nest. Images that represent the exquisite fragility and purity of children, their way of being so amazing to be excited only by looking at them.
The images of the children are now her signature and she is Anne Geddes known worldwide and in 1997 became an honorary member of the Association of Professional Photographers of the United States.
With over 19 million photo books and 13 million calendars sold in over 84 countries around the world, Anne Geddes is also the author of several books including Miracle, Cherished Thoughts With Love, Down in the Garden and Until Now the latter became bestsellers and translated into 23 languages. The latest work is Pure, in which in the search for simplicity she focuses exclusively on the child without any foreign element that distracts the attention on the undisputed protagonist of her shots.
After years of work, books and merchandising of all kinds, she decided to start the cycle of official exhibitions in the United States of America starting from Miami. Philanthropist and internationally renowned photographer, in 1992 she donated part of the proceeds of the sale of her first calendar to the association that deals with the fight against child abuse. Over the years, she founded an NGO, non-governmental organization: the Geddes Philanthropic Trust, which aims to prevent and combat violence against children in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. Engaged in the sensitization of meningococcal disease, she works side by side with the United Nations Foundation, and the National Foundation for Child Paralysis, established at the time of Franklyn Delano Roosevelt and known as the March of Dimes, which fights for health of mothers and children. On her first stop at the Moore Building in Miami, on September 13th and 14th, she exhibited 25 works belonging to different production periods, especially those of the 1990s, with the aim of donating part of the proceeds from sales to Nicklaus Children. Hospital Foundation. One Pure Rule, this is the title of the exhibition that is then its maximum life: to offer the beauty of what you have been lucky enough to have to those who do not have the same possibilities with an eye of respect, always and in any case to them: the children.
A photographer, philanthropist and activist for children known worldwide, Anne Geddes was born in Australia, in Queensland in 1957 and began to become passionate about photography at the age of 25, taking over her husband’s Pentax K1000 who decided to support her in what was initially a passion. No school, no course: from simple self-taught Anne begins to photograph her daughters, breaking the notion that in the photographs children should be dressed up for the occasion by offending the spontaneity inherent in its very nature. In this way Anne begins to photograph children inserting them into naturalistic, almost fairytale contexts with the intention of emphasizing the magic of the birth of a child, an ode to joy that encourages people to protect, nurture and love children. Her images are played on soft lights and pastel colors even though she often uses black and white which, according to Anne, is the technique that best emphasizes the simplicity and the emotionality of the subjects she photographs without any particular elaboration. Children are generally under 6 months of age and of different ethnic groups. Shoots with traditional film machine and rarely resorts to Photoshop because her shots, which require a few minutes, require categorically that every technical aspect is analyzed and solved widely before the small model arrives on set. Everything must be studied to perfection starting from the safety of the child who is often supported by belts invisible to the viewer and surrounded by staff ready to intervene, just outside the frame. The study of the lights is done in advance with the help of reborn dolls with features, dimensions and weight in real format that she positions instead of children. Anne makes use of the work of skilled craftsmen who create the costumes, the set and everything that is a corollary to the scene. Her study is obviously designed to ensure the presence of the mother who can nurse the baby in confidence or calm him if necessary.
If in the early years she found it difficult to shoot with the children, so small and unpredictable, over time she developed the idea that “the best images evolve from a shot that was planned in a completely different way (…). My idea of perfect photo is the one where I created a certain environment where the child gave something with his personality “, because you know:” The child always adds that spark to the image “.
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