Anne Geddes is a children's photographer with a spark of God. Anne Geddes - a classic of the genre of children's photography Anna Geddes postcards with a newborn

I think everyone knows Anna Geddes. And if the name does not tell you anything, then after looking at a couple of photos, you will understand what I mean. This is genius. A talented photographer, mother of two, dedicated her life to showing us how beautiful children are. And, you see, she does it very well. Ahead is the story of the life and career of Anna Gedes, as well as many, many photos. Have a good time)

Anna was born on September 13, 1956 in Queensland, Australia, becoming the third daughter in the family. Anna grew up as an ordinary village child, brought up with her four sisters on a huge farm where her parents raised cattle. The children spent their time riding horses, going around the pasture, swimming in the river during the rainy season. At the age of twelve, Anna drove a jeep slowly through a sun-dried paddock while her sisters stood in the back and tossed hay to the cows.

Since childhood, Anna loved to look at magazines such as National Geographic and Life (her favorite), because in these magazines great importance has always been attached to the strength and quality of photographs. Most of all she liked photographs of people, and Anna was fascinated by the idea of ​​perpetuating those moments of human life that could no longer be reproduced.

At the age of 17, Anna landed a job at a tourist hotel chain in New Zealand and traveled abroad for the first time. To capture her daily adventures, she took literally hundreds of photographs, observing and appreciating the different qualities of natural light. At the age of 22, Anna tried to open a clothing store, then got a job as a secretary at a local TV station, finding herself in an environment where spectacular information was in the foreground. In such a rich, creative environment, Anna simply blossomed, and also met Kel Geddes, the program director of the TV station. Anna and Kel married in Hong Kong in 1983.

While living in Hong Kong, Anna rethought her career opportunities. She quit her marketing and advertising job for a department store chain and decided to start a small photography business, taking photos of neighborhood kids and friends at home, as well as in gardens and parks. By posting a handwritten ad on a bulletin board in a supermarket, she slowly began to acquire customers.

After two years in Hong Kong, during which she built up a rather impressive portfolio, Anna and her husband returned to Sydney, where their first daughter was born in 1984. Working from home, Anna created the first photo greeting card for her family. Later there were postcards for friends, and soon making postcards became a small business. Thanks to her husband's career, in 1986 the family moved to Melbourne.

Here Anna equipped her first studio, adapting for this an old, dilapidated garage behind the garden. Working pro bono as an assistant to a local photographer, Anna developed her skill in working in a studio environment. She also took part in the photo contest for the first time and won second place. In 1986, Anna and Kel had a second daughter in Melbourne. The family moved to New Zealand, to Auckland, as Kel was commissioned to create the first independent television network in this country.

In 1988, a photograph of Gemma, a little girl dressed as a ballerina, taken in Melbourne, was published in a local Auckland magazine and became the first published photograph of Anna Geddes. A magazine article about Anna and a photo of Gemma aroused interest in such a very unusual, for that time, style of portrait. After a brief (and, in her words, "harrowing") experience as a wedding photographer, Anna decided to specialize in children's photography from her small studio, Especially Kids, in Auckland.

Anna's photography business flourished, and in 1990 she decided to dedicate one day of every month to her inspiration and work on a photo for herself. The first two shots in this personal series are "Joshua" and "Rice and Grant" twins, better known as "Cabbage Kids". This photograph has become one of her most famous works.

In 1992, Kel had a successful career on Australian TV Channel 10 and became Anna's business partner. In the same year, the first collection of postcards by Anna Geddes was released in New Zealand and was a huge success. Among other awards, Anna won first place in two categories at the AGFA Photokina competition in Germany. The high level of professional recognition, the call to raise money for the fight against child abuse and the success of Anna's postcards all led to the idea of ​​creating a calendar with photos of Anna Geddes.

Between the first baby photos of Anna taken for friends in Hong Kong and the release of the first calendar in 1992 in New Zealand, ten years of hard work lie. When Anna was asked why she brought up the issue of child abuse, she recalled her emotionally difficult childhood. The ability to communicate something to a wide audience through their photographs is combined with a long-standing desire to help and support children - the most vulnerable part of our society. Anna and Cal were unable to attract publishers or distributors, so they sold the calendar themselves, distributing the calendar manually and through photo stores. They managed to collect 20 thousand. dollars to fight child abuse. This action was the beginning of Anna Geddes' charitable work, which later led to the creation of the charitable organization "Geddes Philanthropic Trust"

Anna and Kel soon decided to take a chance and print a second calendar. He saw the light in 1993 in New Zealand and Australia. They risked it all, sold their house in New Zealand and, with their two daughters in their arms, invested all the money in publishing 20,000 copies of the calendar in Australia. The calendar sold out in three weeks. They spent another 20,000 profits on printing, which they sold out just as quickly. Shortly thereafter, they received a call from an interested publisher. Anna's calendars were very popular. Therefore, she expanded her charitable activities. Now part of the cost of each Anna Geddes product goes to charity.

Anna and Kel often read bedtime stories to their children, and Anna had the idea to tell the story through photographs. So the first large-format gift book by Anna Geddes, Down in the Garden, was born. In the book, you could see many early shots of Anna, as well as newer ones. In 1996, the book was published, after which Anna Geddes first appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Anna's performance and display of her photographs on the Oprah Show aroused great interest in her work in the United States. The book "Down in the Garden" conquered the world. Anna and her work have received international recognition.

In 1997, Anna used her craft to create two commercials for a popular US retail chain. American viewers really liked the videos - Anna received a gold medal in the category "Best Retail Commercial."

Her skill developed and Anna opened up new facets of her deep belief that we should surround all children with protection, love and care. In 1998 Anna and Kel formally founded the Geddes Philanthropic Trust and established a child abuse research grant. The first grant was given to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney.

Anna's works and achievements, in particular her calendars and books, have gained worldwide popularity. As one of the international awards, Anna received the prestigious Kodak Fotobuchpreis.

The book "Until Now", published in 1998 in eight languages, included previously unpublished, exquisite black and white compositions, opening up new facets of Anna Geddes' creativity and originality to admirers. She went on the first international tour in support of the book, met with representatives of leading magazines, newspapers and television. Thanks to this, more and more people all over the world learned about her work. Anna's photographs have become an example of the glorification of children's beauty, purity and vulnerability. Until 2000, more than 14 million Anna Geddes books had been sold worldwide.

Over the years of working with children, Anna communicated with more than 2,000 mothers and often saw how they suffered while dressing their babies. This inspired Anna to create an elegant and timeless collection of clothes and accessories for children. The collection of clothes from Anna Geddes was presented in 2001 and is distinguished by concern for the comfort of babies. Anna Geddes products can be purchased from her website www.annegeddes.com. Created in 1999, the site attracts over 2.5 million visitors a year from over 213 countries.

Anna soon released two more bestselling books. In 2002, Anna's new book, PURE, was released simultaneously in Europe and the USA. The book showcased new directions in color and black and white photography and received international acclaim. In this work, Anna portrayed the innocence of newborn babies and the chaste beauty of pregnant women.

The beginning of the joint project of Anna Geddes and Celine Dion was Anna's desire to give joy to the nine-year-old girl Stacy, who has cancer. Anna and Kel were very close to this girl and knew that she was a big fan of Celine Dion. Anna heard that Celine is a fan of her work, so she decided to ask her to contact the girl. As a result, Celine called Stacey directly to the hospital. Anna decided to thank Celine for her help, and during the conversation it became clear that both women share common values. This is how the Miracle project was born. In this project, a book with new photographs of Anna is sold in one set with a specially released CD by Celine Dion. The project was released in 2004 simultaneously in 22 countries in 11 languages.

Continuing its philanthropic work, in 2005 the Geddes Philanthropic Trust donated $83,400 to UNICEF's South Asia Tsunami Relief Program. After Hurricane Katrina, Anna and Kel donated more than 20,000 pieces of clothing for affected children.

In 2005, Anna and Kel opened the first retail store at the Disney Complex in Anaheim, California. For the first time, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy selected works by Anna in large format, which were displayed in the gallery at the store. Anna from time to time leaves her comfortable home in Australia and flies to the USA to chat with friends and fans, sign books. Often her visits were broadcast via webcam.

Anna spoke about her life and art in her highly anticipated autobiography, A Labor of Love, published in 2007. In the book, she shared her childhood memories, her career, stories about taking individual photographs, and her struggles with child abuse. Anna also released Cherished Thoughts with Love in 2005 and Be Gentle with the Young in 2008.

In 2009, the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) honored Anna Geddes with a lifetime membership for her achievements. Anna has started work on one of two new projects at her studio in Sydney, where she works with her two daughters.

To date, photographs of Anna Geddes have been published in 83 countries. Over 18 million of her books in 25 languages ​​have been sold worldwide.

My name is Maria Safina, I am the leader of this project and the mother of Roman Albertovich (1 year 11 months).

This project appeared shortly before the birth of my baby.

The photographs of Anne Geddes have always evoked the most tender feelings in me. My collection of Anne Geddes publications began many years ago with postcards. And then I accidentally found out that this talented photo artist also released wonderful photo albums filled with love and warmth.

Thus, the idea of ​​this online store of publications for caring parents was born and embodied.

I invite you to the world of Anna Geddes, the world of endless love, care and happiness of motherhood!

Pregnancy, childbirth, quivering touches of a small miracle, his smile and the first small victories and overcomings, moments of happiness, minutes and moments that cannot be stopped, but you so want to remember and save ...

And every expectant mother daily experiences a lot of emotions, completely diverse and unusual, but helping her to accept and understand her condition, to see and appreciate the new and bright colors of life.

And it's so wonderful if it becomes possible to write down and record your feelings, changes occurring in the body, and do this not in a standard school notebook, but in an album carefully decorated by the author's hand.

The best copies for this will be "Diaries for expectant mothers", illustrated by the world-famous photographer Anne Geddes.

The life and professional philosophy of this wonderful photographer is based on unconditional love for children and the belief that motherhood is the highest destiny of a woman.

Her works clearly reflect this love, and Anne's books with photographs are sources of boundless tenderness and help the expectant mother to feel the invisible, but felt on a subconscious level, the connection between mother and child.

The Anne Geddes Diary Collection consists of five albums:

• “Waiting for a miracle. Diary of my pregnancy
• “My first five years. Baby diary»
• "My Pregnancy Calendar"
• "My Baptism" (Gift Album)
• “My first five years. Baby Album (new design)

Each edition is a hardcover book, where a mother can record the most important moments of pregnancy and baby development, add photos, make notes dear to her soul.

Many years will pass, and the diaries will certainly become a family heirloom, a dear reminder of what a foretaste of happiness is like and the greatest miracle of the universe - the birth of a child.

Australian photographer Anne Geddes has easily captured the hearts of people around the world with her images of babies. Her work captures the beauty, purity and vulnerability of children, as well as Anna's firm conviction that every child without exception should be protected, nurtured and loved.

In most of Anne Geddes' photographs, children are dressed in costumes of fairy tale characters, flowers or animals. Babies are almost always asleep or staring into space, as if they were still in their mother's womb.

Anna is often asked why she chose children as the object of her work. Here is what Geddes herself says about this: “I just adore children and everything connected with them. For me, they symbolize hope. Children are incredibly beautiful and expressive, and as an artist, I draw inspiration from them all the time. From the moment I first picked up a professional camera, I never wanted to shoot anything else.”

Anna has no shortage of models: parents themselves send pictures of their children to her studio in the hope that she will invite them for her next photo shoot. The photographer says that she often receives calls directly from maternity hospitals, and one excited and proud young father called when his newborn baby was only half an hour old!

Anne Geddes was born in Australia and currently lives and works in New Zealand. In addition to photography, she is also engaged in fashion design.
Anne maintains relationships with many of her models as they get older. She admits that she loves to receive letters from teenagers and adults whom she photographed in infancy.

It is interesting that Anna, being a member of the Association of Professional Photographers of America and the owner of many prestigious awards, studied the art of photography on her own and did not complete any courses.