Anne Geddes Baby Pictures

Why Anne Geddes' images are so popular

Introduction

My own take on Geddes' success as a photographer is that she appeals to our instinctive attraction to newborn babies. Although obvious, I will explore this issue below. Another factor that contributes to the popularity of her images is that she places her babies in interesting environments and contexts. Even though photos of babies would be interesting on their own, Geddes has taken her photos to a new level by adding this extra appeal. Elements that are unexpected, unpredictable, interesting and curious motivate people to want to see more of her images. What will the baby be in her next photograph? What fantastic scenario will be created? Oh and isn't that baby cute?

Babies

Geddes' good eye for composition, her strong and simple style are also important contributing factors, but for now I will concentrate on content. Four reasons why we are attracted to images of babies

1. Fleeting

   Like beauty, a baby is a fleeting affair. It will inevitably grow.

2. Rare

   They are not only fleeting, but also rare. Most people do not come into contact with newborns until there is a baby in the family.

3. Instinct

   As human beings we have an instinct to protect and nurture babies. Geddes' images play on this instinct. Such instincts evolved to assure the continuation of the human race. Human newborns are very vulnerable and extremely dependent on adults for survival. In fact, human babies are dependent on their parents for much longer than most other animals. Perhaps this explains why an image of a vulnerable newborn baby alone in a strange setting strikes a responsive chord.

4. Symbolic

   Often more emphasized in articles and biographies about Anne Geddes, the symbolic is another reason why we are attracted to her images. Ideals of innocence and potential are symbolically represented in her photos. A baby has his/her whole life ahead. Geddes further emphasizes this point with various contexts. Examples include a baby angel representing purity and a baby in a flower pot representing the potential to grow.

Context

Since using babies is a given, the other variables that distinguish one photo from the next are: choice of baby, perspective, medium (color or black & white), environment and context. I will focus on "context", since I believe that the other variables support the context. I have divided her work into four context categories which are;

1. unusual contexts

2. contrasts

3. transformations

4. character shots

I believe that most of her work falls within these categories and I will divide my gallery into these four categories to illustrate my point. Some of her images fall into multiple categories. For example, the black angel in between two white angels (see image at top) is both a contrast and a transformation.