About Anne Geddes

"We must protect, nurture, and love all children. We are all responsible for all of the children, all of the time."

One of the world’s most respected photographers, Anne Geddes creates images that are iconic, award winning, internationally acclaimed, and beloved. Like no photographer before, her imagery singularly captures the beauty, purity, vulnerability, and preciousness of children, embodying her deeply held belief that each and every child must be protected, nurtured, and loved.

Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, Anne first professionally picked up a family camera in her mid-twenties, and self-taught, she began developing her signature style of simple structure and immediate visual impact. As a runaway New York Times and international bestselling author, Anne has subsequently changed the face of family and children’s portraiture. Her work has been published in 83 countries spanning North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Anne’s books have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 24 languages. Among her titles are:

My First Five Years (1995) – Anne’s first baby journal; with more than 4 million copies sold, it remains a treasured keepsake edition for families worldwide.

Down in the Garden (1996) – Anne’s first large-format gift book and a critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller for more than three months. It was also a Los Angeles Times bestseller, returned to the New York Times bestseller list in 1997, and was included among the year’s best books in the Entertainment Weekly ‘97 Yearbook. There are now more than 1.5 million copies in print.

Little Thoughts With Love (1998) – A book that combines Anne’s remarkable images of children with her specially selected quotes from such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Hans Christian Andersen, Mother Teresa and others. It has sold more than 757,000 copies.

UNTIL NOW (1998) – Printed in eight languages, this large-format photographic retrospective was a London Sunday Times bestseller and was the #1 Bestselling Illustrated Book on the Livre Hebdo list in France. It received the “Kodak Fotobuch Preis 1998,” called “the most prestigious award an illustrated book can receive in Germany.” Until Now has sold nearly 1 million copies.

PURE (2002) – Five years in the making, launched simultaneously in Europe and the U.S., PURE was an impressive visual statement of the new directions Anne was pursuing in photography and received international acclaim. Anne’s third large-format coffee table book, it remained at #1 on the Barnes and Noble Best Photographic Books bestseller list for 10 straight weeks. There are 307,300 copies in print.

MIRACLE (2004) – Published simultaneously in 22 countries, MIRACLE was an instant New York Times bestseller and remained on the list for six weeks. This large-format book was also a Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and BookSense bestseller and was awarded the “Family Choice Award” as “Best Picture Book”-2005 by the Family Magazine Group. In Germany, MIRACLE was a prestigious GEO magazine bestseller. It was also a Livre Hebdo Illustrated Books bestseller in France. Miracle is packaged with a companion Miracle audio CD by premier contemporary pop singer Céline Dion (Sony Music) and the making-of-the-book DVD. There are 500,000 copies in print.

CHERISHED THOUGHTS WITH LOVE (2005) – Showcasing selections from Anne’s most recent explorations in color and black and white—along with her classic, sophisticated photographs—paired with her favorite quotes on childhood, CHERISHED THOUGHTS WITH LOVE has 148,000 copies in print.

A Labor of Love (2007) – Anne’s autobiography released worldwide to high acclaim: “Anne Geddes’ images are iconic.” Houston Chronicle; “Oh baby, what a Labor of Love... Geddes is the baby photographer.” The Toronto Star; “For millions of fans around the world, the photos of Anne Geddes are magical moments.” Bunte, Germany; “All the world knows Anne Geddes and her images of babies….(here is) her dazzling career.” Ouest, France; “When one speaks of children and the world of photography, one thinks immediately of Anne Geddes, famous the world over for her images of babies.” Femme, Italy. There are 171,500 copies in print.

BE GENTLE WITH the YOUNG (October 2008) – Anne delivers a new book of captivating images, celebrating the beauty and innocence of two of nature’s miracles…newborn babies and flowers.

Together Anne and her husband and business partner, Kel Geddes, combine their talents in their company Geddes Group Holdings Ltd. As an integral part of this company, Kel Geddes Management Limited has the responsibility for all marketing, promotion, business administration, operations, and the production of books, calendars and other items. Anne and Kel share their time between New Zealand and Australia and have two daughters.

Anne Geddes Calendars – Annual International Bestsellers

Since they were introduced, Anne Geddes calendars have been bestsellers. In 1992, Anne combined her interest in creating her first calendar of selected images with her commitment to “give back” in response to a call for assistance and raised more than US $20,000 toward the prevention of child abuse in New Zealand. Her subsequent U.S. calendar editions received special recognition, as the Calendar Marketing Association awarded her 1996 calendars and date books two Gold Awards and one Bronze, and her 1997 “A Collection of Images” calendar was ranked #1 in sales, according to the Calendar Club. The Anne Geddes 2002 calendar program ranked in the top 15 of all calendar licensed programs in the US and Canada. Published in 55 countries, there have been more than 13 million Anne Geddes calendars and datebooks sold. The year 2009 marks the 20^th edition of Anne Geddes calendars to be released.

annegeddes.com

The Anne Geddes website remains an international success story, attracting more than 3.3 million visits yearly from more than 210 countries. When launched in 1999, annegeddes.com was listed as #1 on Yahoo’s New Best of the Week Sites, named a Hot Site by USA Today, and received the CoolSTOP Best of the Cool Award. The site and web newsletter have received numerous awards for design and content. An exclusive range of member benefits is available through a premium subscriber service called extra, introduced in 2006.

Protect Nurture Love

Anne and Kel Geddes are committed to “giving back” and honoring the preciousness of children. Since 1992, designated funds from the range of Anne Geddes products totaling more than US $4.5 million have been donated through the non-profit Geddes Philanthropic Trust to help prevent child abuse and neglect in Australia, New Zealand, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Charities include the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. In 2001, the Geddes Philanthropic Trust announced a $1 million contribution to Childhelp USA to help support the Childhelp USA^® National Child Abuse Hotline. In early 2005, more than $83,400 of nominated returns from the Anne Geddes Bank of America credit cards was donated to the UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Effort. Following Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., more than 20,000 items of Anne Geddes Baby clothing were donated to benefit the babies affected by relocation, and in many cases, separation from their parents.

In 1998, a Geddes Fellowship program to fund a dedicated primary physician concentrating in the identification, treatment, and research of child abuse and neglect commenced at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia. In 2006, Anne and Kel Geddes established the Geddes Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital at Orange County, California, on the hospital’s Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team. A Geddes Fellowship was established in 2007 at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. An essential part of this Fellowship is a travel grant to enable communication and an exchange of ideas and findings.

Anne Geddes Clothing Collection

Launched in 2001, Anne’s elegant and timeless collection of clothing and accessories for infants and toddlers is designed by Anne and reflects the emotional values of warmth, trust, nurturing, and caring inherent in her images. Supported by Anne’s years of experience with new babies, and her conversations with more than 2,000 mothers, the Anne Geddes Baby clothing collection is beautifully crafted from soft, luxurious, quality fabrics with special attention to detail and finishing. In 2007, a line of adult Maternity T-Shirts was introduced. Anne Geddes Baby clothing and accessories, and other Anne Geddes gifts, are available online from annegeddes.com, at the flagship Anne Geddes retail store in the Downtown Disney^® District, in Anaheim, California, and the Wynn LVNV store at Wynn Las Vegas.

Anne Geddes Brand News

In 2008, for the first time, Anne’s images were licensed to adorn a line of luxuriously all-natural baby skincare products, Epicuren Baby, created in association with Anne by Epicuren.

Also in 2008, Anne was invited by Google to partner on a set of new online themes for iGoogle™, Google’s personalized homepage. Today, more than 240,000 Google users have customized and personalized their home pages with landscape skins featuring her Anne’s themes, created with her award-winning images.

Bringing Anne’s images to another new medium, Westinghouse Digital Electronics has partnered with the Anne Geddes brand, creating a new family of digital photo frames that highlight babies and children.

Awards

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) will honor Anne with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on January 13, 2009. Not given every year, this award is only designated to a select few whose body of work has enriched professional photography.
The Anne Geddes Woodland Fairy is named as 2008 Doll of the Year Industry’s Choice Collectible Baby Doll; the Anne Geddes Woodland Fairy and Anne Geddes Woodland Sprite collectible dolls receive nominations as Dolls of Excellence by Doll Magazine (awards to be announced in August 2008).
In 2007, the Board of Directors of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Foundation honor Anne and her business partner and husband, Kel, for their generous support and name the Geddes Philanthropic Trust the 2007 Outstanding Foundation and recipient of CHOC’s highest honor, The Charley Hester Award.
Anne is appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, announced as part of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honors List, June 2004.
La Poste, the postal service of France, prints commemorative birth stamps in 2004 and 2005 bearing Anne’s photographs.
In 2002, Anne and Kel receive the Childhelp USA Humanitarian Award for their work to prevent child abuse.
Anne addresses the 1998 World Council of Professional Photographers General Assembly at Photokina in Cologne, Germany, and is given an award for her contributions to photography.
In 1997, for a leading U.S. retailer, Anne directs two television commercials inspired by her images, which win Gold Awards for Best Retail Commercials at the Annual Retail Award Presentations.
Anne is awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Professional Photographers of America association in 1997.
Also in 1997, Anne receives an Honorary Fellowship with the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers (NZIPP) in recognition of her unique style of photography and her success. In addition to accumulating the most merits ever granted an individual photographer, Anne is the first woman to earn a Fellowship from the Institute through its awards system. Additional gold and silver merits have added the prized “Gold Bar” to her Fellowship status. She also has won a number of honors in the AGFA Photokina competition, as well as the AGFA/NZIPP Professional Photography competition.
At the AGFA Photokina competition in New Zealand, Anne places 1st in the People Section and 1st in the Open Section in 1992.
For his services to charity, in 1979 Anne’s husband, Kel, is awarded the British Empire Medal—the Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service—presented for meritorious civil or military service considered worthy of recognition by the Crown, instituted by King George V.

October 2008