I Am Frequently Asked...

A Labor of Love: Anne Geddes, an autobiography

Q: Where do you find the babies that you photograph?

This is the question I am asked the most. The babies I feature in my photographs come from numerous sources. Many parents send photographs directly to the studio. It is impossible to involve all of the babies in shoots, but I still love to see the photographs that arrive daily. As I have been located in the same studio in Auckland, New Zealand for many years, we have large number of local contacts in twin clubs, multiple birth associations and the like. We also have a network of midwives in the Auckland area who, for a long time, have been very supportive and helpful.

We often receive telephone calls from brand new parents who are still at their hospital or birth-care center, to tell us the news of their new arrivals. In fact, I recall one very excited father phoning half and hour after his baby was born!

Q: How old was the youngest baby you have ever photographed?

I have photographed a number of babies who were one-day-old, but the newborns are generally over one-week-old before they come to the studio. At times, the studio visit is a baby's first outing since arriving home. One mother brought her baby to the studio on her way home from the birth care center, and went to sleep on our couch in the middle of the shoot!

Q: Do you audition babies?

No — that would be impossible — however, there was one notable exception, and in the book I tell the story about a shoot we were doing in Los Angeles in 1998 where I needed twenty five babies. A local radio station kindly volunteered to say something on my behalf, and over 2,000 people phoned to say they would love to take part. I truly believe that all babies are beautiful. Each of them, from birth, has a look and personality all their own and I couldn't possibly choose one over the other. Almost all of the babies who are featured in my images came sight unseen to the studio, where we met for the first time on the day of the shoot. Many years ago, I volunteered to judge a charity baby competition at a local country fair and I've promised myself never to do it again — it was just too difficult. I was a terrible judge because I declared them all winners!

Q: How do you get the babies to sleep?

This is a question answered in the book, where I explain what happens from the moment the babies arrive at the studio.

I'd love to say that I have a magic remedy for helping babies to settle and sleep, but that's definitely not the case. However, the sleeping babies in my images are almost all newborns, under four weeks of ago. At this early stage babies will generally sleep for most of the time if they are warm, comfortable and have full tummies. There is always an element of luck involved, but I've found the most effective way to get a baby to sleep is simply to pretend that you don't care either way whether they sleep or not. There's a lovely old rocking chair in my studio that has been put to good use over the years; in fact, I'm pictured in it at the beginning of the book.

I remember when I first had my own babies and was very unfamiliar and initially nervous when handling them. This is entirely normal for any new mother. Now, after many years of handling newborns, I think they sense that I'm confident and know what I'm doing, and I find they settle more easily. Babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for!

Q: You must be a very patient person — what's it like in the studio during one of your shoots?

A lot of people say to me they imagine the studio atmosphere to be very noisy and chaotic, but it's not like that at all. To the contrary, it's usually very calm and quiet, particularly when I am photographing newborns, which is what I mainly do these days. It seems that the older I get the younger my subject matter becomes. Perhaps it's because I don't have the energy to chase two-year-olds around anymore.

I generally play calming classical music in the studio, but it's more for me than the babies. I also like to spend time making the mothers feel welcome and comfortable. If mother is relaxed usually her baby will be relaxed too. I know from personal experience that the first few weeks at home with a newborn are not only exciting but can also be quite challenging and demanding. Therefore, I like to have mothers relaxing and socializing with others who are in exactly the same situation. Some of the conversations can be very interesting, to say the least!

I have a comfortable 'Mother's Room' right next to the studio. It's more like a home lounge room, but it's fully equipped with a baby changing area (very important). There is also another lounge area in the actual studio, so mothers can be close to their babies while I am shooting, and feel that they too, are part of the process.

In fact, it's always gratifying to receive letters from parents who have brought babies to my shoots, who say that it was a totally different experience than expected. They invariably say that they were made to feel very welcome, had a wonderful time, and it was so interesting to see how we worked.

Q: Does photographing all these lovely babies make you long to have more children?

No! I have two daughters and two stepdaughters who have all grown into delightful and loving young women. I think I have the best job in the world because I'm in constant contact with beautiful babies. I love to be around them, to cuddle them and photograph them, but I also love to have eight hours sleep a night! Whenever I find myself thinking how wonderful it would be to have a baby in the house, I remember the 3 a.m. feeds. I imagine that being a grandparent must be the ideal — all fun and love but none of the sleepless nights.

Q: Do you stay in touch with the babies when they are older?

Yes in a lot of cases I do, and I love to receive letters and emails from some of the early babies that I have photographed who are now teenagers and young adults. It's lovely to see how some of these beautiful chubby six-month-olds have grown into tall gangly teens!

I thought it would be an excellent idea for A Labor of Love to photograph some of the babies as they are now. It was such an enjoyable experience for all involved that I may do a more comprehensive book in the future, including many of the babies I have photographed over the years, as adults. Now that would be a great project to work on. So if you one of the babies that I have photographed and we have lost touch, please contact my website www.annegeddes.com if you feel that you might be interested in taking part.

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Contact: Kathy Hilliard, Publicity Director, (800) 851-8923, ext. 6741, khilliard@amuniversal.com

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