Mardi's Selene Palos

Anne Geddes is the ultimate antidote to art world snobbery. Your life may not be changed by a schmaltzy image of a baby propped up in a sunflower pot, or slumped atop a giant egg, but you’ll probably crack a smile. It’s bizarre yet oddly inspiring to know that, despite being one of the most commercially successful photographers in the game, Geddes has followed her own vision every single step of the way.

As a studio photographer, Geddes began with straight-up baby portraits, no frills. And then a greeting card company approached her to make a line, so she began delving into more experimental sets and costumes. “Once you start doing greeting cards, of course, you have to do seasonal images,” she said. And then came the calendars, and thus, more costumes. The more festive the threads, it seemed, the more attention Geddes’ work received.

And the more Geddes speaks, the clearer it is just how passionate she is about photos, and babies and, mostly, photos of babies. “How wonderful is it going to be for this child to see in such wonderful detail their newborn selves, at the very beginning of their lives?” Geddes muses. “I’ve photographed thousands of babies over my 30-year career and I’ve never lost that fascination and awe at the sight of a newborn. At the very beginning of our lives, there is so much potential, so much purity. All these words sounds so trite but it’s very true.”