Photographer Anne Geddes has found a novel way to make money from her photos: the game section in Apple's App Store.
For just 99 cents you can play through 60 levels of Anne Geddes MatchUp, a memory game for the iPad that features photographs from her latest book Beginnings. The book is also available as an e-book.
"It used to be greeting cards, where my fans bought my images and exchanged thoughts and feelings," says Geddes, a New York Times best-selling photographer. "There are now so many new ways that my photography can be seen, in forms that were not possible when I began my career -- e-books, iPhone and iPad apps and digital games."
Geddes, who is based in Australia, is famous for her photos of babies dressed as whimsical icons, such as fairies or small animals. She has sold millions of books and calendars in her 30-year career and has even had the rare honor of being satirized by The Onion.
Economic hard times for photographers is an old story by now: Professional photographers have been hard hit by the dropping value of their personal archives. Amateurs are cutting into their list of available assignments. And there are fewer and fewer staff photographer jobs. Countless workshops, webinars and blog posts preach about getting creative and thinking outside the box.
But with all the talk of re-imagining yourself, specializing or diversifying, learning new techniques, reaching new client bases and immersing yourself in multimedia, the one idea not often heard is game development. While it's perhaps a clever idea, Geddes admits it's not an obvious home run.
"There are so many games available and it is never a given that all ideas work," she says. "The public makes choices. But you have to ensure that you offer a quality and imaginative option. It also helps if you have name recognition, naturally."
