Tom, age 6 months
Tom Arma,"the most published baby photographer in the world" began his photographic career as a teenager when he was hired by the largest circulation newspaper of its time,the New York Daily News, as their youngest staff photographer. At the Daily News, he covered many diverse assignments including political conventions, the Woodstock Music Festival, The Beatles invasion, President Nixon's rise and fall, as well as every facet of big city life: the fires, the murders, the poor, the privileged, the famous and the infamous!
Tom, (left) receives "Best in Show" award
After several years of covering "hard" news,and hundreds of journalism awards later, he asked for reassignment to the Magazine section of the paper. It is there where, in color, he photographed the most famous stars of the time from his home base-The Beverly Hills Hotel. Mega-stars such as Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, and Michael Caine, to name a few were the subjects of his covers.
After years of daily deadlines, Tom decided to leave the world of journalism to open his own studio, concentrating on magazine and advertising work. He shot successful campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, as well as covers for Time, People, Money ,French Photo, and Ladies Home Journal.
In 1972 he began his work with babies. Tom was hooked, all the freshness he felt as a teenager shooting his first images came into play, as he saw he could capture the totally uninhibited beauty of a child. From that first assignment numerous others followed, and now, as the New York Times reported he is "the most published baby photographer in the world." (Feb.9,1997).
NY NEWS Magazine
June 25,1972
In the 1980's his work with costumed children graced the covers of magazines, including consecutive Christmas covers for Ladies Home Journal..To express his ecological concerns, Tom created his Please Save the Animals series of posters and greeting cards.This series of babies dressed in animal outfits designed by Tom was a huge success in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
His best selling books published by Grosset&Dunlap ,Animal Time! and Dress-Up Time!, as well as his top selling "Please Save the Animals"calendars published by Landmark/At-a-glance/ Mead, marked the beginning of America's craze for costumed babies. Tom has now authored 47 original books worldwide. His costumed series is hailed as a breakthrough in the children's publishing market. Through his success,Tom gives back to many charities, and is proud to support the efforts of the National Wildlife Federation.His current publisher Harry N. Abrams has released Tom's picture books to rave reviews. Publishers Weekly says of "We're Going on Safari" "The pictures are delicious with the 3 dimensional feel and color saturation of old View-master vignettes. Toddler fan audiences, typically enthralled with photos of their peers, may just go ape for them."
Many successful advertising campaigns, based on Tom's costumed cuties have owed their successes to his innovative creations and photography. Tom Arma's "Mamiferos"(Mammals), his advertising campaign for Parmalat, has created a sensation in Brazil and Latin America. Running since 1996, this campaign has captured the hearts of millions.It was the most popular campaign of the decade in Brazil.
Over 50 TV ads have featured Tom Arma costumes.
Tom Arma Costume's have become much sought after for the Halloween season.For the past twenty years Tom's patterns for the McCalls Sewing patterns have been in the top three selling designs every year.
The Wall Street Journal says of Tom " fast becoming the Armani of the kiddy costume world."
CNN Headline News "Tom Arma is one of the hot trends in costumes this year."
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