Kirk Weddle photographed the baby swimming toward a dollar bill on Nirvana’s Nevermind cover.
Geffen Records commissioned the underwater photograph for the 1991 album. Weddle photographed a baby named Spencer Elden in a swimming pool, while the dollar bill on a fishhook was added as part of the concept. The image became one of the most recognizable album covers in popular music.
The cover’s design was created by art director Robert Fisher, who worked with Weddle on the final composition. The photograph’s sharp contrast between an innocent baby and money helped reflect themes associated with Nevermind, including commercial culture and the tensions of growing up.
A common mix-up is crediting the cover image to the band’s regular music-video directors or to photographer Charles Peterson, who documented the Seattle scene extensively. Weddle was the photographer specifically responsible for the iconic underwater image.