John Hedgecoe was a British photographer born in 1932 and died in 2010. He authored nearly 30 photography books and is renowned for his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the 1960s that was later used on a postage stamp. Some of Hedgecoe's most popular books included The New Manual of Photography, The Photographer's Handbook, and The Complete Guide to Photography. Hedgecoe believed that while modern photography technology has made the process easier, it has reduced the challenge and uniqueness of the art form by removing some of the "magic and mystery" of older photographic techniques.

1. 24 March 1932 - 3 June
2010

2. “It has really opened up
photography to a lot more
people, and made it easier for
people to produce good images,”

3. John Hedgecoe
•
John Hedgecoe was born on the 24th march 1932 and died on
the 3rd June 2010, he was an award winning British
photographer who was also an author for nearly 30 books hat
were to do with photography.
•
John Hedgecoe was lucky enough to be the proud photographer
who was able to take the photo that is the profile shot of the
queen this was created by him in the late 1960‟s however this
was then taken by a stamp design sculptor that made it into a
plaster version.
•
• The book of photography
Some of the books that are from John Hedgecoe are:
•The new manual of photography
•The photographers handbook
•Complete guide to photography
•The art of digital photography

4. Books

5. Photographs by John Hedgecoe
Sir Stanley Spencer
Factual method: This image is by
John Hedgecoe and was taken in 1959
and was purchases in 1980.
Technical method: I think this photo
was created by John Hedgecoe in a
room in one of there houses as it
looks, without being edited, really
dark and not very relaxed.
Aesthetic Method: The look and style
of this photograph from John
Hedgecoe makes me think about the
whole idea behind it. I like this photo
as it gives out an understanding of
what he feels like and what he is
trying to show us.
Context Method: In this photograph
the context is in the body of Stanley
Spencer, this is because the way

6. Henry Moore
Factual Method: This image is taken
from John Hedgecoe and was taken
in the year 1966.
Technical Method: In my opinion
this photograph was taken in a
studio without a patterned
background. For the lighting it looks
like it is coming from a window to
the left.
Aesthetic Method: The thing I like
most about this photograph is the
way his hands/arms are positioned,
this is because it is soft of an
outline of his head. So it stands out
more.
Context Method: I think the body
of work is in the „model‟ I think this
as it makes you think what the
photo is meant to represent and also

7. Mary Quant
Technical Method: In my opinion
this photograph was taken in a
studio that was set up in a
certain way. For the lighting he
used the lighting that was
available,
Factual method: This image is by
John Hedgecoe and was taken
between 24th March -18th June
2000.
Aesthetic Method: The thing I
like most about the image is the
way John made it Black and
white, however you can still see
the places where it is light and
the places where it is dark. The
way he planned out the image is
interesting even though you
don't know what the purpose is
behind it.
Context Method: I think the
context is that the pose she is
doing in this image is the
one that John thought would

8. Vita Sackville West
Factual method: This image is by
John Hedgecoe and was taken
between 24th March -18th June
2000.
Technical Method: In my opinion
this image wasn‟t taken in a studio,
this is because the background
looks like it has worn down .
Aesthetic Method: The thing I
find most interesting about this
image is the way she is positioned
and the way we don‟t know why her
facial expression is like that. This
image makes you think what the
photographer was meant to
express.
Context Method: I think the way
she is standing and the way the
broom/stick and basket are placed
and the way she doesn‟t seem to be
very happy, could be the context as
it is like some of the other images
he has captured.

9. John Betjeman
Factual method: This image is by
John Hedgecoe and was taken
between 24th March -18th June
2000.
Technical Method: I think this
photograph was taken in „John
Betjeman‟ bedroom or even was
taken in a studio very well set up as
a bedroom. For the lighting it looks
like it is coming from a large window.
Aesthetic Method: What I like
about this photograph is the way
John Betjeman looks so comfortable
and relax also the way he isn't
looking at the camera but isn‟t too
far off. Another thing I like is the
way the lamp isn‟t dead straight
because most lamps are on a wonk.
Context Method: The whole
context is in the image because
looking around you get a feeling of
what the room is like and also the
context is the way he looks and the
way he is the props/ furniture is laid
out as it isn‟t too cluttered.

10. John Mortimer, N.F. Simpson and Harold Pinter
Factual method: This image is by
John Hedgecoe and was taken
between 24th March -18th June
2000.
Technical Method: I think this
was captured at a bar as if they
are writers they may be talking
about there work. However, I also
think it may be down an alley way
as it looks like walls behind them.
The lighting is coming from either
the lights inside the bar or coming
from the sun if it is outside.
Aesthetic Method: I like this
image as it isn‟t too cramped also I
think it looks natural. Your eyes
don‟t just look at something
straight away you look at them
together not individually.
Context Method: In my opinion
the context is in the writers
expression and body language.

11. How John Hedgecoe inspired me
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•
•
John Hedgecoe has inspired me because his photos
aren‟t too cluttered they aren‟t very busy also they
all have a meaning that we may not know.
He has also inspired me as he doesn‟t used the same
model, he uses a variety e.g. male and female. As
well as not using the same model he doesn‟t use the
same arrangement, he uses different props,
different sets, different backgrounds and
different lighting.
Lastly, he has inspired me because he was an award
winning photographer and was able to take a profile
of the queens head, this is inspiring as I think he
tried really hard to become a great photographer
and the hard work he must have done to have been
able to get the chance to meet the queen and get to
have the photo put on a stamp must be an amazing
thing you could say you have done.

12. “However, I think in some ways
photography has become too easy.
Many people don't really know how
to operate a camera and just let
it make all the creative decisions.
In the past, you had to work hard
to get a really good image, but
now it's so much easier and that
makes it much more difficult to
be unique. Technology has made it
less of a challenge and I think
that has taken some of the magic
and mystery out of photography.”