John Hedgecoe

John Hedgecoe (24 March 1932 – 3 June 2010)^[1] was an award-winning British photographer and author of over 30 books on photography.^[2] He established the photography department in 1965 at the Royal College of Art, where he was Professor from 1975 to 1994 and Professor Emeritus until his death.^[1] He was also Pro-Rector of the college from 1981 to 1994.^[3] His photographs appear in permanent collections at the New York Museum of Modern Art and London's National Portrait Gallery.^[2]

Early Life

Hedgecoe was born in Brentford, located west of London. Born the son of a banker, John Hedgecoe received his first camera from his father at the age of 14. As a Hedgecoe and his family were evacuated to Gulval during the World War II. They settled in Gulval, a village near Penzance in Cornwall where he attended the local school.^[4]

Education

Hedgecoe attended Guildford Art School, while also completing his National Service with the RAF. During his service with the RAF is where Hedgecoe first began experimenting with his talents of aerial photographic surveys of bomb damage from the second world war.^[5]

Postage stamps

Hedgecoe’s profile shot of the Queen was made by him in June 1967, and was then used by Arnold Machin (a well-known stamp design sculptor) to make a plaster version. Once the plaster version was produced, Hedgecoe photographed it for the stamp image which is now familiar to many.^[6]

Publications

• Manual of Photography Focal Press, 1977, ISBN 0240509579
• John Hedgecoe's Nude Photography Simon Schuster, 1984 ISBN 0-671-52326-0
• The Photographer’s Handbook Alfred A. Knopf, 1992, ISBN 0679742042
• John Hedgecoe's 35mm Photography Collins & Brown, 1999, ISBN 9781855857148
• The New Manual of Photography DK Publishing, 2003
• John Hedgecoe's Complete Guide to Black White Photography Sterling, 2005, ISBN 1402728123
• How to Take Great Photographs Collins & Brown, 2005, ISBN 1843403307
• The Art of Digital Photography Dorling Kindersley, 2009, ISBN 9781405340939

References