John Swannell
John Swannell (born 27 December 1946) is a British photographer.
Also recorded as John Swannel
John Swannell
- Name
- John Swannell
- Born
- 27 December 1946
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Occupation
- Photographer
- Known for
- Photographing the British royal family on many occasions
- Spouse
- Marianne Lah
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
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John Swannell (born 27 December 1946) is a British photographer.
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wikidata · Q6259771
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Swannell • Born — 27 December 1946 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — Photographer • Known for — Photographing the British royal family on many occasions • Spouse — Marianne Lah • Children — 4 John Swannell (born 27 December 1946) is a British photographer.
Career
Career
Swannell was born in London in 1946. After leaving school at the age of 16, Swannell worked first as an assistant at Vogue Studios and then assisted David Bailey for four years before setting up his own studio. He spent the next ten years travelling and working for magazines such as Vogue, Harpers & Queen, The Sunday Times and Tatler. During this time he developed his very distinctive, individual style in both fashion and beauty photography. Swannell provided the photograph for the cover of the 1973 album The Man in the Bowler Hat and the 1976 Mr. Mick album by British rock group Stackridge, and has many other record cover photograph credits to his name. He is known for his royal portrait photographs. Other portrait commissions have included the 2004 Christmas card for Tony and Cherie Blair; Richard Attenborough, Michael Caine, Christopher Nolan, Elkie Brooks, Bryan Ferry, Norman Foster, Bob Hoskins, Glenda Jackson, Tom Jones, Ken Livingstone, Joanna Lumley. In 2019, Clarendon Fine Art hosted a major retrospective of his work.
Charity work
Charity work
On 7 June 2011, Swannell gave an illustrated talk, "My world in pictures", at the Royal Geographical Society in aid of the National Autistic Society.
Personal life
Personal life
Swannell's mother, Lilly McCann, came from just outside Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He has a large family connection still there in the McCann family. Swannell is married to Marianne Lah and they have two children, daughter Sophia (b. 1983) and son Charlie (b. 1989). He also has two daughters, Alice and Jane, from his previous marriage.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 3 entries
1946
John Swannell was born on 27 December 1946.
2006
John Swannell Nudes 1978-2006 is dated 2006.
Undated
John Swannell Nudes 1978-2006.
Royal photographer
During his career Swannell has photographed all the leading members of the British royal family, apart from Princess Margaret. In November 1994, Diana, Princess of Wales personally commissioned Swannell to photograph her together with her sons. In February 2012, Swannell was commissioned to take the official photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to mark the Diamond Jubilee of her accession to the throne.
Awards
In 1993, Swannell was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society; he was one of the youngest members to have achieved this status at the time.
Literature
Literature
Literature
Swannell, John, (born 27 Dec
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.John Swannell's best shot. 27 March 2008.
- 2.John Swannell: photographer.
- 3.John Swannell Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More.
- 4.Debretts People of Today. John Swannell, Esq.
- 5.Metro. 40 Years On.
- 6.Freelance Photographer. John Swannell interview 2008.
- 7.The official website of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Official portraits released.
- 8.Professional Photographer. Masters of photography: John Swannell.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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