Studio Photography: Essential Skills

John Child has updated and improved his inspirational studio photography guide to further stimulate your creative ideas. Fully illustrated with brand new student and author work, a colour section is now also included to show the photographic effects to their full advantage.


You are guided through the use of studio equipment for a wide variety of different purposes. With a strong commercial orientation, the emphasis is highly practical and focuses on technique, communication and design within the genres of still life, advertising illustration, portraiture and fashion.

This successful guide is an essential tool for those working with small, medium and large format cameras in a controlled environment where the image output is to film or digital file. You are encouraged to experiment whether you have expensive equipment, or are using natural light sources; either way you will see how it is possible to achieve acceptable results and develop your skills.

John Child lectures in photography at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia - the leading photography course in the southern hemisphere. He has worked for many years as a professional photographer, with clients including Ford, L'Oreal, American Express and British Airways.



Benefit from the successful, highly structured learning approach to ensure you understand the fundamental skills
Reinforce your skills with a wide variety of practical activitiesLearn all the essential principles of studio photography