Harry Borden: portrait masterclass

Professional portrait photographer Harry Borden visited Bradfield to deliver a workshop and a lecture to the College’s budding photographers. Here Fifth Form pupil Cathy (I) shares her experiences of the day.

During the workshop, Harry focused on using the environment and available light to get the best shot. He taught us to look where the natural light is coming from and to use this as we take our pictures. We toured the campus and Harry paused in certain areas to take our photos with a focus on composition and framing the subject, such as in doorways or beneath tree canopies.

We also looked at the way in which the model poses and how this will affect our photo. He taught us that if models ever look uncomfortable or awkward that it could sometimes make the photo look more beautiful which is something people do not tend to see.

In the lecture, Harry displayed his photography portfolio which included interesting shoots and magazine front covers. He has also worked extensively with many celebrities and showcased some of his shots of Tom Daley, Jamie Oliver, Paul Smith, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher.

Harry talked about what makes a great photo and how the meaning of a photo can change years after taking it. He photographed Oscar Pistorious before his scandal and pointed out that following the scandal, a viewer would see the photo of him differently. Another of Harry’s projects involved photographing his friends every 20 years. He put these photos together to show the difference in their lives that could be seen in their face throughout the years. It really motivated us to photograph our lives and take many photos.

To have such a well-known portrait photographer visit our school was a great experience and the work that he showed us was so inspiring. I am looking forward to using his advice to feed into my own project and ideas this year, by taking more photos and focusing on the lighting in my environmental portraiture work.

It was interesting to hear about how he communicates with his subject to find common ground or how much we can find out about a person by their behavior during a shoot and how best to capture those moments. Seeing Harry was a great privilege and has improved and widened my knowledge in photography.