Read Will Robson-Scott's perspective on his photography workshop

Working with the year 10’s at Langdon Park, I wanted them to consider the area they live and study in. The brief was to investigate portraiture and architecture and the relationship between the two. This part of East London is an ever evolving area architecturally as well as economically. The Olympics have been a massive news story and directly affect the area, so these current issues are something that I wanted the students to consider.

To start the workshop, I showed the classes some of my own work, and I particularly wanted to show them work I had done in East London itself, to mine and the classes amazement one of the subjects in a portrait photograph I had taken was an ex pupil at the school, which started up some lively conversation. I wanted to instill in the class the idea that photography need not be complicated regarding equipment or setup, but translating a feeling or using narrative can form interesting images.

Students explored scale and composition in their portraits

Students experiment with different ways of creating portrait
photographs, including turning their backs to the camera

The practical part of the session was dedicated to the pupils shooting portraits of each other in the school grounds, considering framing and exposure. I wanted them to use the architecture around them to try and set the scene and talk about East London in the run up to 2012.