Nadav Kander: how I shot Boris Johnson

Nadav Kander talks to Cheryl Newman about photographing Boris Johnson

By Cheryl Newman 10 October 2014 • 3:45pm

Nadav Kander is an acclaimed photographer living in London. His photographs are included in major collections worldwide, including the National Portrait Gallery. In 2009 his work 'Yangtze, the Long River' won the prestigious Prix Pictet. His series ‘Dust’, which documents sites of Soviet nuclear testing on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, has recently been published as a book and exhibited at London's Flowers Gallery.

Last month we commissioned Kander to photograph Boris Johnson for the cover of the Telegraph Magazine, to coincide with the publication of Johnson's new book on the life of Winston Churchill. In my view, Kander was the only man for the job. We’ve collaborated with him over a number of years, usually on shoots with actors, but I was keen for Kander to try his hand at photographing Boris. I knew from past experience that Kander’s preparations for the shoot would be meticulous. I also knew we would get something unexpected and powerful and we were not disappointed. We had a stand-in Boris played by one of Kander's assistants, to test different lighting set-ups.

Our venue was the Savoy, and Boris arrived by bike with an entourage of two and dreaded helmet hairstyle. This was easily dealt with, much to Boris’s surprise: we had a groomer poised to spring with hairbrush at the ready. Boris had come straight from parliament where the Airports Commission had rejected his proposed airport in the Thames estuary, but we needn’t have worried about him being in a bad mood: he was delightful.

An assistant uses a reflector to bounce some light onto Boris whilst Kander takes the photograph. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman

What was your first step when preparing for the shoot?
I studied multiple images of Boris. I wanted to familiarise myself with the subtle nuances of his face and body. I’m interested in the subject’s humanity, not what it says about them in Wikipedia. It’s a very intuitive process for me.

Does your approach change if you are photographing a politician rather than an actor?
When I’m photographing actors it can sometimes be more collaborative. They are generally more comfortable in front of the camera and are keen to try to add nuance and atmosphere, but I always come from the same starting point. I will have tried a number of lighting set-ups before hand - sometimes I feel that coloured gels could add another layer to the viewer’s experience, for example. Once the subject arrives I may change my mind entirely.

Having them in front of me can sometimes alter my perception too. It’s important that I don’t repeat the way they’ve been photographed previously. I like to find something new to reveal to show them in a new light. I feel the sitter becomes the catalyst for the viewer’s experience.

^{The photographer Nadav Kander sits on set whilst the assistants take a light reading. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman}

When I commissioned you, we ran through several ideas, including pushing light through Boris's trademark hair. When he arrived at the session did you feel that the ideas we’d discussed were the right way to proceed?
Yes. I thought a blonde halo was a good starting point if it remained really subtle and respectful. Being too obvious always looks immature.

^{Kander checks the exposure of a portrait of Boris on screen. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman}

To me the portrait is really successful. Boris looks very sensitive and contemplative in the picture - do you feel this is the side of him we don’t usually see? Might it be a real part of him?

I see him as much more than the one-dimensional character we usually see and I was keen to show this. It’s really interesting when you start reacting to who the person is, because their body language in front of the camera changes. I wanted Boris to become himself. He slipped into being serious immediately, showing a really precise, concentrated mind.

The final composite image of Boris used in the Telegraph Magazine. PHOTO: Nadav Kander

Is this why you were keen to make the composite picture showing Boris from 15 different perspectives?
Physically, Yes it's about the many sides to his persona but as a work on a single sheet of paper, multiple images are a dramatic means of making a still film...It alludes to a period of time rather than the usual millisecond, which I find really interesting. Some of my night landscapes, Colour Fields exposed the film in my camera to an hour of the minimal light available at that time. It's a similar feeling of time passing.

Kander's assistants make lighting checks on set. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman

You shared some amusing family anecdotes with Boris when he arrived at the shoot. Do you think this lightened the mood? You seemed to be on a level of trust quite quickly.
I am a good friend of Boris's brother Leo, so that led to a very funny moment but I don’t always like the sitter to get too comfortable. I don’t generally speak very much when I’m photographing other than to direct. Other photographers like to show their subject as relaxed and happy, but for me, the myriad other states of being we experience are equally truthful. More importantly, they are common to us all and infinitely recognisable.

A screen image of the set in which Boris will be photographed. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman

You're no stranger to the political arena. Your series 'Obama’s People' was instrumental in my wanting to collaborate with you on the Boris project. How do you shoot 52 people whilst keeping the individual personalities?
Richard Avedon’s typological photographs of politicians [Democracy (2004) and The Family (1976)] were an important reference and starting point. But Avedon’s black and white portraits were much more flamboyant in the way the subjects were dressed and the sense of style because of the era they were photographed in. For my Obama series, I asked them to bring an item that spoke to who they were and their relationship to Obama. I wanted to highlight their individuality whilst giving the series equality, everyone photographed in the same way against the same background.

^{Kander's technical notes. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman}

You’re renowned for the way you light your subjects. How long did it take to set up the lighting for the shoot?
I prefer to have at least three hours to prepare my lighting set up. I like to be relaxed for it. I choose lighting that reflects how I want to see the person. With Boris we had a strong concept and the lighting remained pretty much as we’d prepared it. However, there are times when I shoot a number of frames, move to the screen to check the images and know it's not working for me. I trust my instinct to find the exact circumstances when a picture becomes a portrait.

Boris preapres for his close-up. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman

What do you shoot with these days and has your approach changed since moving to digital? You mentioned feeling that shooting digitally takes away some of the edge as you can see what you’ve shot immediately.
This is a complex subject. I can work digitally because of my experience for years in a darkroom, printing film. So the digital quality does not worry me. I do use the "instant reveal" on a large screen to good advantage. The disadvantage with the instant nature of digital is a human one, and possibly personal to me, in that I find I photograph from a place of intense concentration, which is hard to maintain when I see a very good photograph has just been taken. It is as if I lose my edge as my nervousness leaves me.

^{The private dining room at The Savoy made for the perfect setting for the Mayor of London. PHOTO: Cheryl Newman}

How do you want people to react to respond to the cover image of Boris?
I would never "expect" anything. If people engage and my picture causes an experience then I am very satisfied.