Now in its eighth year, Portrait of Britain Vol.7 offers a rare moment to pause and reflect on the diverse heritage of modern Britain. Peter Dench talks to some of the competition winners.
The British Journal of Photography (BJP) has unveiled the Portrait of Britain Vol.7 winners from possibly the world’s longest-shortlist. As of 06 January until 02 February, the 100 winning portraits will light up on JCDecaux UK digital screens across the UK, offering a contemporary insight into Britain. All 200 shortlisted portraits are featured in the Portrait of Britain Vol. 7 photo book published by Bluecoat Press (320pp 165x210mm RRP £25).
Professional and non-professional photographers of all ages are eligible. Portraits must depict subjects photographed in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and have been taken after 1 January 2023.
Just under 1,700 entrants submitted approximately 7,000 entries. BJP subscribers (annually from around £20-30) can enter 10 images for free. Details of how many entered the competition were unavailable. The cost for entry for non-subscribers is: one image for £10, three images for £20, 10 images for £35. The entry fees raise questions about whether PoB is a revenue-focused venture or genuinely beneficial to participants? What makes a strong portrait? How can photographers enhance their chances of success? Winners give their point of view.
Carolyn Mendelsohn
‘I love Portrait of Britain, the fact that there’s this huge public exhibition if you’re a winner and also if you’re shortlisted, the book’s beautiful. It’s a real cross section of portraits,’ says artist, film-maker and portrait photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn.
BJP subscriber Mendelsohn’s winning black and white portrait is of elite athlete and former Olympian, Heather Fisher. A freak accident led to Fisher suffering a broken back and then total alopecia. ‘The idea was for me to create an honest reflection of who she is, to put her at the centre of her own story. I suggested we go on a mini road trip because I needed to know about her in order to create a powerful portrait that I felt that we were working on together, so that she had agency within that portrait.’
Sponsored by Nikon (for whom Mendelsohn is Ambassador), along their road trip of understanding, they visited Fisher’s former school and rehab centre. Mendelsohn continues, ‘She’s a really amazingly strong character, and we just kind of gelled. She’s really funny and we worked well together. I think she went on a journey to understand that photography is more than just a click.’
Although Fisher suffers from alopecia, it’s not an alopecia portrait. There’s beauty, power and vulnerability. It’s about who she is. ‘I always pick a picture I feel an emotional pull towards and I think will resonate with other people. I always see it as an opportunity to curate a selection of work and to get that selection on the laps of curators and photography experts.’ Judges for Vol 7 included a book publisher, festival director, curators and photographers.
Nick Teo
Raised in Singapore, Nick Teo graduated in 2024 from Arts University Bournemouth after studying for a degree in Commercial Photography. He entered PoB last year making the shortlist. Encouraged, he applied a more tactical strategy to do better. ‘Portrait of Britain has been something that I’ve been very aware of since coming to the UK. My university introduced the book to me, and then I just kind of studied the book and then based a lot of my ideas around that. I thought that was a good way to study trends because it’s quite a diverse group of photographers that enter into Portrait of Britain and stylistically, what is the British photographic world leaning towards at the moment. It’s quite surreal to actually find myself in it just a couple years later.’
An unusual benefit is that awards and articles written about Teo’s photography will help with his Visa application to stay in the UK. He had two images shortlisted, one making the winners podium. The shortlisted image from his series titled Tapestry, features seven disabled individuals, each with different conditions, modelling handmade sustainable patchwork garments.
Teo’s winning image is Madina as the Lily of Durdle Door, from his series Nature Finds a Way, an editorial project merging documentary, beauty and fine art to showcase human resilience and adaptability. Using the visual motif of flowers, it features individuals who have moved to the UK from around the world. ‘Madina is also from Arts University Bournemouth. We just collaborate on small shoots together and to see something being taken to that scale is really special. She was really happy to see a little photography shoot that she did as a favour catapulted to this status.’
Teo’s meticulous study and understanding had triumphed. ’I think the image that won, it checks the boxes and it has that broad appeal where everybody can sort of get a wow factor from it, rather than just like it being too niche to one target audience.’
Orlando Gili
Documentary and portrait photographer Orlando Gili’s winning image of Ukrainian refugee Zhenya, photographed in the London household where she and her mum are housed also has a news element to it. ‘I was a bit surprised. It’s quite a gentle sort of picture and also, Ukraine has been in the news for a few years now. There was a flurry of projects in the first 18 months of the first year of the invasion and it’s kind of a low key sort of image.’
The first five volumes of PoB were published by Hoxton Mini Press (before being published by Bluecoat Press owned by 1854 Media, publishers of BJP). Gili’s portrait of dedicated opera fan Roddy featured in Vol 2 which he cites as the spark that eventually led to them publishing his solo monograph, Trivial Pursuits; The English at Play (HMP 2020). Roddy featured on the cover. BJP subscriber Gili has been a fan ever since, ‘I personally think you can spend too much money entering too many competitions. The good thing about PoB is you get the magazine and all these other things, so it’s not all or nothing. Even to get into the shortlist is quite morale boosting. Three quarters of the pictures I would have liked to have taken.’
Shahfaq Shahbaz
In 2019 Shahfaq Shahbaz achieved a degree in Fashion, Styling and Creative Direction from Southampton Solent University before concentrating her skills on photography. Going freelance in 2023, she was introduced to BJP by a mentor who emphasised the importance of PoB.
‘I’ve always wanted to win an award. I’ve always entered things like this but never really gotten far. I kind of did it in a way of, I’ll just do it and see what happens. I never actually thought that I would be shortlisted let alone winning. I was happy about the shortlist, but the fact that I won was even more amazing. I got the book and I was on the second page. And even that was amazing for me, out 200 photographers being on the second page. I hope I can find it and take a picture next to my screen because that’s always been a part of my bucket list for the past two years.’
Entering PoB for the first time, subscriber Shahbaz submitted 10 of her strongest images from various projects, often inspired by her own religious beliefs and experiences as a British Pakistani Muslim. She directed, produced and photographed her winning image, The Power of the Veil, which added satisfaction. The portrait shows two women wearing a Burqa and Niqab in front of a gilt frame artwork. ‘I was surprised that was the image that they chose, just because I thought it might be a little bit controversial because of the purpose and the story behind it. I feel like a strong portrait is also something that not everyone sees and not everyone is educated about it. Wearing a hijab or niqab is also empowering. There is beauty in resisting the forces that blur you.’
Entering the competition
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just beginning, failing has to be expected and accepted as Teo diplomatically explains, ‘That happens every other day. I open emails and I get a non response or rejection. It’s not the no’s that count, it’s the one yes. Rejection really hit me hard when I was first starting to submit, I think I went through 20 something rejections before actually getting accepted for one, which was the AOP student awards [Teo was a Gold Winner]. So that big sense of relief and catharsis just came and then I realized that, okay, rejection is a part of it. I’m gonna have to get used to this. Awards like PoB, they matter because it’s validation.’
To pay or not to pay, competitions are a choice. They can open doors and present unexpected opportunities. To claim Portrait of Britain captures the essence of Britishness in 200 photographs is preposterous. They don’t and that’s not the intention. Portrait of Britain is provocative. That’s its strength and allure. To compete and contribute a portrait from the wonderful diversity of this nation. Each page is contrary to the next – gamekeeper, soldier, football referee, shop owner, refugee, queer, trans, straight, healthy, diseased, disabled. Collectively, the mostly colour portraits of individuals somehow in their own small way personify Britishness and show that we are never all going to be the same, but can be gloriously different.
Tips for entering Portrait of Britain
- Obtain written permission or a model release from your subject.
- Spend time with your subject to understand and involve them in the creative process.
- Submit your strongest portraits that tell a compelling story.
- Pay close attention to the competition brief and rules.
- Assess if your photography style aligns with recent winners.
- Consider themes and topics that resonate with current audiences.
Portrait of Britain Volume 7 is available to buy now from Bluecoat Press, £25.
Further reading:
- Diverse, unique, resilient: Portrait of Britain Vol.7 shortlist revealed!
- The best photographs of 2024
- Marrakesh silhouette street photo wins in Travel competition
