These boys were playing for Colebrook Royals, a football club in Chigwell, Essex. It was 2019 and they were in the dressing room before team practice for a photoshoot arranged by the charity YoungMinds. The plan was that, after the photos, the boys would speak to two dads – Nick Easey and Ryan Smith – who had lost their teenage sons to suicide. The fathers wanted the boys to share their own feelings about mental health, to normalise such conversations, even in a very male environment such as football training.
This shot was taken before the main shoot. I’d set up my lights and chose what part of the dressing room to shoot in and let the boys sit where they wanted. As we waited for the dads to arrive, I noticed something interesting going on and I took a single shot.
I think I was drawn to how groups had formed between the boys – there’s a nice symmetry in the frame. Three boys are looking at me, three are looking across and the other three are looking down. Also the colours are pleasing. Even though it’s a shot of a team, wearing the same kit, you can see different personalities coming across, different emotions and allegiances. There are a lot of distinct characters in the photo. It sits between a posed shot and reportage, a moment within a staged setup.
My pictures of the Windrush generation were displayed outside. Someone scratched off the eyes in every single photograph
It captures a certain adolescent awkwardness. It’s fun as a viewer to think about which of the boys is most like your younger self. Who do you most identify with? I think I would be one of the boys looking over sideways, seeing what’s going on and wanting to be included. I wouldn’t be the one manspreading! This supposed moment of boredom has a lot of drama and narrative, I think it’s one of the strengths of photography – you can make up your own stories about what’s going on in the frame.
The dads who came to speak to the group were really interesting. It must be absolutely awful to lose your son in that way. They would have been working through a lot of really big emotions, but they were trying to do something positive in the process. The boys were definitely listening to them and asking questions. Of course it’s difficult to tell how effective it was, but it was definitely a good conversation, especially in that environment.
There’s a famous shot by Garry Winogrand of people on a bench in New York in the 1960s. It captures three girls gossiping; next to them there’s a black guy and a white woman having a romantic or friendly chat; and two women distracted by something behind them. Maybe subconsciously I had that in my mind when I made this image.
This shot is not that typical of my work, which normally involves portraits where I build up a longer connection with the subject. I like spending time with them, hearing their stories and working from there. That’s the best part of my job in a way. I like to invest in my subjects and care about what they look like.
I shoot celebrities and less famous people, too. I did a series on people from the Windrush generation that was displayed outdoors in Windrush Square in Brixton, London. Sadly, the images were vandalised. Someone scratched the eyes off every single photograph – there must have been 20 of them. I think beyond the physical damage to the prints, I was concerned at how it would make the sitters feel to see their eyes scratched out in the photos. It turned out the person who did it had mental health issues.
In the end, this photo of the boys wasn’t used for the story that ran with it. The dads weren’t even in the shot so it wasn’t exactly what the client had asked for. But looking at it afterwards I realised that I noticed a different thing in it every time I looked at it. Although it’s not representative of my usual work, it’s the image that’s stayed with me.
Amit Lennon. Photograph: Amit Lennon
Amit Lennon’s CV
Born: 1968, Jerusalem, Israel
Trained: “Self taught – I photographed stars as part of my degree in astronomy and physics.”
Influences: “Nan Goldin, Walker Evans, August Sander, Saul Leiter, William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, Diane Arbus and Taryn Simon.”
High point: “Probably the first time I saw my photo in print with a credit, I think it was in the Independent.”
Low point: “Having all the photos in my Windrush Untold Stories exhibition vandalised.”
Top tip: “Photography can be your sketchbook, your voice, your companion and your magic key to unlock worlds and stories you weren’t expecting. Listen to what it’s saying.”
A print of this photo is available as part of the Photofusion Print Sale, 1-15 October.
In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
