Environmental Portrait

The environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject's usual environment, for example their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject's life and surroundings. It says something about the subject within the framework of their own environment.

Why do I prefer environmental portraits?

• they give context to the subject you’re photographing
• they give points of interest to shots (something you need to watch as you don’t want to distract from your subject too much)
• they help your subject relax
• they often give the viewer of your shots real insight into the personality and lifestyle of your subject

These shots sit somewhere between the purposely posed shots of a studio portrait (they are posed and they are unmistakably ‘portraits’) and candid shots which capture people almost incidentally as they go through their daily life.

Two good rules of thumb when attempting to photograph people in their surroundings:

1. "Half of all location photography is moving furniture."

2. "'Available light' means any light that's available."

Both sayings have been attributed to the great location portraitist Arnold Newman. More importantly, each can help spell the difference between a good environmental portrait and a great one.

When making an environmental portrait, there should be a connection between the subject and where it’s photographed. When photographing animals, this is not a problem in that where it’s photographed is where it lives. It can be an issue if you’re into photographing bugs and you unknowingly place an insect on a plant that is poisonous to the species. With people it becomes more of an issue as the story as to why a person is photographed in a specific location needs to be logical. If the person and the setting conflict, chances are the image won’t work.

So lets turn our attention to some ‘how to’ tips on environmental portraits.

1.Know your subject

Find out where they spend their time, what the rhythm of their life is like and observing their personality. Out of this you’ll not only find appropriate locations but will begin to get a feel for the style of shots that might be appropriate and you’ll begin the process of helping your subject relax into the photo shoot.

2. Location

Sometimes a location chooses you but on other occasions you need to be quite deliberate and purposeful in making your choice. When choosing your environment you ideally want to get one that:

• says something about your subject
• adds interest to the shot - every element in an image can add or detract from your shots.
• doesn’t dominate the shot - Try to avoid cluttered backgrounds (and foregrounds), colors that are too bright etc.

3. Camera Settings

There is no right or wrong way to set your camera up for an environmental portrait as it will depend completely upon the effect you’re after and the situation you’re shooting in. A wider focal length in these situations also to give the environment prominence in the shot. This doesn’t mean you can’t shoot more tightly cropped or with a large aperture and shallow depth of field - ultimately anything goes and you’ll probably want to mix up your shots a little.

4. Posing

What sets the environmental portrait apart from candid portraits is that you post your subject. Some of the poses might seem slightly unnatural and dramatic but it’s often these more purposely posed shots that are more dramatic and give a sense of style to your shot.

The expression on the face of your subject is also very important in environmental photography. It should fits with the overall scene.

5. Props

Props can make or break an environmental portrait. If they are subtle and naturally fit within the context of the environment they can be very appropriate and add to the image nicely but you’ll want to avoid anything that doesn’t quite fit or that potentially distracts the attention of viewers. The same goes for the clothes that your subject wears. Try to be true to the context without getting too outlandish.

The Rule of Thirds

If you are taking photographs for your own pleasure, as I assume you are, then you only have to come up with pictures that please you.

If you ask around randomly what composing a good photo is, they'll tell you to put your subject dead centre and you can't go wrong.

Let’s see if they are right…

Why don’t you go through your family photo album right now? You'll find dozens, maybe even hundreds of photographs demonstrating this very advice. Some of them might be good pictures, capturing the essence of your uncle, your mother, or your pet dog, but maybe not great photos.

You may be able to overlook the huge empty spaces or people with their heads cut off but no-one else will. Producing pictures that are pleasing to someone other than yourself will make your photography much more rewarding.

One of the most popular 'rules' in photography is the Rule of Thirds. It is also popular amongst artists. Think this photo below looks polished and professional by chance? Not really...

The Rule of Thirds is a term which means taking the viewfinder, or photograph, and dividing it with imaginary lines into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. Think of it as setting a tic-tac-toe board across your viewfinder, creating 9 small squares. (Some digital cameras even offer this grid as an option to toggle on and off using your viewfinder or the LCD on the back of the camera's body. This is very helpful to the beginning photographer if your camera has this feature.)

By placing your subject on one of the cross sections, where the horizontal and vertical lines meet, you're creating a much more pleasing snapshot. As well as using the intersections you can arrange areas into bands occupying a third or place things along the imaginary lines. It is fairly simple to implement.

Good places to put things; third of the way up, third of the way in from the left, you get the idea.

Duff places to put things; right in the middle, right at the top, right at the bottom, away in the corner.

In general, place people or things (your subject) to the right or left of the center (on those imaginary dissecting lines).

For landscapes, put the horizon or the point of interest above or below the center of your frame (again, on the imaginary bisecting lines)

Rule of Thirds helps produce nicely balanced easy on the eye pictures. Also, as you have to position things relative to the edges of the frame it helps get rid of 'tiny subject surrounded by vast empty space' syndrome.

Example
In example above, the subject is framed by placing it in the very center of the shot. It's an okay photo. But, if you move it slightly off-center, notice how much more pleasing it looks? More polished and more professional?

Once you have got the hang of the Rule of Thirds you will very quickly want to break it! This is fine. As I said earlier these 'rules' are best used as guidelines and if you can create a better image by bending or ignoring rules then fire away.