Environmental Portraiture

What is environmental portraiture?

You will often hear environmental portraiture or environmental portrait in conjunction with newspaper and magazine profiles of notable people. Usually, influential people whose activities are not necessarily common knowledge.

An environmental portrait is used to help introduce viewers to the activities of the subject. Much like you might choose a specific background for a traditional studio shot based on the subject's interests, for an environmental portrait you will hint at the person's activities through what is around them. Instead of a painted background though, you will use actual objects to set the scene. A writer might be photographed at her desk with a typewriter and many books. A judge might be photographed in front of the judicial bench and holding a gavel. A football player might be photographed on the football field, holding a football and with his equipment in front of him. Think of environmental portraiture as a three dimensional background. Instead of a painted background, use real objects to set the scene.

Why use environmental portraits?

Environmental portraits are a quick way to convey a lot of information about a subject that you wouldn't otherwise be able to tell the view in a traditional portrait. For example, a man in business suit could have any one of hundreds of jobs. A man in a business suit with a stethoscope around his neck and standing in the middle of a circus center ring suggests that he is the doctor for a circus. Newspapers and other publications love this type of photo because they catch readers' attentions much faster than standard portraits and they aren't expensive since they utilize objects already present with the subject.

How to create an environmental portrait.

This is where you take a page from the TV and movie industry. Set dressers use the character's environment to help tell the story. This is what you need to do in environmental portraiture. Pick items that are as universally recognized as possible but also look for quirky objects to keep an image from becoming boring.

Items selected should reflect the occupation or activity you are focusing on for that shot. For example, if your subject is a school teacher and you are shooting an environmental portrait for a story or feature about him as a teacher you wouldn't surround the subject with items relating to his demolition derby hobby. An environmental portrait is more about what the person does than who they are. Photos that show a person's personality are personality shoots and offer much, more freedom in design/composition.

Environmental Portrait vs. Personality Shot

The line between an environmental portrait and a personality shot is a razor thin line. An environmental portrait focuses on the occupation or situation of the subject. A personality shot instead uses props/lighting/composition/point of view to bring out the personality of the subject. Hobbies and non-work related things are much more common in personality shots. The role of composition, lighting, and other techniques (such as depth of field)are also much more important in a personality shot than an environmental portrait. Environmental portraits are more about the surroundings than the mood of the photo, the exact opposite of a personality shot (although the end result is often very subtle in difference to one not familiar with photography). In general, environmental portraits are much easier to set up for a beginner because it is more props and less creative photo technique. Both types of portraits offer a lot of options for experienced photographers however as the more experienced photographer begins to fine-tune the genres.