Environmental portraits show how people interact with their surroundings, whether it be the outdoors, an office, a home, an event, etc. Follow these tips from Russ Burden and give it a shot today!
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Photography is a subtractive art form. The art of picture making necessitates one must eliminate all that’s not needed and include the remaining elements in a flattering way. The wider the angle lens that’s used, the harder the task as more “pieces of the puzzle” need to fit into place regarding the composition, lighting, and the background. This brings me to the topic of environmental portraiture. By definition, an environmental portrait shows how a person interacts with a given location. The locations vary and include the workplace, day to day living, home, at play, or out in public. Be it a person or animal, it’s important that a sense of place, relating to the subject, is depicted.
Location Location Location: The key to this piece of the puzzle is making sure the subject and the environment in which its placed have a direct connection. For instance, going to a foreign land and simply photographing a person standing in front of a famous landmark does not qualify. Create a situation where the clothing, the look of the person, and the setting all fall into place. Target a great subject and direct him or her to where the background and lighting harmonize. A strategy I like to use is to first find the “stage” and wait for the “actor” to appear. The reason I choose a specific stage is it provides a great background and it has good light. I patiently wait for the desirable subject who may become my actor. At times I’ll wait and nobody fills the casting call. But when all falls into place, the resulting images make it worth the effort.
Think Small: An environmental portrait isn’t reserved just for people. Animals of all sizes make great environmental portrait subjects. Whether it be a close up macro shot or a grand mammal in the prairie, the same principles described above apply to creating a successful image. In the accompanying shot of the bee on the dahlia, the main subject takes up a small amount of image real estate. The bee is shown in its environment with regards to where it goes to feed. The light is simple, the colors are vibrant, and the background of the flower has no distractions and gives a true sense of place as to where the bee would naturally reside.
A number of technical and aesthetic considerations come into play when creating an environmental portrait. Depending on the size of the subject and how much background is included in the image, lens choice is important and can considerably vary from circumstance to circumstance. For instance, in the shot of the bee, I used telephoto macro, for the image of the giraffe at sunrise, I used a telephoto zoom at medium range, and for the hiker in the flowers, a wide angle. The point I want to bring out is there is no one single lens that is the “best.” Think about what aperture you want to use to provide the depth of field that will either bring the background more or less into focus. Try to take charge of the lighting using an auxiliary flash or a reflector to soften a harsh lighting situation. Think about shooting from a unique angle to put a new twist into a cliched situation. There are a lot of variables that come into play. The more you take charge of the shooting situation, the better the image.
To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.
