The word PORTRAIT is defined as a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, of the face or head and shoulders. A portrait is designed to capture someone in there own self such as there personality , lifestyle , glamour ect. In modern day this is can be done by using high tech lighting equipment , backdrops, poses by the models themselves and of course Photoshop where editing skills can change a photo. The first portrait ever to be taken was in 1839 were an American photographer , Robert Cornelius , took the first ever portrait photograph of a person. He removed the lens cap, ran into the frame and stood still for ten minutes, before returning the cap to its position.

Contemporary Portrait Photography – is a photograph from our own time, compared to an image from a much earlier period. It can be described as an image that shows and reflects are values and challenges to this day.

Environmental Portraits

Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were away from mainstream society and toward their own personality and what they do from day to day life. Whether that be a working environment or a hobbies , she loved to take photographs of people who supposedly look like they are happy.

In the 1960’s , Mary decided to take on photography as a side carer as the passion for it grew. These images above in black and white are effective as for they bring out the mood and personality of the model . A good example would be the image below…

This iconic image gives off an uncomfortable feeling as the girl to the right seems to be in a calm and resting state whilst the hippo next to her reaches out with its great big mouth , bigger than her , and in a sense showing some aggression towards her. The mouth seems as it could swallow her whole , but to prevent this she defends herself with only a stick. With her short shorts, boots and gloves , standing outside what it seems to be a tent , this looks as she and the hippo are part of a circus. The girl seems confident in herself as she stands proud with a brave face and a relaxed standing posture. This links to environmental portraits as she’s in her element , she’s doing what seems to please her and make her happy.

Photoshoot Plan

Who – I will be taking photos of family members and public people in their work environment.

How – Using a DLSR camera with a 500mm lens. Photographs will be taken with a natural white balance for the biggest range while editing.

Where – The market in town, small businesses, the hospital ect.

When – The day time to capture natural lighting , but this doesn’t really matter to what I am going to be photographing as they are going to be taken inside.

What – People in their work environment – environmental portraits.

Contact Sheet

My Best Selection Of Images

These images above I cropped and edited on photoshop to bring out the best quality of them. In photoshop i simply heightened the contrast and lowered the brightness level a tad just to make the image more intriguing to look at.

These images give a range of different types of jobs and carers which make people happy in their working environment.

I feel like these photographs link to Mary Ellen Mark’s images as the majority of the people are looking straight at the camera with a relaxed mood to them. I chose an image to represent Mary’s work more and changed it into black and white to see the similar style between the two…

These two images have similarities as both men have a relaxing , no posture facial expression. This implies that their mood/personality has a slight importance to their job. Both of their body postures seem to be relaxed and confident in themselves. This can be seen as the butcher boy has his hands resting on the sides of the table which can suggest that he is proud of his job. On the other hand the actor sitting in the dressing room seems to have a more chill vibe as for his legs crossed over themselves.

Both photographs capture these men in their working environment which links to the fact that they are environmental portraits.