Enviormental Portraits

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Mood board –

Environmental portrait ideas

  • Make the person the main focus of the photo, posing.
  • Subject is not posing, natural action.
  • Photo of a person in an environment where they feel most comfortable e.g. favourite walk, workplace, space in their house, shop, hobby, etc.
  • Create a story with the subject with what they are doing/where they are.
  • Use more than 1 person.
  • Fill the frame with essential elements, not becoming too crowded and distract from the main focus.

What do environmental portraits say about us?

Environmental portraits help us to create strong stories for who it involves by giving further details into who they are and what they do, showing their personalities without us even knowing who they are. The objects and locations involved show how they relax, what they do in their spare time/how or who they spend it with, what they may do in their day to day lives.

What do they mean?

An environmental portrait is a type of photography which means showing someone in their natural environment which they might find to be safe and comforting.

What are environmental portraits?

Environmental portraits are photographs which are created through the filters, body-shot, compositions, angles, backgrounds and surroundings which we see through photos. This could be through the subject holding them or the viewer finding them through looking at the photo and exploring it with their eyes because they are supposed to catch peoples eyes and make them wonder and think about the subject more.

Photographer research

Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015)

Research –

  • Born on March 20th 1940 Pennsylvania, United States.
  • Her first camera was the Kodak Brownie.
  • An American photographer.
  • She is known best for her 1960s documentary images of counterculture.

Here are some examples of her work:

Image analysis –

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I think that this is a successful photo taken by Mary Ellen Mark from her New York Street Photography collection which I really like. This is because it is very natural as if the woman was caught of guard doing her daily chores, and the lighting isn’t harsh which makes the contrast from the black and white filter work well together as the tones are nice and soft yet work well together.

Michelle Sank

Research –

  • Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1953, but left to go to Exeter in 1987.
  • A South-African photographer.
  • Her work can be found in the Museum of fine arts in Houston.

Examples of her work –

Image analysis –

I think that this photo taken by Michelle Sank is a good example of an environmental portrait. This is because it shows the model in their bedroom, which could be where they spend the most time and feel most comfortable, it shows their personality and how personal it is due to the teddies in the background. I also think that the blighting is quite bright but effective as it contrasts against the darker tones of her bed and jacket, which make her stand out well and grab your attention.

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