“An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography“, shortened- a photograph that includes the person and the environment, for example behind them.

An environmental portrait is a photographed portrait that captures subjects in their natural surroundings instead of in a studio or other artificial setup. this means for a good environmental portrait photograph, the persons’ immediate surroundings will give the viewer insight into where these people are, what they do, and who they are, the location usually has a link to the person, these could be Locations that help to tell a person’s story could be places where they relax, work. for example a garage for a mechanic or person that spend their time there, either for passion or work or both.

Above I have created a Mood Board showing a rage of different environmental portraits that interest me. What I have found when analysing the mood board is that I have included both portrait in which a person is facing away from the camera or they are doing their job which links to the environment, and photograph that have a person being in a still position, looking at the camera.

One of the most important photographers, which their work linked to the title of environmental portraits are:

• August Sander (1876 – 1964)

• Paul Strand (1890 – 1976)

• Arnold Newman (1918 – 2006)

• Daniel Mordzinski (1960 – )

• Mary Ellen Mark (1940 – 2015)

who, what, where, when, how, why

who: I will photograph a variety of different people in their environment for example my family and people who work with my mum (showing the different roles they place at her workplace). I will capture my siblings interests by taking photos that include them and their hobbies.

what: All the different people will be in their most common place of work/ environment, causing the photos to portray their life in a single shot. I will get some people to hold an object that they often use/ is important to them to further display their story.

where: I will take some pictures in Romerils (where my mum works) and some pictures at home to have a variety of different environments.

when: I will take the pictures throughout the day so that there is enough natural light to enlighten the people. I will do it on different days to capture both warmer and cooler light in my photos.

how: For the pictures at home, I will play around wit different lighting techniques as well as utilise the natural light from the windows. For the photos taken outside, I will use the natural light to illuminate the person, as well as some artificial light from inside the building.

why: These photos will be a way of portraying each photographed person’s daily life/ interests in a single shot, using the environment around them to accentuate this.

My first idea is to go to my Friends gym in St Lawrence. I am going to take pictures of her doing tricks on the bars and floorwork to create a Varity of images. My plan is to take pictures at a multiple views to capture all angles of her body movements and make sure she is the focal point of the image. since the enviorment is closed off the lighting will most likely be artificial, This is not ideal as I would rather take pictures in natural lighting to shadow her body. My next plan is to take pictures of someone lifting weights. For these sets of images I would like to turn them monochrome to better highlight the structure of his body and the equipment that he is using.

Visual

We can see that the photograph itself has quite a dull and cold tone. From first impressions, attention is drawn to the foreground where the subject himself is. This is due to a number of things; his lack of expression, clothing, pose, and lighting that has been manipulated to make him appear even more intimidating. Then, there is of course the two beams which act as a sort of frame and adds lines of symmetry. The rest of the background is slightly blurred. I think this is a good creative choice as the background appears to be the most colourful part of the photograph, if it weren’t blurred it would take attention away from the subject. Nevertheless, it is still clear that there is quite a lot of straight lines. This creates a sense of uniformity, along with the subject’s pose, which creates the impression of power and control.

Emotional response

Without knowing any context, this photograph is very intimidating on its own. Arnold Newman has posed Alfred Krupp so that his head is resting on his hands. This creates a sense of power. This is also created from the fact he is wearing a suit, an assumed expensive watch, his blank facial expression, and even the factory in the background. We can assume that Alfred is in a position of power due to all these factors. It is clear that Arnold Newman has also carefully considered the lighting, as it creates shadowing to make Krupp appear even more sinister and intimidating.

Technical – how was the photo taken

The subject, Alfred Krupp, is centred in the foreground. This is where the audiences’ line of view lands, which is important as it allows the meaning to be portrayed as Arnold Newman intended. Alfred Krupp is the main subject and so the attention should be on him, the background should not draw away from him but should add to the meaning being created. Arnold Newman has achieved this.

Conceptual – why was the photo taken / presented

In 1963, Arnold Newman was offered commission by Newsweek magazine for taking photographs of German industrialist Alfred Krupp. Newman refused at first due to the individual’s background, however he eventually proceeded with the job.

“My hair stood on end,” Newman later said. It was considered one of the most important photos by the man who became known as the father of the environmental portrait.

Contextual – who, when, where etc…the story, background, impact

The subject is Alfred Krupp, a German industrialist who ensured a continuous supply of tanks, munitions and armaments for the German army. After the war, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and the forfeiture of all property.

The American photographer, Arnold Newman, was well known for his environmental portraiture. Arnold Newman said in an interview that “It turned out to be one of my best photographs,” and that “It was my impression of a Nazi who managed to survive yet killed millions of people, not all were Jews”. This must’ve been a considerably meaningful photograph to him, considering he grew up in a Jewish family.

Emotional Response

Straight away this image portrays power and makes the viewer feel inferior and intimidated. The lighting, composition and subject creates an overall evil feel to the image and creates an uncomfortable situation for the audience.

Technical – how was the photo taken?

This photo has been carefully created and composed to present the subject as superior. The lighting is a mixture of natural and artificial. The backlighting is projected from the roof and back wall, which without artificial lighting would make the subject a silhouette. The photographer has strategically lit up the sides of his face to leave the main facial features dark, adding to the evil and intimidating theme. The photographer would have probably used a large aperture to create the short depth of field, focusing on the subject. I would suspect he also used a tripod to make sure the image was sharp, but have used a shorter shutter speed as the large aperture would be letting in more light. I think he would have used an ISO of 100-200 as it is quite a dark image. The temperature of the image its quite cold, although there are warm hues mixed in. The overall image has a green tone.

Visual – what can I see in the image

The photographer has used rule of thirds to create a strong mise-en-scene. He has placed the subject in the centre to be the main focal point. The two pillars on either side create a frame within a frame which gives the image more structure and depth which produces more intensity. The background then follows on, with lines that lead directly behind him to the end. The light is focused in the centre of the image, with a dark vignette to create more focus. All this makes the image more intense. There is a lot of different high detailed texture in the photo, from the wrinkles in the subjects skin to the columns behind him. The texture slowly fades as the depth of field is short.

Conceptual – why was the photo taken / presented and its story/ background?

The photo was taken by Arnold Newman in 1963, when Newsweek magazine wanted to commission him to photograph the German industrialist Alfred Krupp (the subject of the portrait). Newman declined this offer at first because he saw Krupp as the devil due to the fact he was a convicted war criminal (although later pardoned). Newman decided to go ahead with the job and photographed Krupp seated in his factory. Newman stated “My hair stood on end”. This photo was later considered one of the most important photos, and Arnold Newman became known as the father of the environmental portrait.

Environmental Portraiture is a genre in photography and the photos under this genre feature people in their working environments, typically with the person in the foreground facing the camera head on and with elements of their occupation/lifestyle in the background.

Here are some examples:

The purpose of environmental photography is to capture and illuminate each individual’s character and portray the essence of their personality. It is a way of expressing the person from the way they live and what role they play in our society. It is also good that these photos are taken in real places so it has a sense of realness, as opposed to being in a studio where it isn’t in the real world.

The background is a key element and plays an important part in the photos too because it gives even more detail and information about the person. For example, the picture with the woman and the child is seen in, what appears to be, the middle of nowhere with rubbish scattered everywhere, a wasteland. You can see very clearly that the woman is unhappy, not too different to the area around her. It is also implied that these people are in a third world country if you look closely at their clothes, the baby being makeshift-strapped to the woman’s back and the dirt on their bodies. I believe the purpose of this photograph is to show us the different parts of the world and how different other people’s lifestyles are in comparison to ours.

What is environmental portraiture? It is a planned portrait photoshoot that captures subjects in their natural surroundings instead of in a studio or other artificial setup.

Plan:

• My first idea is to photograph a surfer I know at St Ouens Bay. I would take it from a low angle view to portray the subject as powerful and the main focus (like the example). I would probably choose a day with dramatic weather (storm building) or sunset. This is because the lighting would be dramatic and from behind the subject to add to the image.
• My next idea is to photograph a friend at the skate park. I would take a variety of photos, from basic head to toe images to action shots of them skating. For this I would use a fast shutter so the image is sharp whilst they’re moving.
• Other ideas I have are to go to the market and ask shop workers if I can take their portraits, or photograph a family member of mine who owns motorbikes.

How does this image make me feel?

At first look, this image makes me feel intimidated, as the man is looking straight down the camera lens with a dark industrial room behind him. The man in the image also looks quite sinister with how his fingers are interlocked while he is resting his chin on them.

How was this image taken technically?

This photo was taken with a wide view lens, this is shown by the ceiling light and how it starts to get more narrow towards the back of the room, and how there is space either side of the man.

As well as the lights from the ceiling, i believe that there was some artificial lights being used too coming down from the top corners of the image due to both sides of his face being illuminated creating a shadow in the centre of his face around his eyes.

What can I see in the image?

The image seems to be taken in an industrial building, possibly being used to fix trains or store them, as in the background appears to be some stationary trains. Furthermore, there are think rows of sky lights allowing in natural light into the building with what seems to be wheel like cogs behind the subject of the photo.

The subject of the photo is directly looking into the camera while clasping his fingers together underneath his chin creating a pyramid shape with his hands which could imply strength as it typically is a strong structure.

Why was the photo taken?

I believe that the photo was taken to show how the subject of the photo is powerful and it shows his dominance. Someone could also perceive this image as its intensions to prove and show people how the man is evil.

What is the story behind this image?

Alfred Krupp, the man in the photo was a German industrialist figure and was convicted and later pardoned war criminal. his family were responsible for using 100,000 Jewish people from concentration camps for slave labour. Despite his dislike for Jewish people, he was fascinated by the photography work of Arnold Newman who was Jewish, and decided to hire him to take photos of him. However, Arnold decided to make him look sinister and evil as a type of revenge.

Environmental Portraits are photographers portraits of peoples natural surroundings whilst including the person in the image, instead of being in a studio or with artificial areas.

For me personally I could go out and take images of people in their natural working condition / their natural habitat you could say. I know some people who I personally know and who would be willing to have their picture taken in their working condition. Not only that but even talking to people I know, and asking their favourite activity or hobby etc.

Why do We use These Types of Images?

They seem to show a lot about the person being imaged, and their specific skill they might be “mastered in”. Not only that, but these images show a type of section in life. For example the latest image shown above, it shows a labour worker, who works with metal and possibly electrics, so that links to his personal life but also to everyone else who works in electrics/metals.

Arnold Newman (1918 – 2006)

Arnold Newman is widely renowned for pioneering and popularizing the environmental portrait. With his method of portraiture, he placed his sitters in surroundings representative of their professions, aiming to capture the essence of an individual’s life and work. Using a large-format camera and tripod, he worked to record every detail of a scene. Newman’s best-known images were in black and white, although he often photographed in color.

Image Analysis

The focal point of the image is the man’s eyes, the black and white creates depth and texture on the man face. The lighting used is harsh to create the shadows, this creates the contrast in the image from the brightest areas in the middle of his face to the darkest under his eyes. The shadows help to create depth of field as seen on the mans face and hand but the background is blurred. The contextual factors of the image could tell a story about this man’s life, this brings in the idea of environmental portraits and there are stories behind these people. In my work I am going to try and use similar lighting techniques as the photographer.