What is an Environmental Portrait?

An environmental portrait shows a person in their working space or a spot associated with them for example a pianist at his piano. This tells us about the person and their typical surroundings while also placing them how someone else would view them. These are posed typically with the person in there centre engaging with the camera.

Photoshoot Action Plan:

Who

For this photoshoot I wanted to take photos of several people. It would be easiest to photograph people I already know as the photoshoot would be more natural. I would also already know these people so I would know where they spent time and what they mean to me.

• First would be my sister, she likes to bake cakes and has gotten really good at the basics.
• Second would be my father who works in the building trade to ensure houses and community spaces are safe for use.
• Finally my friend. Her house was damaged during the storm which has affected her family negatively.

What

Environmental portraits need a person in front of a meaningful background. I will take images where they are both engaging with the camera and looking away. Some will be front on and I would like some to experiment with foreground and positioning. Additionally I don’t want all the images to be of people just standing. So I will experiment with poses also.

Where

• My sister will need to be in a kitchen of some sort for a least a few images however I might try and position her at a stand or cake sale also holding her cakes.
• My father will be in front of some building site where construction is clearly underway. Ideally one which wont particularly safe either.
• My friend will be in front of storm damage. This could include fallen trees, damaged housing and excessive build up of debris.

How

For my sister I will set her up in a way where we can see the process of her baking and her. This will probably be by having her stand in front of a counter I can get behind so she can work as normal and I can see the whole thing. For my father I will make sure he’s wearing a helmet and hi vis jacket so that he looks like a builder and set him up in front of a building site. I will stand quite far back so that the background is visible too. For my friend I will try and experiment with poses and with props. I will also be stood back with a 55mm lens so that I see the whole background also. I will mostly be using natural lighting since these will be outside however for the insides I will experiment with lighting to find what looks best. I might set her up near a window or under some artificial lights but I’m unsure what will photograph best.