Arnold Newman, one of the most accomplished portrait photographers of the twentieth century. Arnold Newman has been credited with popularising the ‘environmental portrait,’ which places the sitter in surroundings that suit their profession or skill. Newman said of his sitters, “it is what they are, not who they are, that fascinates me,” and he made his reputation photographing a wide range of highly influential cultural and political figures of the twentieth century, often in their most telling environments, be it home or work. He became known for his ability to thoughtfully capture the personalities of his subjects through their expressions and surroundings. While commonplace today, this technique was not widely used in the 1930s when Newman was learning his craft, pathing the new era of portrait photography.

Newman spent a lot of time refining the background and the subject to work together well and to present stories and emotion. He would designing floor plans, equipment, schedules, and possible poses before the actual shoot even took place. This highlights how important he considered his work to be.

He managed to take photos of many influential figures like:

Explaining the portraits of famous people

In The Picasso portrait, Picasso looks directly at the camera with a hand resting on his forehead, looking more serious than in many other photographs of him. He tried to highlight his facial expressions and face blemishes, hardly focusing on the background.

In the john F. Kennedy environmental portrait, Arnold Newman focused heavily on the background (the white house) with the 35th presidents youthful and elegant appearance making him seem very powerful, looking over the country.

The Marilyn Monroe portrait (one of the most celebrated actresses of all time), has a deep impact on the views. The photograph is notable for its composition, showing an intimate glance between the two subjects. The piece also shows the contrast between Monroe’s glamorous public persona and Sandburg’s more serious and scholarly image.

Other works

What is environmental portraits?

Environmental portraits are typically images that show a subject in their workplace, usually undertaking their profession. They don’t always have to be in a workplace, they can also be images where the subject is linked to the background and shows the subject’s life and surroundings. The environment behind the subject helps tell the story about who they are, what they do, or what their passion is. Photographers like taking environmental images because they are visual storytellers and they like to tell stories with out the use of words. These images reveal the story behind a stranger, and makes the viewer feel closer to them in a way.

Mood board:

This style of photography makes me feel inspired because I can learn about different work environments and how they have changed over the years. I also like how each photo has a different feeling to it from the subject’s body language and their facial expression.

What is typology?:

Typology in photography is a single photograph or a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency usually of similar objects.

As we can see here, there are 9 photographs all including trees of similarity. This is called typology because it is a suite of images in relation to the same subject. In this case, the tree is the main subject of the image.

What is studio lighting used for ?

Studio Lighting is essential when trying to take a photoshoot as the camera needs to capture the lighting to create the image. It allows to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations. There are multiple types of different lightings that photographers use during

For my Environmental Portraits, I will photograph indoor and outdoor locations of people at:

• Work (Elizabeth castle).
• Home.
• Bunkers (Noirmont).
• Horse stables.

I will be photographing my:

• Friends.
• Family.
• Work colleagues.

I will take my photos:

• Over the weekend.
• During a walk.
• Whilst on a break at work.
• Hanging out with friends.

How I will take my photos will be:

• With a Camera.
• In a place I am familiar with.

why I will take them is because:

• It captures my family in a natural environment.
• Depicts the day-to-day running’s of My Job.
• Shows the type of environment me and my friends hang out in and what we do.

What is environmental portraiture and how is it used?

Environmental portraiture is a style of photography when a portrait is taken in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace. The location is usually somewhere significant to them. Environmental portraits often provide context and insight into the life of the subject, possibly even displaying their personality or profession to offer a deeper understanding of who they are. Finally, this style of portraiture reveals an understanding of the person being photographed and depict the nature of their personality.

Moodboard

Typology in Environmental Portraiture

Typology refers to a series of photographs that share similarities within a specific category. Typologies are used by photographers to highlight patterns, variations and characteristics and allow the viewers to identify a common theme or subject.

Typologies can be presented in environmental portraiture by creating a variety of portraits which fit into groups such as ages, occupations, locations, workplaces, genders, hobbies and more. Additionally, other ways of creating a typology within environmental portraiture could be using similar camera angles, lighting techniques, subject placement or even colours. By presenting the images within a typological series, this can create a deeper understanding of the subject to the viewer.

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.

Environmental portraiture is:

a form of photography where it involves a person engaging with the camera whilst they are in an everyday surrounding, a place they are connected to.

The image produced tells a strong story about the subjects life, for example their occupation, heritage, home country, social class, etc. It acts as a form of ‘photo essay’ as the comfort of their natural area adds more context to the individuals image and what kind of life they lead. One of the main attributions of environmental portraiture is the expressions and poses that are captured which adds drama to the image, making it more captivating. This can reveal/conceal an individuals personality and the position they are at in an image can tell us about their traits and their attitude towards life.

The history of Environmental Portraiture:

Environmental portraiture originated in the 20th century, from the revolutionary Arnold Newman. During an era of traditional portrait photography, Newman pushed the boundaries of the regular and stepped outside of the box. In a time where social classes were extremely cared for, Newman aspired to photograph people of all occupations and social class. He stated that “it is what they are, not who they are, that fascinates me”.

With the almost exhausted look on the subjects face, this makes the image more enticing. We can interpret that this is a reflection of the tiring job the subject has and the contrast of this job back then and now. Also, this can appear to the viewer that the piano is taking up almost the entire image centre stage as its such a huge feature in the subjects life and shows the high level of passion he has for this career, making it more enhanced and a higher level of importance.

Mind Map:

Environmental portraits are photos of people in their environment instead of being them with a blank background it could be them in their workplace or their home.

Some examples of Environmental portraits…

A brainstorm about environmental portraits I created

jimmy nelson seems to take photos of very cultural portraits, he shows that he has a true passion for him and the people around him, he is inspiring people to become who they deserve to be the most and who they desire the most. He is showing us what different religion’s or cultures look like by showing us his, his photographs look really old and ancient which could represent that his culture has been round for a very long time and he wants people to know what it was like back in the day. What I really like about his work is that he involves different aged people to help us understand the culture more, we can see that children are involved as well as older people.

“Together we can love, and when we love we thrive. They are our guides, custodians of ancient knowledge. They celebrate life, free in every waking moment. Within your true identity, your heart is open to others”- jimmy Nelson.

I can see that Nelson talks about love and loving together, its almost a safe space around him, he’s protecting and supporting people, its almost a way of saying that everyone is different but in their own unique way, and we are allowed to express ourselves differently. Each photo has different emotions which can change the photos mood completely. For example a sad expression could represent fear or ashamed that feeling different is a bad thing. However having a person look more relaxed shows that they feel safe and comfortable whether its in themselves to their surroundings. Nelson also refers to your heart being open to other which cold suggest that sometimes you need to let people in to have a special bond and connection with someone but also to help express yourself and heal your inner soul. He could also mean different things such as opening your heart is away of expressing who you are and don’t hide yourself from reality. I personally believe that he is trying to say that no matter what, you always have your heart open for people even if you don’t intend to, which can lead to heartbreaks or happiness.

His photographs tend to have a dark background and the models are also wearing darker colours, there isn’t a bright colour is shown. This also changes the mood of the photographs and makes me feel more calm instead of happy and joyed.