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:
I will be photographing my:
I will take my photos:
How I will take my photos will be:
why I will take them is because:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
One of Newman’s most famous photographs pictures a Russian composer sitting at a grand piano by the name of Igor Stravinsky. In this portrait, the object of the subjects profession nearly fills the image entirely, while Stravinsky himself takes a seat in the corner, pushed aside by it.
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…
Jimmy Nelson is an acclaimed British photographer known for his striking portraits of indigenous people and documentation of vanishing cultures and traditions. His visually stunning images have captivated audiences worldwide, highlighting the beauty and diversity of cultures that are often overlooked or marginalized.
The Jimmy Nelson Foundation is a nonprofit organisation founded in 2016 to stimulate cultural expression by facilitating projects that promote the heritage of indigenous cultures.
Nelson says, “The foundation has evolved into teaching indigenous peoples’ pride. I’m creating many teams to go off around the world and do what I do. We’re gathering pictures, video and other information] and creating a digital fireplace, sort of like a library in the sky, of all this heritage for future generations.”
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.
Mordzinski is a photographer with a very specific niche in black and white portrait photography of latin American authors.
Each photo is very individual and impactful in his portal of the authors, because he is so consistent in his style and niche he is extremely specialised and talented in this style of photography, he always manages to produce an image that invokes emotion and create a sense of personal undertanding towards the author he is potraying.
Although more renowned photographers such as Arnold Newman and woody Allen are extremely talented and in the world of portrait photography considered the best in the game, with some very thought provoking and emotion enduring work i personally find Mordinzski’s work and commitment to his very specialised area more impressive in many capacities, not only is his ability to stick to such a specific personal style a clear representation of his love and personal devotion to his project the ‘Human Atlas’ that love and devotion always shows through his work.
All of his photographs have a depth of personal character and emotion that is very hard to capture without a long personal history with the model this is inspiring to me for many reasons not only is he extremely talented and consistently produces high quality photography but he also evokes deep thought and consideration in his audience.
For the route i want to take in my experiments with environmental portraits photography i believe he is the best photographer for me to draw inspiration from.
The Human Atlas
Known as “the writers’ photographer,” Daniel Mordzinski has been working on his ambitious “human atlas” of Iber-american literature for 38 years. The Argentine photographer, who lives between Paris and Madrid, has created portraits of the most important figures in Latin-American literature. The author of numerous books, Mordzinski’s works are continuously exhibited in Latin America’s most important museums and are included in the best collections of contemporary photography. He is an important literary festivals photographer.