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.
By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.
Analysis of environmental photographer Mary-Ellen Mark‘s work
Mary Ellen Mark was an American photographer who was known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. Her work documented the lives of marginalized people in the United States and other countries, her work also includes studies of severely ill women at Oregon State Mental Hospital, runaway teenagers in Seattle, Mother Teresa, circuses, and brothels in Bombay. She took photos of these people to show their contribution to society and her own interest in them.
Marginalized people are people who have been historically disempowered and oppressed by influential and discriminatory groups. These people are usually women, people with disabilities, people of colour, LGBTQ+ folks, Indigenous peoples, people of a lower socio-economic status and many more.
I’d rather pull up things from another culture that are universal that we can all relate to.
– Mary-Ellen Mark
She says that the style of her work is somewhat in between a documentary and portrait photography and prefers to use black-and-white film, “for the immediacy and abstraction of it.” However she did occasionally use colour. Her primary tools that she used to take her photographs were plastic, pinhole, and vintage film cameras as her primary tools.
In the mid or late 1960s, Mark had also taken photographs of several important events and places including Times Square, the women’s liberation movement, and the Vietnam War demonstrations.
She was inspired by photography and film when she had first looked through a lens, as well as being inspired by two men named Henri Cartier-Bresson (A French artist and humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography) and Irving Penn (An American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still life). They had inspired her to take photographs of people that she refers to as “infamous”.
Below are examples of Mark’s environmental portraits;
In this photo we can see a family sitting in a car. Their miserable, upsetting expressions can suggest that they aren’t living a nice life and are maybe outcasts or living in poverty.
In this image we can see a young girl in dirty and torn clothing, and other people standing on what seems like a table with also torn clothing, which can suggest that she comes from a poor background. Her pose expresses that she could be feeling uncomfortable or shy or afraid, her eyes can also suggest that she’s uncomfortable because she isn’t looking at the camera directly.
Her surroundings can suggest that she’s living in a poor environment because of the broken table, she could also come from quite a chaotic background too because of the people that are standing on the tables
Interpretation
In these few examples of Mary-Ellen Mark’s work, we can see a variety of marginalized people who have been photographed in their natural environments. Each of these photographs tell a bit about the background of the subjects by using their surroundings, clothing, facial expressions and their poses.
The majority of the subject’s faces have a blank or melancholy expression and in some of the pictures the subjects don’t even look directly into the camera which can suggest that they are ashamed and/or upset by their living conditions as well as how they are being treated by society.
Mark has wisely used a variety of different angles in her photographs, instead of having the camera face straight on, this makes the images have more life and keeping the camera further away from the subjects shows us more background which give us a better image of what the subject’s environment is like.
The use of black and white films further adds to the sad, melancholy mood that we can see on the majority of the subject’s faces as well as their poses. Most of them have a more cowardly or afraid pose which adds to their sadness.
Where will I take my photos and why did I pick this location?
For this shoot I have chosen to use someone close to me as I think this allows me a good chance of capturing them well. I have chosen to ask my father to model for this shoot. I have thought about how I would like to capture him and while there are many options I have chosen to take photos of him at work as this is something that is important to him and describes him well. By choosing to follow the most used type of environmental portraiture I will have to make sure I follow the rest for the style well, this includes me making sure the subject is centred and testing if the rule of thirds work for the particular shot.
How will I take my photos in the style of environmental portraits?
To ensure I have followed the classic style of environmental portraiture, I will use an eyelevel angle keeping the camera in Tv settings or full manual to allow me to adjust the lighting within a shot depending on how much natural lighting is available. I will also look to make sure the model is the subject of the photo using the rule of thirds to look at the shot to then cut down on post production editing as it will be a well executed shot in the first place.
This is the contact sheet of my first photoshoot, I have then marked off the ones I feel aren’t the best as featured below.
The lines mark off the shots that I don’t consider to be the best options of the shoot, it also includes ones I don’t feel follow the style of environmental portraits.
Overall there were a few successful shots as I looked for certain elements in the photo. I looked for good lighting, well composed shots and if it fitted the brief of an environmental portrait. I looked for certain elements within the composure of the photos, for example by favouring the shot in which the model had his one of his hands on the desk and one resting on his lap the shot has a more authorial look and also follows the idea of environmental portraits being structured and not an action shot. The shot where the model was still moving his hands looks more like I had just captured a moment rather than composed a planned shot. At the beginning of the shoot I was fairly unaware of what I should ask the model to do so as I found my confidence in the type of picture I wanted the shots improved producing results I can now go onto edit.
Arnold Newman was an incredible Jewish photographer who mainly took environmental portraits his work is above. You can see in all of these images he tries to tell a story show something about each persons life. The image on the bottom left corner the fact the piano is so big and in the middle with none of it cut out can show to the viewer that maybe music takes over his life and he isn’t the main focus the piano and music are.
Emotional aspects-
this image makes me feel bad for the guy the room seems really bare and there isn’t much in it making him look lonely. However it has quite a serious feel to it because of how he is staring at the camera.
Visual aspects-
the contrast between the size of the piano and the man emphasis how much music takes over his life and can symbolise how small he feels in life. The lighting in the image seems to be quite harsh but also the room is quite bright as there are any shadows of wither the man or the piano.
technical aspects-
I really like how in this image if you are using rule of thirds he is put into the bottom corner of the picture almost ,making is seem as if he has been moved aside and forgotten about as he is only in in 1 square.
The image seems to have a long depth of field as both the piano and the wall behind seem to look quite sharp and not blurred at all.
conceptual aspects-
I think Arnold Newman was trying to show how music is his whole life its his passion his hobby and his job. His music is so well known his music is probably more well known than him himself so I think he was trying to show that.
contextual aspects-
This mans like I believe was quite well portrayed through his photo as he is Igor Stravinsky a Russian composer ,director and pianist he was sad to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
Emotional aspects-
I think this picture gives off quite an uneasy and creepy feeling when looking at the image. It’s almost quite an intimidating photo due to him looking straight at the camera with this dark lighting and having his face illuminated slightly.
Visual aspects-
Some visual aspects of this photos could be the fact their are lots of dark colours creating the eerie feeling. There are two pillars next to the man which are almost framing him. The place seems quite dirty with the steam you can see coming off the train and the writing on the walls.
technical aspects-
I think some of the technical aspects would be the lighting was done in a specific way as it is coming from the sides to not aluminate his face but to make shadows. the perspectives of him up close and clear background see far down but not clear.
conceptual aspects-
For this photoshoot for Arnold Newman really wanted the idea to be that Alfred Krupp was a horrible evil man who did bad things and hurt others. So he showed that through his photos he made it so the lighting seemed quite sinister and the naturally had that pose so it worked perfectly for the concept.
contextual aspects-
The content behind this image is that Alfred Krupp was a German man who helped provide the Nazi’s bombs and access through his railways during the war. And he was a big fan of Arnold Newman’s work but he was unaware he was a Jewish man. So Arnold Newman used this as a ay of revue apparently so he made Alfred Krupp look as evil ad possible.
For this photoshoot, I took pictures of various people in places I either associate them in or their place of work. I did a total of 3 different photoshoots: family/friends, school teachers and finally people who worked at the market in town.
For this first photoshoot, I took pictures of my friends in a variety of different places that I associate them with or of them doing something they love. I used natural lighting in the majority of my pictures as they were mainly taken outside. I like these images as they give off a positive vibe due to the smiles and bright colours seen in the photographs. As the people I photographed were in places they liked/ were familiar with I think it helped them to be more comfortable and willing to pose. However, I wanted to photograph people in their work environment too as seen in Arnold Newman’s work, and so I did another photoshoot.
For this photoshoot, I went around school with a DSLR camera and took pictures of various teachers who were willing to be photographed. I tried to take my photos in both portrait and landscape in order to get more variety in my images. One problem that I encountered whilst taking my photographs was that most teachers were busy or didn’t want to be photographed, limiting the amount of photos I got. Additionally, a lot of my photographs came out blurry but I managed to fix the majority of them by using Lightroom and changing the clarity and texture of them.
For my last environmental photoshoot, I took pictures of various people who worked at the market in town. The lighting in the market was a bit dark in some places causing some of my images to turn out not as well as I expected as a shadow would be cast over my subject. However, I feel this photoshoot gave me a good insight into what environmental portrait photography is really like. Another positive aspect of this photoshoot is I felt it helped build my confidence as I had to ask a variety of strangers if I could take photos of them, which was out of my comfort zone.
Final Images:
I chose these images as my final outcomes for my photoshoot on environmental portraits. I like the bright colours seen in the images as they help to create a positive tone in the photographs. Additionally, I like the clarity and quality of my images. I think I managed to successfully portray the theme of environmental portraits in my work as I got various images of either my friends in an environment in which I associate them with, strangers doing their job in the market and teachers at work (which is what environmental portraits is all about).
One thing I would like to also experiment with when taking environmental portraits is creating more melancholy images which could arouse an emotional response in my audience. This is because in many of the environmental portraits I looked at when researching about it had more of a sadder tone to it due to the black and white colours and sad expressions seen on the people’s faces. I think its important that I photograph both the positive aspects of life but also the negative.
who you are photographing: For my environmental portraits photoshoot, I decided to photograph a variety of different people. Whether that be my friends or random strangers in their work environment. For example, I got a few different people from the market at town and I also took pictures of my friends in an environment I associate them with.
what you are photographing: I decided to photograph people with an environment which either gives an insight into that person’s hobbies, their work or their life in general.
when you are conducting the shoot: I conducted my shoot mainly on the weekend (the 11th and 12th of November) and additionally on days when I would see my friends.
where you are working/ location: I took my photographs in the market in town and went to a variety of different stalls inside eg the bakery, a French shop and a flower shop. I also took some photos around different places in Jersey eg the mini golf course and on the beach.
why you are designing the shoot in this way: I designed my photoshoot this way as I felt the market would be a good place to find a variety of different people with different jobs and backgrounds in such a close vicinity.
how you are going to produce the images (lighting / equipment etc): To take my images, I used my phone and the lighting that was available in the market, or if my images were taken outside, I would make most of the natural lighting.
Problems that occurred: One problem that I encounter whilst taking pictures in the market is that some of my photographs are quite dark due to the bad lighting and overshadows the person in the image, making me unable to use them for my final images. Another problem I faced was that some of the people I wanted to photoshoot were busy doing their job so they couldn’t stand staring at the camera.
Benefits of this photoshoot: I think this photoshoot helped me to build my confidence as I had to ask a variety of strangers if I could take pictures of them. It became easier to ask each time.
For this photoshoot I set up my father in his work vest and hat to portray his job in the building department. He ensures that safety is met on the site and keeps everyone involved safe. To match this job we found a messy building site which he would need to check.
This site was on a hill which in some photographs makes the fence look tilted which I didnt realised when taking the images. I stood a few meters back for these so that they would be full body portraits like most environmental portraits and for lighting, we waited until the sun was out so that it would be well lit.
I filtered out blurry and samey images until I settled on a few traditional portraits and a few where he was looking into the site like he would do on his job. I then adjusted the exposure to brighten the vest and cropped down these images to better frame the images.
First Cut
I chose these two photographs because one was had my father engaging with the camera like an environmental portrait and one where were following my dad through his job which actively utilises the background. Although I liked these two final images I wanted to experiment with how I would present them so I decided to change them into black and white.
Photoshoot 2
I didnt like these photographs as much as the first photoshoot mainly because the lighting was an overhead artificial light. I wanted her to be working on some cookies because those are her favourite things to bake. I wanted some photographs indoors and with foreground so I figured this would be best photoshoot to try these out.
An environmental portrait is a portrait taken of a subject depicting them in their usual environment, for example, their home or workplace. This typically gives insight to the subject’s surroundings and life.
Environmental portraits aim to portray a real, authentic representation of the subject being photographed by including parts of their daily life such as their home, surroundings, place of interest, their workplace, and more. These photographs require planning, as to make the composition represent and capture the subject honestly within a setting which reflects the subject’s usual environment which holds meaning and a story. Aspects of the subjects being photographed shine through in this type of photography, giving insight on their life and personality, they can include one or more subject in them. They are different from studio portraits which usually have simpler backgrounds and compositions, usually comprised of a plain background to focus more on the subject, and less on their life.
For this photo shoot, I am wanting to photograph people in there working environments or in their natural setting like a home. I am planning to get some photos of my family members in my house as this is their natural setting and where they spend the most time. The people who I take photos of who are in their work environment will be taken as random. I will ask these people permission to do this. I also have an advantage in working in a work place myself so I will be able to capture photos of my work colleagues. as well as this, I have friends who work who will be happy for me to take a photo of them.
Where?
The places I am focussing on taking my photos in are my house and the stores in the market. I think the market is a good place to target as it’ll give me a range of retail businesses and a lot of the workers are proud of their profession so would be willing to be apart of a photo to show off their workplace. The places I will also go which are not the market will be my friends workplaces such as the bakery, the garden centre and De Gruchy. Taking photos in my house will also be a very obvious place as it is a natural setting for all of my family members.
Why
I am doing this to show the various different professions people have and be able to capture it in a photograph
How
I am most likely going to be taking these photo so my phone as it is more easier to carry around to various places. However, i also have a camera I am borrowing so I will still be able to get some photos using this. this is good because it will capture better quality photos and will also show the subject I am photographing that i am being genuine by saying it is for my photography work
What do I want the person I am photographing to do?
It would be ideal if my subject would be able to look at the camera when I am photographing them as this is what environmental portraits involves. however, I can understand if they do not want to do that as it is their decision.
