An environmental portrait is a portrait typically done in a usual environment of the subject, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings.

By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it shows more of their character, and therefore portrays the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. Also, 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.

Artist References/Case Studies

Arnold Newman (March 3, 1918 – June 6, 2006) was a Jewish American photographer credited with being the photographer who most contributed to the rise of the photographic style of environmental portraits. Some of his most famous portrait photographs include celebrities such as John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso and Marilyn Monroe.

A well known example of one of his portraits is of Igor Stravinsky in which the lid of his grand piano forms a musical note representative of the melodic structure of the composer’s work. Newman normally captured his subjects in their most familiar surroundings with representative visual elements showing their professions and personalities. A musician for instance might be photographed in their recording studio or on stage, a Senator or other politician in their office or a representative building.

“I didn’t just want to make a photograph with some things in the background,” Newman once told American Photo magazine in an interview. “The surroundings had to add to the composition and the understanding of the person. No matter who the subject was, it had to be an interesting photograph. Just to simply do a portrait of a famous person doesn’t mean a thing.”

Alfred Krupp by Arnold Newman, 1963

Image Analysis

Initial Emotional Response – Krupp comes off as sinister and villainous due to his facial expression, pose and placement in the image creating an uncomfortable atmosphere, with Krupp having somewhat of a look of superiority to him.

Technical – Dim, artificial lighting creates a cold mood to the image further reinforcing the serious tone of the image initially introduced by Krupp and his sinister appearance. A cold colour scheme is present throughout the image which emphasises this uncomfortable atmosphere, contrasting with the trains in the background which are the only real warm-toned objects present in the image which lead to them standing out to viewers of the image (which has been done intentionally, linking to context). Finally, a shallow depth of field has been used to maintain most of the image’s focus on Krupp to highlight his importance and appearance of superiority.

Visual – There is clearly use of texture in the image, primarily in Krupp himself with a subtle emphasis on the wrinkles seen in his face and hands, showing how he experience with life itself which when combined with his egotistical and superior manner implies he has used this against those he deems inferior to him. Moreover, the pattern of the lights on the ceiling as well as the leading lines they create which bring attention inevitably towards Krupp once more creates a sense of ever looming dread and no escape (linking to the context of past of the photographer and his people, especially what they have suffered).

Contextual – Arnold Newman (a Jewish photographer) was commissioned by Newsweek to take a portrait of Alfred Krupp, who was a convicted Nazi war criminal. Initially, Newman refused, but eventually he decided to take the assignment as a form of personal revenge.

Conceptual – The idea behind the image was a form of personal revenge on Krupp for his crimes against Jews during WW2, exploiting them and working them until death, which Newman has done with his presentation of Krupp as sinister and evil. After seeing the photograph, Krupp was outraged, but Newman was satisfied saying after the photograph was taken he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Photoshoot Plan

Subjects: Family (mum dad and sister), Katie, friends.

Environments: Around home, hobbies, outside environments (places that I associate with them).

Poses: Natural/relaxed, central/on a third of the image with a neutral position, clothes and objects in image relate to person. Trying to capture them like they are doing their normal activities in their usual environments.

Home environments: Sister in her bedroom/living room.

Gaze: Directly at camera to create relation between viewer and image, although I will experiment with subject not facing camera to create a more authentic effect.

Composition: I will try use a central framing to highlight my subject, but I will also try use rule of thirds to try and have more focus on elements of the background showing personality and life of the person being photographed.

Framing/orientation: I will take full body images, and in editing avoid over cropping to keep the subject and their environment in full view to tell a story. I will also take images in landscape to show more of the subject’s environment.

Initial ideas: Sister in fancy dress in bedroom with dolls, friends in typical environments etc.

Camera settings: High f/stop to capture more of the background in focus since the environments will play a significant part in the intention behind my images and help to tell a story about the person, adjust ISO according to lighting (e.g. outside/inside images).

My Photoshoot

After importing my photos into Lightroom, I went through them all and flagged them as either an X (ones I wasn’t pleased with and wasn’t going to use) or a yes (photos I was satisfied with and would go over further to see if I would use them for my finals). Once I had filtered images by the unsuccessful and successful ones, I went through the ones flagged as good and colour coded them (yellow being good images but with improvements that could be made with editing, and green being images I found really successful and I will consider editing for my final images) – finally, I star rated each colour coded image to show what I thought of each one, giving yellow ones 3 stars and green ones 4 or 5 stars.

Selected Final Photos

I chose this image as one of my finals because I really like the composition and how so much of the environment has been captured which tells more of a story about the subject. Furthermore, I am pleased with the lighting since it helps illuminate the environment making it seem more vibrant which reflects the subject’s bubbly personality.

I chose this image as one of my finals because I found the rule of thirds to be really effective as it still clearly highlights the subject whilst still allowing the viewer to explore the natural background and environment she is placed in. Moreover, I have used leading lines which direct the viewer’s gaze from the environment back down to the subject which I find to be very effective.

I decided to choose this one as one of my finals because I like how although the environment is different the subject is in a similar pose to the previous image so I can juxtapose the two images’ environments by displaying them side by side in my final presentation, and I also found the colour contrast between the subject’s clothing and the surrounding environment to be extremely effective since it creates a clear contrast while still keeping both as focus points – however, I feel like there is too much negative space near the bottom so when editing I will adjust the composition by cropping out some of the bottom.

I selected this image for my final because I was experimenting with natural lighting and found it really effective since it creates more of a cooler colour scheme which I find really suits the environment and the clothing of the subject. I also like the use of rule of thirds again since it allows the viewer to explore more of the environment without the subject being the full focus of the image due to them being off centre.

I chose this image for my final presentation because I find the composition really effective, showing the subject on one half of the image and the environment in the background on the other split clearly in the middle by the white concrete wall. I also like how the environment colour contrasts with the subject and his surroundings, telling more of a story to the viewer about the subject’s personality and interests. For editing, I will experiment with slightly cropping out the left part of the image since I think there is an excess of negative space and I want to create more of a focus on the subject.

Finally, I have selected this image because I like how in contrast to the other images the subject fills up more of the frame so I can juxtapose it to other photos. I also found the subject’s gaze towards the camera really effective since it creates a clear sense of connection between the viewer and the photo and I think the clothes of the subject match really well with the environment she’s placed in which tells more of a story of her character.

Editing/Experimentation

I decided to keep editing for this image simple since I like the original iteration, so I cropped the image to remove distracting negative space on the right and frame the subject more towards the left third which draws more attention from the view towards them as well as still displaying lots of items in the background which tells a story about her personality and hobbies. I also adjusted the colours and toning of the image since I felt the lighting was significantly warmer than I wanted it to be which was distracting since the vibrant colours of the walls would immediately draw attention of the viewer.

For this image, I cropped a bit off the top to remove excess negative space I found took focus away from the subject’s environment and adjusted the colours and tones to be slightly colder since the lighting was too warm. I think this edit really improved the image overall since initially there were too many distractions taking away focus from the subject, but now with less negative space and slightly less vibrant colours it allows other techniques such as the leading lines going from the top of the photo down to the subject to maintain her as the focal point of the image whilst still having the surrounding environment be colourful and full enough to showcase parts of her personality and life.

For this photo, I first cropped out the bottom to remove excess negative space to direct more focus onto the subject as well as the surrounding environment – I then adjusted the colour and brightness slightly since I found the lighting in the original image to be too warm which contrasted poorly with the colder natural lighting coming in from the skylight, and I think this edit was very successful because now there’s less distractions which direct more focus towards the subject and the environment whilst again still clearly telling a story about her personality and hobbies with the toys shown in the background.

I decided to not experiment too much with this image since I thought the original iteration was already very effective with the subject positioned on the right third allowing focus to be distributed between her as well as the environment and the natural lighting not being too warm meaning there was little distractions – however, I did crop the image slightly to remove some negative space which again helps to clear unintentional distractions and improve the photo overall. I will experiment more with colours and different compositions in my second edit but if that doesn’t help highlight the subject or the surroundings better then I will use this photo as one of my finals since I am pleased with how it is simple but still clearly shows a lot about the subject and her daily environments/activities.

For my edits of this image, I cropped to remove the sign in the top left which stood out in the negative space behind the subject which was distracting and made the image split in half, with one half showing the subject and the other colour contrasting and showing his usual environments. I also decreased brightness and increased highlights to reduce the strength of the natural lighting coming from the top right so more details are visible in the surroundings, which helps to paint a clearer picture of the subject’s typical hobbies and surroundings and overall creates more focus and intrigue from the viewer towards the subject.

For this image, I cropped it so the subject is perfectly centred which combined with the subject’s gaze directly towards the camera creates a personal connection between her and the viewer. I also increased highlights so more details are visible in the surroundings which when combined with the subject’s clothes being appropriate for the environment she is pictured in starts telling a story about her hobbies and usual environments – furthermore, I adjusted tone and colour to ensure the colours used are colder which goes well with the surroundings and overall helps create a clearer sense of the background the subject is placed in and why she’s been pictured there.

Final Images and Evaluation

Overall, I think my photoshoot was very successful since each photo clearly meets my intention of capturing people in their usual environments as well as telling stories about them and their personality/hobbies with details and objects in the surrounding environment – I did minimal editing for each one because I felt each photo was already effective and just needed small tweaks to reduce distractions and improve composition to highlight the subject further. I also found each image makes great use of formal elements and other techniques, with every image making effective use of lines, colour, space and composition techniques such as rule of thirds to highlight/contrast certain aspects of the photos to help tell more of a story about each individual subject and their respective environments.

Presentation of Final Images

My final images presented in artsteps – I decided to arrange from warmer colours/tones and indoor environments on the left leading to cooler colours/tones and outdoor environments on the right since I like how there is a clear contrast between the first half and the second half of the images, whilst still making each one catch attention from the viewer.

with this photos so far u can see using the rule of third and how she is in 2/3 of the photo

with this photos iv edited the brightness and contrast, and also took away the deep shadows on the eyes to eyes are a obvious view point. and with most of my photos with my sister in will be edited like this innless in different area.

and similar sort of editing with these people

with this person there is a quite High contrast and the dodge tool has been used.

Mood Board

what is environmental portrait?

Environmental Portrait photography is the art of taking pictures that will be used to tell a persons story via its connection to a certain place. In this type of photography the person should be in their natural environment like their work, house, city,… this is a way of telling the persons story without words. In environmental portrait the person is posing to the photo surrounded by their natural environment.

analysis- key features

The lighting in the picture is natural , from the side the picture is taken indoors. The environment is her house especially her living room, she looks like a typical lower-middle class person, in the picture her personal items are used like pens, cards her jewellery… The framing in the picture is half-body and deadpan. Her pose is neutral and has a natural face expression. She is making eye contact with the camera and engaging with the camera. Standard lens were used , the depth of field is narrow. I think the aperture used was f/22 because the background is clear. The ISO used was probably 100 because it was taken at in the day with lots of light coming in.

“August Sander was a German photographer whose work documented the society he lived in. Lauded as one the most-important portrait photographers of the early 20th century, Sander focused his gaze on bricklayers, farmers, bakers, and other members of the community. Born in Herdorf, Germany on November 17, 1876, Sanders learned photography during his military service in the city of Trier. By 1910, he had moved to a suburb of Cologne, spending his days biking along the roads to find people to photograph. By the time the Nazi regime rose to power in the 1930s, Sander was considered an authority on photography and recognized for his book Face of Our Time (1929).  Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne, among others”^. Information taken from art net.

August Sander photographed people from diverse nationalities, genders, classes and professions in his ” people of the 20th century” project, He collected this pictures with the goal ‘ to provide a true phycology of our time and of our people’. His plan was to produce between 500 and 600 pictures. In my opinion his photography really transmits what the people feel without any words, In some pictures the people are with a straight face and in some they are smiling, I think that maybe he wanted to show how the people felt in their environment and how they like it or dislike it, how wealthy or poor, how tired, they are or feel.

Analysis

I think the light is natural coming from maybe a window ( soft light) and coming from the side . The environment is most likely her house or the place she works at. Shows social class with the chosen clothes and the broom. The framing is half body, dead pan her pose is formal and her face expression is neutral. She is making eye contact with the camera. I think the lens used was standard lens. The depth of field is narrow. I think the aperture used was f/22 because the background is clear. The ISO used was probably 100 because it was taken at in the day with lots of light coming in.

typology

Typology is a set or images made with a common subject or idea, then repeated through the set. This can include every thing for example different doors in different places, different cars,… The term ” Typology” was first used to Describe the style of photography when Bernard and Hilla Becher began documenting old German industrial architecture in 1959. Typology is a powerful method of photography that can be used to change the way we see the world around us. Typology has roots of August

Photoshoot plan

I would like to photograph people either at work/school or their houses because that’s the 2 places where a person spends more time in. Also I think it would be a good idea to photograph my friends when we are out I think that would be fun too. I mostly like these type of pictures in black and white. I would also ask the person that I am photographing to show on their face how they feel when they are in that environment so for example if they like being in that environment I would ask them to smile, if they don’t like it I would ask them to keep a straight face.

First step: find people who would like to participate, like friends and family, people in town working.

second step: ask them about what they do and speak about my ideas and about their story. e.i where they work, what are their hobbies, what they do that makes them happy,…

third step: Find a time and a day that we are are free and have time. Maybe the weekend because that’s when most people are off if photographing friends and family, for people working I would do during the week because thetas when most businesses are slower.

forth step: Photograph, I would like to use natural light in my pictures because I think it feels more natural, depending on where I’m photographing I would take some pictures half-body and some full- body. I will also use the persons personal items or items they make and work with.

first photoshoot at school

these were the pictures that I took at school I asked staff to take pictures of them and at look at the camera.

I started by labelling them either red, yellow or green.

From all the pictures I took at school these were the ones that I think are the best, also like how every person is doing a different pose, some are looking directly at the camera and some are actually focusing on something else.

editing my favourite pictures:

home photography

I took picture of my brother and my dad I photographed my dad in our garden and photographer my brother while playing video games.

these were my 2 favourite images edited.

this is my favourite picture I think the quality is really good and how I took the picture, I decided to edit the picture in black and white because I think the picture looks better in the terms of quality and ambiance.

from this photoshoot I only got one which was good since my friend was a bit award in front of the camera, however the picture that I choose I think its really good because it was taken in her house and it really shows her personality.

I edited the image making it warmer because since I photographed her at her house I wanted to bring the comfort of her house to the picture and I decided to do that through editing , I edited most on the tone and moving them around until I liked how it looked.

I took 2 pictures of a women that was working at a donut stand, when there weren’t many people around so she wouldn’t get uncomfortable or shy while being photographed.

this was my favourite between the two because the other image there is her co-worker behind her also this one is more closed up which I like she also looks happy and positive and the colour are very vibrant with makes the viewer focus on her rather than the background.

Editing

I kept the photographed in colour and I tried making the image more vibrant

I used photoshop to edit the donuts from the other picture into this one that I like more.

Mood board

What is environmental portraiture

An environmental portrait is an image take of one or more person / people in there natural environment doing things like there job, a hobby or there lifestyle. It is represented through the background of the image or items shown in the image that have something to do with their lifestyle.

Example environmental portrait with evaluation

Lighting –

– Lighting used is artificial

– Shining from above him

– Possibly studio lights used

Environment –

– At a reception desk

– Most likely his job

– African American Ethnicity

– Taken in Brazil

– Male

– Most likely in his 60’s

Framing –

– Half-body angle used

– Dead pan

Approach –

– Neutral pose

Gaze –

– Eye contact

– Engagement with camera

Camera settings –

– Wide lens

– Mid-range F-stop

– No Tripod

– Medium shutter speed

– Medium shutter speed

Image info –

In this photo we can see the gold picture frame placed above the subject in the image, we can tell that he is in a place with money, this was most likely done by the photographer to fully capture this mans life style and give us incite into his place of work. This photo was taken in Brazil but there was no date for when it was taken, we can interpret that he works in a reception because of the two phones on his desk and the clean desk which is what you would expect at a front entrance for a more appealing look. I believe the idea behind this image was to capture an everyday person doing there job to capture there mood and lifestyle. With the visual elements of this photograph we can see that colour has been used with the gold frame for insight into the mans life, texture is also represented in this image along with Form (3D) with the curtain behind them.

August Sander

His life – August Sander (17 November 1876 – 20 April 1964), was a German portrait photographer, he wasn’t born into a family of photographer but found it through working in a local mine which was his full time job. His images consisted of a variety of different ages, religions, ethnicities and genders helping to shape environmental portraiture for years to come. He created some notable pieces of work such as, ‘The Farmer’, ‘The Skilled Tradesman’, ‘The Woman’, ‘Classes and Professions’, ‘The Artists’, ‘The City’ and ‘The Last People’.

His technique –

August Sander liked to use Shallow depth of field. generally full body shots to create an idea of model’s job and to include more of background in shot. As we can see in the images below he liked to take pictures of his subjects in a natural position representing there job and/or lifestyle.

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“I never made a person look bad.” – August Sander

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Examples of his work –

Who is in the photo?

– August Sander – Master Mason – 1926

how are they posed?

– neutral pose and facial expression

how are they framed?

– Full length body

– Deadpan angle

what is their gaze?

– Eye contact > engagement with the camera

Colour

– Black and white

Who is in the photo?

– August Sander – Handlanger (Bricklayer) – 1928

how are they posed?

– formal (posed) with relaxed facial expression

how are they framed?

– Full body

– Deadpan angle

what is their gaze?

– Eye contact > engagement with the camera

Colour

– Black and white

What is typology?

———–

Typology is a a term that we use in photography that, in simple terms, is the study of types. It can be used to see and represent similarities and differences in images.

——-

Here are some examples –

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Analysis of Arnold Newman Photography

His life – Arnold Newman (3 March 1918 – 6 June 2006), was an American portrait photographer, in his early life he studied art in school, however, later in life he opened a business and stared a freelance photography business, most likely getting his creativity from art in school. He created some notable pieces of work such as, ‘Pablo Picasso, Spanish Painter and Sculptor’, ‘Max Ernst, German Painter and Sculptor’, ‘Marc Chagall, Russian/French Painter’, ‘Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American Artist and Landscape Architect’, ‘Man Ray, American Surrealist Painter’ and ‘Josef Albers, German-American Painter’.

His technique –

Arnold Newman liked to use a variety of different lighting such as natural light, as well as studio lighting setups generally half body shots to have more focus on the background of the image. He also liked to take pictures of the subjects of the image in there natural environment to capture their lifestyle.

——————–

“The photographer must be a part of the picture.” – Arnold Newman

—————-=

Examples of his work –

Who is in the photo?

– Pablo Picasso, Spanish Painter and Sculptor, 1954

how are they posed?

– Formal pose and facial expression

how are they framed?

– Half body

– Deadpan angle

what is their gaze?

– Eye contact > engagement with the camera

Colour

– Black and white

Who is in the photo?

– Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American Artist and Landscape Architect, 1947

how are they posed?

– formal (posed) with relaxed facial expression

how are they framed?

– half body

– Canted angle

what is their gaze?

– Eye contact > engagement with the camera

Colour

– Black and white

Photoshoot plan

I plan to take photos inside and outside of school and take inspiration from August Sander in doing so. I plan to use props in all of my images to give a greater insight into the persons lifestyle or profession.

Photo Shoots

Contact sheet –

Selection process –

as you can see above I used P and X to flag my images to filter out the bad ones from the ok and good ones, next I rated these images 4 or 5 stars as 4 being ok ones and 5 being good ones, finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being good. I will now edit these images that I selected and present them bellow along with the raw images.

Editing

As you can see above I have used cropping to make the image a little smaller, I have done this so the subject is just a little bit closer to the camera in the image to make it more obvious that she is the main subject of the image.

As you can see above I have used two masks to sperate the subject from the background of the image, the reason I did this is because I wanted to have a slight but visible discrepancy between the two to make it even more obvious what the subject of the image is.

Adding to this I decided to keep this image in colour as to me it looked better but I did change one of my edited images to black and white.

Final images And evaluation

Who –

– The person in the image is Beth – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is her house in jersey channel islands

– They live a middle class life style

– Female, from Jersey and family history of Jersey, 17 years old

– Books used as props to represent her hobby

Framing –

– Full body

– Canted angle

Approach –

– Neutral pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 200, 27mm , f / 4.0, 1/13 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– Colour

Who –

– The person in the image is Beth – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is her house in jersey channel islands

– They live a middle class life style

– Female, from Jersey and family history of Jersey, 17 years old

– Books and saxophone used as props to represent her hobby

Framing –

– Full body

– Deadpan angle

Approach –

– Neutral pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 200, 30mm , f / 4.5, 1/13 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– B&W

Who –

– The person in the image is Beth – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is her house in jersey channel islands

– They live a middle class life style

– Female, from Jersey and family history of Jersey, 17 years old

– Books and saxophone used as props to represent her hobby

Framing –

– Full body

– Deadpan angle

Approach –

– Neutral pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 200, 30mm , f / 4.5, 1/13 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– Colour

Who –

– The person in the image is Beth – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is her house in jersey channel islands

– They live a middle class life style

– Female, from Jersey and family history of Jersey, 17 years old

– Books used as props to represent her hobby

Framing –

– Full body

– Deadpan angle

Approach –

– Neutral pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 200, 32mm , f / 4.5, 1/13 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– Colour

Who –

– The person in the image is Mr Cole – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is Hautlieu school in jersey channel islands

– Male, Work as a teacher in Hautlieu school, not sure how old

– Camera used as prop in the image to represent his profession

Framing –

– Half body

– Deadpan angle

Approach –

– Formal pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 400, 55mm , f / 5.6, 1/40 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– Colour

Who –

– The person in the image is Mr Cole – 2024

Lighting –

– Taken indoors

– Artificial light used which is shining down from above

Environment –

– The location is Hautlieu school in jersey channel islands

– Male, Work as a teacher in Hautlieu school, not sure how old

– Camera used as prop in the image to represent his profession

Framing –

– Half body

– Deadpan angle

Approach –

– Formal pose and facial expression

Gaze –

– Eye contact and engagement with camera

Technical –

– ISO 400, 55mm , f / 5.6, 1/40 sec SS and no tripod used

B&W or colour –

– Colour

Overall evaluation –

In these images I planned for it to be simple while using props such as the saxophone and the camera used in the different photos taken. With these images I took inspiration from August Sander taking ideas such as the props and the simplicity of the images, he also frequently used black and white in his image so I decided to do the same with one of mine to get a greater idea of what my images could look like. I will now represent these 6 images in art steps as a typology.

Typology representation –

Environmental portraiture-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.

Technical-This photo is taken in natural lighting, you can see the sunlight shining on the cow. The direction of light is coming through the top that is creating shadows on the opposite side. The man is almost central to the composition.

The blue stands out from the brown background with it being on his overalls and on the milk bottle. The shadows are dark but the sun is creating highlights in the image. The hay and the cow have a slightly rough texture but the milk bottle and the walls have a smoother texture which creates a contrast. The natural items have curved line whether as the man made items are more straight lines. A sense of depth is created by the diagonal lines and this gives an illusion of space.

the concept of this image is to highlight the tradition of dairy farming in jersey. The Jersey breed of dairy cow originates from the Island and is quite distinct from all other breeds. Renowned for its beauty, ease of management and natural ability to produce rich creamy milk, the Jersey cow is a product of the Island, its soil and climate, the people and their history. Jersey milk is prized among dairy farmers everywhere because of its superior properties, with herds to be found in the UK and around the world.

August sander-

This photo was taken by Nicholas Nixon.

This is Ari Versluis’ version of Typology.

This is taken by one of Bernd and Hilla’s Students called Thomas Ruff.

Typology is a type of photograph which had its ultimate roots in August Sander’s series of portraits in 1929, titled “Face Of Our Time”. The term ‘Typology’ was first used to describe a style of photography when Bernd and Hila Becher began documenting old and broken down German industrial architecture in 1959.

These are my photos editing. I cropped them both and put one in black and white. In the first photo I increased the highlights and cropped the image to be more central. I did the same for both sets of photos.

My Environmental Portrait Photoshoot

As you can see above I took 50 images from the camera of my sister and my mum. I took lots so I could experiment and pick my best photos and the one I wanted to use for my final piece. I then continued to take many of photos of my sister and my mum with many different camera settings and different lighting conditions to achieve the ideal result I wanted.

Photos I didn’t like

I didn’t like this photo due to lots of visual noise that has been taking part and will give the photo a degraded quality. This photo was taken at an ISO of 400. It also has a wide aperture of 7.1 and has a shutter speed of 1/6.

I also didn’t like this photo due to how dark it is and you can also barley see it. This is what happens when you don’t have enough light in your room, in the camera or in the photo. It gives no proper final image. It was also taken at a shutter speed of 1/80.

Lastly, I also didn’t like this photo due to extra light from the flash it has made the photo go extra fuzzy and made it to create a degrading quality. It also didn’t match the theme is was going for.

Selection Process

As you can see above I pressed P to keep the images I wanted to use for my final photos. I used X to get rid of the images i didn’t wanted to use for the future. Then I gave a rating for the images, they all had a rating out of 5.The images with 4 and 5 stars are the images I wanted to use for my final photos. The photos I didn’t like I rated 1-3 stars. Finally I gave them the colour yellow or green, green being the best and yellow being average . Red was for very bad photos. I will edit the images so I can present final photos.

Editing My Best Images

These are my three best images that have been edited.

This image started with more negative space on the left than on the right. To create a more balanced outcome, I cropped the image as above.

When cropping, I made sure to maintain an equal photo

For this image I also wanted to enhance the contrast and tone, to exaggerate the texture.

This image had lots of negative space on the left rather than the right. For the image to be more balanced I had to crop it to get the best result.

When cropping I mad sure that the photo was balanced on both sides, so the photo would look aesthetically pleasing to the eye and make people want ton look at it .

Also, I enhanced clarity and the dehaze setting on Lightroom to get the image to look like this.

In this image I had to get rid of most of the negative space on the left side on the photo rather than the right. I also got rid of negative space at the top and the bottom of the photo. To get the best result this photo need to be cropped.

As I was cropping this photo I need to make sure that the photo was balanced and proportional , so the photo looks pleasing to the eye.

For this image I also had to enhance the contrast and tone, to exaggerate the texture. I also enhanced the shutter speed.

Black and White Final Images

These are my final images edited

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being balanced . If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

After being cropped the photo looks more visually appealing to look at.

For this image I also had to enhance the dehaze, clarity and the texture setting to achieve this type of image.

For the filter I used the style; Cinematic to create this type of photo.

This isn’t a white photo but i managed to brighten it up since it was dark. To brighten it up is used two filters called BW7 and F6 these filters are from Lightroom.

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being proportional. If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

After being cropped the photo looks more visually pleasing and nice to look at.

For this image I also had to enhance the contrast, exposure ,dehaze, clarity and tone to exaggerate the texture.

This isn’t a white photo but I managed to brighten it up since it was dark. To brighten it up is used three filters called BW07,FT06 and SP05 these filters are from Lightroom.

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being proportional. If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

After being cropped the photo looks more visually pleasing and nice to look at.

For this image I also had to enhance the exposure ,dehaze, clarity and tone to exaggerate the texture.

Editing Photos into a Black Filter

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being proportional. If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

After being cropped the photo looks more visually pleasing and nice to look at.

For this image I also had to enhance the dehaze, clarity and tone to exaggerate the texture.

In this photo I used the filter called BW11 this filter darkened the photo a bit, this is what a aimed for.

In this photo I used a black and white filter called BW09, this darkened my photo, this is what I achieved due to using this filter.

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being proportional. If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

After being cropped the photo looks more visually pleasing and nice to look at.

For this image I also had to enhance the highlights and the shadows to enhance the clarity on this photo.

In this photo I used a filter called BW11, this has made this image both light and dark, this has balanced out the highlights and shadows, so it means that the foreground is more in focus.

In this photo I had to slightly crop it due to the sides of the photo not being proportional. If I hadn’t cropped the photo, the photo would look unbalanced and there would be too much negative on the background of the photo.

For this image I also had to enhance the highlights and the shadows to enhance the clarity on this photo.

My Final 4 Photos With Analysis

These are my final 4 photos due to a mixture of a light and dark tone. By having a light tone it makes the photo produced have a sharp with a strong contrast. By having a dark tone many photographs seem to have less impact and less visual vibration. By having some straight lines in the photos it means these lines have geometric quality and also have centre of attention. . The images that I took had lots of negative space around it so I had to crop it to make the photos balanced on each side.

Arnold Abner Newman was an American photographer, known for his “environmental portraits” of artists and politicians. He was also known for his composed abstract and still life images. Newman was born : March 3, 1918,  New York , United States and Died: June 6, 2006 (age 88 years), New York, United States.

Photo Analysis

Visual

The person is the main focal point. Krupp is in-between the concrete pillars which create a cold and outdated effect, he is placed in the centre so the photo will create a line of symmetry. Krupp is leaning forward with hands which are interlocked in-between each other. Interlocking hands means that Krupp is connected to the place in the photo. Krupp shows lots of eye contact which creates a feeling of intimidation towards us, which also makes us scared and not want to go near him. Eye contact also shows a high level of confidence. The background of this photo is in an industrial environment, which shows that Krupp is in charge or owns the environment that he is in. Leading lines make the photo look balanced and proportional and position Krupp very central due where the lines start and finish.

Technical

The lighting may be artificial due to many different light that may be used and also due to the intensity of the light. Also the lights will create a powerful contrast on the sitters face. Which will make him more mysterious and darkening his gaze. The aperture is placed at a medium due to the amount of light the will want in the photo. This ha a very sharp foreground due to having a low ISO which makes the image look a lot clearer. Is placed at a medium aperture- very sharp foreground, slightly softer background . Able to identify environmental details, which means that easy to see. The Shutter speed- is quite a fast because Newman wanted to capture a very specific moment while the subject is in focus and also creates a balanced exposure. The angle is exactly eye level with the sitter which means we are immediately drawn tot him and also feels like we are extremely close to him.

Contextual

Alfred Krupp is the only subject in this photo which means he’s the main character. An Industrialist who ran war factories manufactured arms for the Nazi assault on Europe. Using slave labour from the concentration camps, is where the prisoners of war were literarily worked to death. The majority of the men and boys who perished were Jewish and Krupp holds a particular grudge amongst there people.​Arnold Newman was Jewish of origin. Krupp was reluctant to agree for the photo to be taken but he eventually agreed. He didn’t want the photo taken by Newman due to him being Jewish, Krupp disliked the Jews. When deciding what to do with the shot , Newman asked Krupp to lean forward slightly, when he did he interlocked his fingers together tightly under his chin. The light hit the face completely and when Newman saw this effect he said ‘That he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck’. This image became one of the most famous images of Newman’s Career.

Conceptual

When Krupp saw the picture he was said to have been furious due to the artist being Jewish. For Newman this was a little bit of revenge for him. The photo captures Krupp in a serious, sincere and a menacing light. The flow of the photo brought Krupp out from the shadows and allowed Newman to share his envy for his man with the world.

August Sander

August Sander (1876–1964) was a German photographer , which was well known for his work documenting and capturing German community in the early 20th century.

August Sander’s photography is powerful for its organised approach to gathering people and securing a wide range of individuals from different parts of life in Germany, often attention on class, occupation, and social role.

Social and Class Structures: Sander’s portraits weren’t just about capturing the physical appearance of his subjects. They were important roles that people played within the larger framework of a community . He saw his work as a way to show the complexities of class, identity, and occupation, often seeing how social status and profession were reflected in a person’s appearance and lifestyle.

He gave respect to the people he photographed, regardless of their social standing and state . His photography gives a message that a sense of equality among the subjects in the photographs. He wanted to truly show the reality of life in Germany, from lower class life to high class.

Legacy

Sander’s most memorable series was , People of the 20th Century, was never fully accomplished in his lifetime, and much of his work remained unpublished during his career. However, the project has since been regarded as one of the most important photographic tasks of the 20th century.

Typologies

A photographic typology is a study of “types”. That is, a photographic series that prioritizes “collecting” rather than single or one image. It’s a powerful method of photography that can be used to reshape the way we see the world around us.

The concept of Photographic Typologies gets its origins from August Sander’s 1929 portrait series  from Face of Our Time, which captured the diverse social fabric of Germany between the two World Wars. Sander’s intent was to capture a cross-section of a community in Germany —its various types, classes, and the relationships that are linked them. He recognized that displaying his portraits as a collective series revealed much more meaning than displaying them individually. Unfortunately, his photography had such significance and power that just four years after its creation, the Nazi regime had the photographic plates which were demolished and then the book was banned.

A typology in photography is a study of “types” , which is a collection of images put together to gather a meaning, rather than individual and isolated shots. This approach shifts the focus to “collecting” and categorizing, and has become a method for reshaping and how we think about the world around us . The term “typology” itself gotten exposure in photography in 1959, when the German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher began documenting the industrial architecture of Germany that was disappearing quickly . The Becher’s described their subjects as buildings where anonymity is the new style. Their objective was to document a fading landscape, and in doing so, typologies not only captured a moment in time but also invited viewers to reflect on the photographs in the broader context of history and community of Germany.

August Sanders Photography Analysis

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Due to the black and white format and filter on this photograph , it is hard to see what lighting was used. However, upon further inspection I can able to conclude that the source of light could be natural, coming from a window in the middle of the day , This is because if you look into the metal bowl grasped by the chef, the lighting seems to be in the shape of a distorted rectangle, which closely comes from a window. Additionally , due to the lighting being softly diffused, and not having a hard tone and definition within the subject/ where the projection is giving heavy and contrasting shadows upon the subjects body and face ( Similar to how artificial light would create a hard light with little diffusion) It is fair to say that the lighting is natural due to it having very similar characteristics to it. Finally, due to the angle of the reflection on his head compared to the angle of the light on the bowl, we can also conclude that there many windows positioned to the right of the subject and in the foreground of the photo ( due many light sources within the reflections) , all working together to make the scene of lighting and the atmosphere.

The tonal range in this shot (the range of tones in-between the darkest and brightest areas of an image that are caught by your camera.) which is wide as they are clearly many points within the image with pure black and pure white , along with lots of shades of grey in-between, This in return creates a lot of contrast within the image which will highlight the key features of the subjects body and outline. Additionally its easy to tell that this image is perfectly exposed, because the detail is still clear and nothing is too dark or too bright, cutting out the glare within the shot, from reflections.

APERTURE

The Aperture Used to create this shot is most likely quite low in the ranges of f2-4.He used a low aperture to capture a great shallow depth of field. Low apertures are ideal foe capturing portraits , as seen in the photograph with the chef, the subject (chef) is in focus which is the foreground, whereas his background is out of focus.

SHUTTER SPEED

With the Low aperture , I predicted there will be a fast shutter speed that was in use in order to capture the amount of light being let in through the lens. ( at least 1/200th of a second handheld or 1/15th of a second on a tripod.)A tripod was used to keep the camera still while in use . What supports my prediction is that there is no minimal motion blur, Meaning either the subject stood very still or at a  high shutter speed was used to capture the moment in time without any blur.

ISO

The ISO used to take this photo was most likely quite low, as there is no visible grain or a degrading quality present in the photo and the image is very clear , additionally the image itself is extremely dark meaning a low ISO must have been used, which makes sense as the low aperture already lets in plenty of light into the camera , meaning that the light sensitivity of the camera wouldn’t need to be high, around 100-200 was probably used.

My Plan For My Photoshoot

Environments

Subjects – I will take photos of my sister and my mum in the same environments.

For this I will take photos of my mum and my sister so both of them will feel connected.

Mum- Holding a ukulele

Sister – Kicking a ball, reading a book and roller-skating.

Poses

Will be quite natural and will be of their type of hobby. They will pose with a natural and stern face.

Gaze

I intend of all of my subjects to be look at the camera.

composition

I will experiment to with lots of different types of composition such as the rule of thirds .

Aperture

I will use most of the aperture numbers on the camera to get a wide range of experimentation and photos to show.

Framing

I will be using full body,1/2 and some headshot photos and I will crop but I wont use a tighter crop because I want the environment behind to have a visible picture. Examples are shown below.

Oriental

In my environmental portraits I will make a majority of landscape phots so is able to capture the environment and i will also incorporate some portrait photos.

Portrait environmental Portait

Landscape environmental portrait

I presented my final pieces on art steps virtual gallery

What are Environmental Portraits ?

An environmental portrait is a type of portrait taken in the subject’s everyday setting, like their home or workplace. This style of photography aims to showcase not just the person but also their life and the environment around them. When you capture someone in their own space, it’s believed that you can reveal more about their character and truly reflect their personality, rather than just focusing on their physical appearance. Additionally, being in a familiar environment can help the subject feel more comfortable, allowing them to express themselves more naturally compared to the often intimidating atmosphere of a studio.

Artist Analysis

Arnold Newman

Who is he ?

Arnold Abner Newman, born on March 3, 1918, and passing away on June 6, 2006, was a renowned American photographer. He gained fame for his “environmental portraits,” which captured artists and politicians in their own settings. Additionally, he was recognized for his skilful abstract still life photography. In 2006, he was honoured with induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.

Newman’s work

Image Analysis

This image shows an almost villain looking old man staring directly into the camera, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. The two pillars either side exaggerate the rule of thirds in this image and place Krupp in the centre bottom of the image. The lighting along the celling creates leading lines that take the viewer to the industrial, train station background.

Visual – The sitter ( Krupp ) is the main focal point of the image, he is leaning forward suggesting how he is confident he is and how he is probably the owner and not a worker. Krupp’s wrinkly face and hands highlights his age and worn appearance, it also shows how he has seen and been through a lot in his life. Krupp is fully centre with lights leading to him and pillars either side to show how he is the centre of attention. The relatively bland colours create a strong contrast between the dark and light patches of the image. The photo has little negative space and is extremely cluttered which could allude to how messy and cramped his past life was. Krupp seems raised from the background showing how he could be more important than average.

Technical – The dim lighting, probably artificial, creates and eerie atmosphere. Furthermore the cold tone of the lighting emphasises the serious, uncomfortable scene. Moreover because of this lighting technique, each side of his face is lit up whereas the front of his face is left in darkness, this reinforces how mysterious Krupp is. The background is blurred however some of the background details are still identifiable, Krupp is in focus, this is through using a medium to shallow depth of field and a middle to low f/stop. The shutter speed is most likely fast as he is fully in focus with a balanced exposure. The angle the photo was taken at is directly facing him at eye level which allows the view to connect better with him.

Contextual – Arnold Newman was a Jewish photographer who was asked by Newsweek to capture a photo of Alfred Krupp who was not a military man but an industrialist who owned and ran the war factories. Newman didn’t want to take the photo but then agreed to it in the end and saw it has his small bit of revenge for what Krupp did.

Conceptual – Newman didn’t want to take the photo but then agreed to it in the end and saw it has his small bit of revenge for what Krupp did. When Newman asked Krupp to lean forward for the photo he naturally without being asked put his hands together and put them to his chin. Newman seeing this took the photo without hesitation, however Krupp hated this photo that was now famous world wide. This was Newman’s revenge.

Further Artist Analysis

August Sander

Who is he ?

August Sander (November 17, 1876 – April 20, 1964) was a notable German photographer known for his portraits and documentary style. His first book, Face of Our Time, came out in 1929. Many consider Sander to be the most significant German portrait photographer of the early 1900s. While he also captured landscapes, nature, architecture, and street scenes, his portraits are what he is most famous for, especially in his series People of the 20th Century. This series was created to represent a diverse slice of society during the Weimar Republic.

Image Analysis

The image shows an older man using two walking sticks, prominently featured in the foreground. He seems to have stopped for a moment while making his way up the lane in the background. You can tell he’s elderly by his hunched posture and the white hair on his face. In the photo, the man looks like he’s been walking down the road and has taken a break to look at the camera. He’s positioned on the right side of the frame, facing towards the centre and the empty space on the left. This composition leads our eyes to the building in the background, suggesting that this is his destination. His calm expression makes it feel like a candid shot, capturing him in a genuine moment rather than a posed picture.

Visual – All of Sanders’ photographs, including this one, are in black and white. This choice stems from the limitations of cameras back then, but it also gives a unique style that ties all his photos together, making them feel like part of a single collection. The black-and-white look really brings out the different shades in the image. The dark bushes on the right side stand out against the lighter path on the left, which naturally leads your gaze toward the house. The wild and rough texture of both the bushes and the path hints that this scene is set in a countryside area.

Technical – This picture makes great use of natural light, which adds to its authentic feel. The exposure is well-balanced and doesn’t rely on any fancy techniques. The wide aperture used here results in a shallow depth of field, which helps focus our eyes on the main subject in the foreground.

Context – This image comes from the book ‘Face of Our Time’ by August Sander. The book was originally published in 1929 and features a foreword by the German author Alfred Dublin. When it was first released, it was promoted with the following description: “The sixty photographs of Germans from the twentieth century included in Face of Our Time are just a small part of Sander’s larger project, which he started in 1910 and has been developing for twenty years. Sander didn’t take on this huge personal project from a scholarly perspective or with scientific tools, nor did he seek guidance from racial theorists or social scientists. Instead, he approached it as a photographer, relying on his own direct observations of human nature, appearances, and environments, guided by a strong sense of what is authentic and important.”

Conceptual – The book isn’t about the ‘faces’ of our time; it’s about a single ‘face.’ This implies that all these individuals together represent one unified identity. It seems like Sander’s idea was to bring these people together as a single representation of his era. There’s no deep theory behind the work; it’s simply an observation of that time, at first glance.

These red lines are strong leading lines that show how his walking sticks are used to frame his face in the image. Furthermore because of this framing the view is immediately drawn to the main subject, his face. The red line going across the image shows how the large amount of negative space below the red line is counter acted by the vast detail above the line.

Photoshoot plan

For my photoshoot I plan to photography my younger brother doing one of his hobbies. He plays airsoft so I plan to get him to dress up in his full gear and I’m going to use my garden and surrounding trees to frame him in the photo. I also want to capture photos of him from many different angles and him in different places and positions. I intend for him to have a serious, straight face for the photos as I think this would look the best. I want to use a mix of landscape and portrait orientated photos as I want to use the landscape photos to capture more of the environment and then portrait so all of the focus is on my subject.

Furthermore my brother also does gaming so I’m going to use him for a second photoshoot and capture him gaming. I want to get different angles and poses. I want to use the same mix of landscape and portrait photos when I’m taking them to include the environment and a focus on the subject. I intend for him to have a serious, straight face, almost like he’s concentrating on the game.

My Contact Sheet

Selection Process

I used three colours to grade which photos are good, okay and bad. It also gave me an idea of which photos I want to work with and edit.

My chosen photos

Second Photoshoot

Editing

Second Photoshoot

Edited Chosen Photos

Composition Experiments

Final Composition

Evaluation

In my opinion I think this photoshoot went really well and I’m super happy with the outcome. The photos I produced is exactly what I was aiming to do originally and in the photoshoot plan. I think the editing process went really well and really enhanced my already good photos. To improve my next photoshoot I might consider shooting photos in better light or cropping in while editing.

Art Steps

I used Art Steps to create a realistic gallery of my best, edited photos.