Environmental portrait tips

Many photographers shy away from photographing people, but environmental portraits can be a great way to capture the personality of your subject and tell a story...

What is environmental portrait photography?

Environmental portrait photography is a type of portrait that captures a subject in their natural surroundings. This could be anywhere, from their home or office to a favorite outdoor spot. The aim is to capture the subject in a way that helps to tell their story and to show them in a relatable and realistic light.

This type of photography can be particularly effective for business portraits, as it conveys a sense of the person's work environment and can help to add context to their story. It can also be used for more personal portraits, such as family photos or engagement shots.

Whether you want to capture a professional headshot or a more intimate image, environmental portrait photography is an excellent way to achieve your goal.

16 Environmental portrait photography tips

Let's dive into 15 environmental portrait photography tips you can implement in your next photo session.

1. Tell a story

When taking environmental portraits, it's important to think about the story you're trying to tell. What is it about your subject that you want to capture? What does their environment say about them?

Answering these questions will help you to determine the best way to approach your shoot. For example, if you're photographing a business owner, you might want to emphasize the importance of their workspace and the tools they use in their job.

On the other hand, if you photograph a family or couple outdoors, you'll likely want to focus more on conveying a sense of place and capturing natural interactions between your subjects.

2. Choose your lighting and background carefully

The lighting and background you choose will also play an important role in how your subject is perceived. Whether indoors or outdoors, try to find a location that naturally provides good lighting and flattering backgrounds.

If you're shooting indoors, this could mean finding a window with plenty of natural, ambient light.

If you're photographing outdoors, you may want to look for interesting natural features such as trees or flowers that can add depth and dimension to your image.

You should also be aware of any distracting elements in the background, such as power lines or busy streets. If possible, move your subjects away from these distractions or use a shallow depth of field to blur them out.

3. Include people and animals in the frame

One of the best ways to add personality to your environmental portraits is to include people or animals in the frame.

This could be a family member, pet, or even a stranger who happens upon your shoot. Capturing interactions between your subject and their loved ones can help to create more natural and candid shots.

For example, if you photograph a business owner in their office, try to capture them working with a colleague or talking on the phone. If you photograph a family at home, look for moments when they're cooking, laughing, or playing together.

4. Use candid shots

In addition to staged shots, be sure to take plenty of candid photos of your subject.

These candid shots can be particularly effective when capturing children or pets, as they can often convey a more genuine sense of emotion and personality than posed photos.

5. Use a wide-angle lens

A wide-angle lens is an essential tool for environmental portrait photography, as it allows you to capture more of the surroundings in your frame. This can be particularly helpful when shooting in small spaces, such as an office or home.

Just be sure not to get too close to your subject with a wide-angle lens, or you may distort their features.

6. Experiment with different angles

As with any portrait photography, it's also important to experiment with different angles when taking environmental portraits. Try shooting from directly above your subject and at various angles around them.

This will help you find the best angle for each shot and create more variety in your final images.

7. Immerse yourself in their world

One of the best ways to capture your subject's environment is actually to immerse yourself in it. This means spending time with your subject in their natural setting, whether that's at home, work, or play.

This will not only give you a better understanding of their everyday life, but it will also help you to scout out potential locations and photo opportunities in advance.

Spend some time talking with your subject and getting to know them personally. This will not only make them feel more comfortable with you, but it will also help you to capture more natural and candid shots.

8. Fill the frame with essential elements

When shooting environmental portraits, it's important to focus on the subject while including enough of their surroundings in the frame. To achieve this, try zooming in as far as possible without losing too much detail or increasing the size of your aperture.

This will allow you to capture your subject in sharp focus while still maintaining some context with their environment.

9. Use layers in your depth of field

While using a shallow depth of field to blur out distracting elements in the background is an effective technique, you can also achieve a similar effect by using layers in your depth of field.

This involves focusing on one element in the foreground, middle ground, and background of your image to create more visual interest. For example, if you photograph a person in front of a building, you could focus on the person's face while keeping the building slightly out of focus.

Or, if you're photographing a person in a field, you could focus on the person while keeping the flowers and trees in the background slightly out of focus.

10. Choose an interesting location

When choosing a location for your environmental portrait, look for settings that are unique and tell a story. This could be the office where your subject works, or it could be their home if they're comfortable being photographed in their natural environment.

Also, consider choosing locations with interesting lighting or textures, as these can add visual interest to your image. For example, you might choose to shoot in a location with soft, natural light or interesting shadows and patterns.

11. Use props to enhance the story

Props can be a great way to enhance the story you're trying to tell with your environmental portrait.

This could be something as simple as using a chair or table to create a more intimate setting, or it could be something more specific to your subject's interests or occupation. For example, if you're photographing a musician, you might use their instrument as a prop. Or, if you're photographing a chef, you could use their cooking utensils as props.

12. Converse with the subject throughout the photoshoot

One of the keys to taking great environmental portraits is capturing candid, natural-looking shots.

To do this, it's important to engage with your subject throughout the photoshoot and get them talking about their interests, hobbies, or work. This will help you capture more genuine emotions and expressions in your images and find interesting photo opportunities that you may have otherwise missed.

13. Guide, dont pose your subject

While it's important to engage with your subjects throughout the photo shoot, you should also avoid losing them too much. Guide, don't pose!

Instead, let them move around naturally and capture them in candid moments. This will help you to create more natural-looking images that better represent your subject's everyday life.

14. Capture a variety of shots

When shooting environmental portraits, it's important to capture various shots. This includes close-up shots, wide shots, and everything in between.

By capturing a variety of images, you can tell a more complete story about your subject and their environment.

15. Edit your images carefully

Once you've taken all of your environmental portraits, it's important to edit them carefully. This includes choosing the right images to keep and editing them to enhance the story you're trying to tell.

When editing your images, pay close attention to the composition, lighting, and overall tone of each image. These are all important factors in creating successful environmental portraits.

When editing, since it is an environmental portrait where the whole purpose is to look natural, be careful not to go too overboard with the color grading and editing. The goal is natural and candid, not cartoonish.

16. Be patient and wait for the right moment

Like any type of photography, patience is key when shooting environmental portraits.

This means taking the time to wait for the right moment to capture your shot, whether that's waiting for the perfect expression or waiting for the perfect light. By doing this, you can ensure you end up with the most polished and high-quality images possible.

It will also help you avoid missing photo opportunities or snapping a shot too quickly and ending up with blurry or out-of-focus photos.

Overall, if you're looking to take great environmental portraits, it's important to choose an interesting location, use props to enhance the story, engage and converse with your subject throughout the shoot, and capture various shots. With these tips, you should be able to create stunning images that tell a compelling story about your subject.

This guide is also a part of our Portrait Photography Resources Hub, so be sure to check that out for more tips on portrait photography.