Taking environmental portrait photographs is a delicate art with many things to consider. For today's blog, Ram Chary shares some expert tips on how to capture the best environmental portraits.
Environments and context are important for any portrait photograph. The backdrop sets the tone of your image, and different types of location portraits will yield very different results. So, let's look at some different approaches to environmental portraiture:
The photogenic environment
This environmental portrait is about using the environment, particularly a pretty or interesting backdrop, to set a tone. The idea is that the photo will be immediately recognizable as being taken at your location (e.g., New York City skyline). It also conveys something about the subject.
The background is the star
The idea here is to shoot your subject up close, with a lot of empty space in the background. This type of portrait allows you to play with light, shadows, and colors in the image. But, again, it is about creating something that will stand out when it's hung on a wall; it's about aesthetics.
The subject-in-environment approach
Rather than removing the environmental elements, this type of portrait is all about showing them off. You want to show your subject in their environment (e.g., at home). A good example of this style would be an exotic dancer in her stage setting.
The third-person approach
This type of portrait is all about identifying the location without it being too front and center in your image. Ram Chary adds that the idea is to show how people live in certain places so that you wouldn't have the person's face or an identifying element in your image.
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