Environmental Portraiture People in their Element

The seven elements Expression Subject Awareness Light Perspective Angle Mood Depth of field

Change of pace In environmental portraiture, though, there are different priorities.

Placement Environmental portraits tell stories about people by showing them and what they do/are, which means place and your subject’s sense of belonging to it is central to a good photograph.

What to Feature Because it is still a portrait, your human or non-human subject should be the center of attention. However, because the environment is also important, it needs to play a greater role than in standard portraiture.

How to achieve this… Technically speaking, there are numerous things to consider: Depth of field: If the depth is too narrow it may be difficult to identify the environment and its importance and relationship to the subject. If the depth is too great, the environment may dominate the subject.

Too much depth…

Too little depth

Composition The arrangement of elements that comprise the environment and its relationship with the subject plays a key role in the photo’s storytelling value.

Light and Color Light and color can be used to enhance the relationship between subject and environment.