Environmental Portraiture: How to Go Beyond the Ordinary

Environmental portraiture is a the practice of making pictures of people out in the world, in uncontrolled situations. It is a naturalistic, engaging, contextual way of portraying people. In this learning guide you'll learn how to make portraits in a natural environment.

Posts in this series

Envisioning & Shooting an Environmental Portrait
Striking the balance of environment and subject is what good environmental portraiture is all about. Today, I'm taking you from start to finish with how to...
Andrew Childress
28 Aug 2012
Shooting
No Light, Low Light, No Problem: Environmental Portraiture at Night
Image making at night can be very difficult. If you photograph weddings, news, documentary, or creative portraits, these tips on how to make portraits at...
Ben Lucas
26 Sep 2015
Portrait
Shooting Portraits in Bright Sunlight
Warm summer days, deep blue skies, the sun's blinding rays pounding down like a blazing hot hammer on an anvil. Without help, the light in the middle of the...
Simon Plant
11 Aug 2014
Lighting
3 Natural Portraits With Window Light
Photographing portraits with available light has many advantages. In this tutorial, we'll explore one of the best ways to photograph with available light:...
Simon Plant
25 Aug 2014
Lighting
6 Creative Ways to Shoot Portraits in a Tunnel
Tunnels are great landscape features with a lot of photographic potential. In this tutorial, you'll learn different ways to take advantage of this setting...
Ben Lucas
18 Aug 2014
Portrait
What Is the Golden Hour?
The golden and blue hours are some of the best times to photograph. In this tutorial I look at what causes them and how to take advantage of their unique...
Harry Guinness
5 Feb 2016
Lighting
People in Places: Shooting an Environmental Portrait
In this tutorial, Simon Plant gives an in-depth look at shooting environmental portraits. These portraits show a person in the space they inhabit and feature...
Simon Plant
11 Jul 2012
Shooting
Creating a Portrait with Soft, Natural Light Indoors
In this tutorial, we'll take a look at creating a portrait of a veteran trombone player. Basic techniques employed by master photographers yield stunning...
Simon Plant
21 Nov 2012
Shooting
How to Use Environmental Lighting Sources for Natural Portraiture
You don't need a full studio setup to capture great portraits. All you need is the light from the sun and an understanding of how to use it. In this tutorial...
Harry Guinness
19 Feb 2016
Environmental Portrait
A In-Depth Walkthrough of a Family Portrait Shoot
Instead of the usual theory articles out there on how to shoot a family portrait, this is a walk through of my own experience. It's like a highlight reel of...
Grace Salzer
4 Sep 2012
Shooting
Making Your Vacation Portraits Pop!
It’s holiday season, and what better time to take your camera out and about to capture not only those scenic holiday destinations, but the people that you’re...
Simon Bray
23 Aug 2012
Shooting
How to Make Better Portraits Using the Secret of Open Shade
Working in open shade is like working with a giant soft-box: soft and luminous, and it makes the eyes sparkle. Finding this type of lighting situation is one...
Pedro Isztin
16 Nov 2016
Portrait