5 tips for environmental portraits

Monday 24 May 2021, 21:12 by Elja Trum | 5,542 views | 1 comment

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A portrait photograph is about the subject. You usually frame them large and clearly. An environmental portrait is a different form of portrait photography, where the surroundings also play an important role. In this article, 5 tips for environmental portraits.

1. Take a little more distance

One of the most common tips in portrait photography is to move closer. An environmental portrait is the exception to this. With an environmental portrait, you should take a little more distance instead.

You often take portraits with a focal length between 70 and 135mm. You can continue to use this perfectly well for an environmental portrait, but you really do need to take quite a bit of distance.

The advantage is that the surroundings will quickly become nicely blurred as well. Ideally, you should still keep the surroundings recognisable. With an environmental portrait, you do not want everything to be a blur. The surroundings would no longer be visible.

Sanne - f/2.0, 1/640s, 250 ISO @ 110 mm

2. Use a 35mm lens

An environmental portrait is also well suited to using a lens that you would not usually use for portraits. For example, a 35mm lens.

If you get too close to your subject with this kind of lens, you will get distortion. The lens therefore forces you to take a little more distance and consciously include the surroundings in your photo.

Anouschka & Robin - f/3.5, 1/50s, 160 ISO @ 35mm
I sometimes like to go out with just a 35mm lens, for example, or even spend an entire holiday with only this lens. It forces you to be creative with your composition and often gives you a different perspective from the one you normally use.

3. Find an unusual setting

When you let the surroundings play a role in your photo, it naturally works especially well if you are also in an unusual setting. So, for your environmental portrait, look for a location that is different from normal and where the surroundings are genuinely interesting.

I am personally a fan of Urbex settings, for example, old buildings where the decay is clearly visible.

Sarah - f/11, 1/125s, 200 ISO @ 55mm

4. Use your surroundings as a frame

In an environmental portrait, you can also use the surroundings to draw attention to the model. For example, by using the surroundings as a frame around your model.

Danien - f/8, 1/160s, 200 ISO @ 61mm
You can also use lines in your photo to lead towards your model. This helps the viewer to 'read' the photo. So look carefully at where you place the model and how he or she fits into the surroundings.

5. Create a story

The most powerful photos tell a story to the viewer. The surroundings play an important role in this. Together with the styling and pose, you can tell a story and make the photo more interesting to look at.

Anne - f/5, 1/125s, 250 ISO @ 45mm

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