If you don’t have the necessary equipment or facilities to set up a studio, this could be a good way for you to make some money. But what do I mean by environmental portraits ? Well in my view it is effectively using ambient lighting (i.e. the Sun) with maybe some fill-in flash or by using a reflector. But unlike a studio, you don’t have complete control of the lighting (or the weather). Some people would argue that it’s a bit like photographing a wedding but without the inherent pressure of wedding photography.
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In this shot, the little girl was in her own garden. She was perfectly at ease with me as the picture shows but when she had previously come into the studio she was very unsure of her surroundings. The results of the original sitting were understandably disappointing.
Consequently, I suggested to her mother that perhaps we could try again but use their garden. Here patience also paid off as I just sat in the garden while she played and after a short time she just seemed to accept me as part of the furniture.
TIP : Never rush children and be prepared to play a waiting game until they ready. Don’t be afraid to play with them. My Donald Duck glove puppet was also a wonderful distraction and brought many a smile to otherwise stern looking faces. |
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This little chap, who used to live in the same village as me, was apparently busy picking Blue Bells for his Mum when I spotted him. So I confess this shot was more of an opportunist’s than a planned shot.
A few days later, I presented his mother with a framed 16 x 12 print and suggested that she might like to buy it – she couldn’t resist. Ironically, I was subsequently asked to photograph the entire family which was a nice bonus. |
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Tip : I always used a flash gun even when working in bright sunlight just to make sure that there was a catch-light in the eyes. I would make sure that the flash exposure was always at least one stop less than the ambient light but sufficient just to give that little twinkle in the eyes.
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This was another opportunist environmental portrait which I took several years ago while in The Gambia.
The lady in question is called Maria and she lives in the small village from which “Kunta Kinte” was abducted over 200 years ago and taken into slavery in America. You may recall that (Kunta Kinte was the African slave featured in the 1970’s hit TV series Roots.
I didn’t make me any money - guess who didn't get a model release formed signed. However, I did include it in the panel of portraits that I submitted for my Royal Photographic Society Licentiate panel which I am pleased to say was successful. |
Do you remember these two characters from my section on Canine Portraiture.
This was taken as part of a follow up session a few months after the studio portraiture sittings.
I suggested to the owner that it might make a nice to get a shot of the dogs amongst the blue bells.
For the lighting, I just used fill-in flash to add a catch light to the eyes.
That year was a good year for Blue Bells !! |
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