Environmental Portraiture: Tell Your Subject’s Story and Create Dynamic Portraits with One Bag of Gear

Keep It Simple

It’s easy to get overwhelmed on a photo shoot when you have a person or multiple people waiting on you to decide how to make this photograph. It helps me to start with the basics and concentrate on four simple things: 1) the Subject, 2) the Story, 3) the Light, and 4) the Background (or foreground). For example, you might be photographing a friend with a snake collection or a C-level executive with an interesting hobby. Let’s walk through each of these steps in regard to that snake photo.

1. The Subject—This could be your friend, or client, or an editorial profile. In any case, this is your chance to personalize the image and determine what the subject is willing to do and how he will look doing it. Do the snakes need to stay ...