Tips on Shooting Environmental Portraits - Week 9 [Project Research Notes]

Notes from 'Chapter 2: The Environmental Portrait' taken from David D. Busch, Rob Sheppard (2012) David Busch's Portrait/candid/street Photography: Compact Field Guide, : Course Technology. (page. 27-37)

Keep It Simple
Concentrate on your subject and try not to let your surroundings/environment dominate over the subject. Remember to consider your focal length and depth-of-field as this affects perspective.

Practice!
To get more comfortable with your environment, shoot and experiment with non-threatening subjects such as a friend/relative or even a doll. By experimenting, you will understand how to control the sharpness of your backgrounds before the real subject comes in front of the camera.

Smile :)
This will make any situation with someone feel more comfortable and confident so don't forget to smile as you shoot. This can create great facial expressions you can capture during your shoots.

Think About How to Best Get a Sharp Photo
Using a tripod definitely helps in this case. However, this isn't always possible with environmental portraits. If you use a hand-held camera, be sure to use a fast shutter-speed and/or anti-shake/image stabilisation technology built into your camera or lens. The most common cause for unsharp images comes from camera movement during exposure. 


Choosing Focal Length
Your choice of focal length influences three important aspects of your photograph. These are:
Angle of View
The most obvious effect of focal length choice. A wide-angle lens will show you more of with environment with your subject. A telephoto lens will narrow down that and of view to less of the surrounding in which the subject is based.