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How to: Tamron Pro Tips For Photographing Environmental Portraits – A Proactive Approach
Portraits don’t always need to be taken in a studio against a blank or bland background – there are a wide variety of environments that offer virtually endless opportunities for more interesting shots. These different environments can say something about the person you’re photographing, give more context to your subject, add more points of interest to the image, and help your subject feel more relaxed. However, shooting outdoors comes with a lot of challenges that you wouldn’t face in a studio setting, especially when it comes to lighting. Check out these tips to be more proactive about overcoming those challenges and capture well-lit portraits on your next session.
Tip #1) Modify your light. When shooting outdoors, do your best to work with the natural lighting available. Face your subject towards the sun to create contour and help shape their face. Place a diffuser panel to create a soft bay of light that’s more flattering and not as flat. In addition to diffusers, you can also modify the sunlight you have to work with using scrims and gobos. If you’re shooting your subject in the shade or the ground is dark, place a white board or silver reflective surface under them for added fill and more sparkle in their eyes.
© Hernan Rodriguez
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Tip #2) Redirect your light. Always have a well-stocked reflector kit with you when shooting environmental portraits. This kit should have all the tools you need to redirect sunlight so that it best fits your subject and effectively lights the shot you’re trying to achieve. Typically, you’ll want to use the sun as a backlight and a reflector as the key light. Your kit should have at least a white opaque, silver, and gold reflector.
© Hernan Rodriguez
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Tip #3) Balance your light. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your attempts to modify light and/or redirect it might not produce the kind of quality light you want to create. This is what auxiliary lighting is for. In addition to a reflector kit, you should always have a compact flash and/or portable strobe lights with you when shooting environmental portraits to up the light quality. These devices are great for adding more sparkle to the eyes and warmth to skin tones. Always try and match the same quality of light that is being produced by the sun, otherwise, your portrait may look and feel unnatural.
© Hernan Rodriguez
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In addition to keeping these lighting tips in mind, we also recommend you arrive at your location early to scout out the surroundings and identify which spots might offer the best perspectives, the best shadows, the best natural light, the best background contrast, and so on. This will make you more prepared to deal with any lighting challenges that arise.
© Hernan Rodriguez
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