Skip to main content

Outdoors social portrait photography

















She absolutely loved this portrait. So does her husband. I was a little concerned about the strand of hair that blew across her eye but she felt it gave a more carefree and natural feel to the image. This was her favourite expression of the set of six I took in this pose.

Portrait photography, at least in the UK, seems to be moving increasingly out of the studio.

Instead of the stiff formal portraits with people dressed up in their best outfits, clients are now asking for informal reportage style images in a natural environment. The emphasis is on spontaneous and fun images which them at play and sometimes at work.

Some photographers may think this makes things easier because you're out of the confines of the studio, probably working without a tripod but if anything it's even harder to master this style than studio work. In the studio you can control the lighting, there's no variable weather to contend with, no curious passers-by and basically anything can happen.

So what qualities does the successful modern social portrait photographer need to possess?
As with all photography preperation is incredibly important. This includes scouting locations, considering options dependent on weather and studying when the light will be best to give the image that extra special something.

You have to be able to think on your feet, to be creative on the spot because no matter how well you are prepared things change and when they do you have to be able to turn potential disaster into wonderful opportunity.

The roles change subtly when you're outside the controlled environment of the studio. The photographer has to be more firm,assertive and in control, heading-off distractions and getting the best out of their subjects. If you're photographing people in their own home it's a little bit more challenging to direct them than when they are in your studio so you've got to confident and strong.

You need to have an eye for detail and tremendous awareness of everything around you. Backgrounds are constantly changing, the light is shifting and because your subjects move around a lot clothing can be in dissaray.You have to check everything all the time. Some classic examples of where an eye for detail counts are a gentleman’s tie slipping down a bit to reveal his top shirt button, a lady’s bra-strap showing, an unflattering or revealing bit of skin bulging out etc.

To photojournalists and fashion photographers used to working out and about a lot of the above is second nature and terribly obvious, but I think that there are many social portrait photographers, who want to work outside of their studios, who may underestimate the challenges.

Something else that adds to the difficulty of doing an exceptional job outside of the studio is that the images at first glance may look easy to accomplish. After all photographs of family and friends in natural environments are commonplace so the portrait photographer’s images will be compared to and have to compete with the everyday snapshot.

So how do you make your images really stand out? For me the answer goes beyond getting all the technical stuff right. You have to show real emotion, something that your subjects recognise as penetrating a deeper level. When they see your pictures they have to say, “Yes, that’s me. That is how I want the world to see me.”

As always I would be delighted to hear your thoughts and to learn from you.

Cheers,
Paul Posted by Picasa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Story Behind the Stories in My Photography

 Thank you for taking the time to explore my work. Photography, to me, is a meditative act—an opportunity to be fully present and notice the smallest details. The interplay of colour and light, the textures and shapes, the shift of an expression, a gesture — these subtle moments bring me pure joy. They are why I love storytelling and creating visual poetry. Every image in my portfolio is born from a moment of connection or curiosity. Whether I’m in a bustling city street, a quiet room, or a remote location, I aim to create photographs that resonate with empathy. Take "The Cyclists," for example—what appears to be a simple scene of people pedalling along the pier transforms into a visual symphony of movement and stillness, the hurried energy balanced by the serene focus of the riders. This interplay between action and calm often draws me in. I’m drawn to capturing the essence of a person—their inner world, not just their outward appearance. My approach often dances between the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Overcoming creative block and self doubt

Every photographer, for that matter every creative, I've ever met comes to a point when they're not happy with the work they're producing. The pendulum between creative highs and dry spells swings continuously. For some the cycle is long and the bouts are quite mild for others the feeling of doubt about their work can be a crushing experience which returns all to frequently. It's actually quite healthy to have these periods of doubt because it can often be the beginning of something new and interesting which takes you further than you thought possible. Creatives in the commercial world have to always perform and although they may agree looking back that they've had a few patches where their work was less good, they always seem to bounce back. A very few creative geniuses deliver such high quality work that their poorest attempts still surpass the rest of us. But I have never heard of anyone, from tortured soul of Van Gogh to the supreme showman and genius, Salvador ...
22 comments
Read more

What You Photograph Reveals How You Think

  Photography is often described as a way of seeing. Less often do we talk about it as a way of thinking. What you choose to photograph, and just as importantly what you ignore, quietly mirrors how your mind works. Some photographers are drawn to faces, micro-expressions, emotional spikes. Others chase atmosphere, light, mood. Then there are those who gravitate towards structure, systems, order, the invisible logic holding a scene together. None of this is accidental. The camera becomes a sorting tool. It reveals what your brain prioritises. Where others see chaos, you might see alignment. Where some look for drama, you look for balance. Geometry, repetition, flow, layers, these aren’t just visual preferences, they’re cognitive ones. Strong graphic images tend to come from people who think spatially. Who notice how things relate before they notice what they mean. Lines before labels. Structure before story. And yet, the best images rarely stop there. They gain depth when human pres...
1 comment
Read more