17.03.09
Taking Travel Portraits
Environmental & Action portraits
A traditional head and shoulders portrait is good at showing what a person looks like, but if you take a picture placing them in their wider context then you are able to show a lot more about them. This might be something as simple as showing the environment that that they live in, or you could show what they do for a living.
The easiest way to shoot an environmental portrait it just to show a persons immediate surroundings. You don’t have to pose them in any special way, just use a less powerful telephoto lens or keep further back than you normally would. This will make them smaller in the frame and include more of the surrounding area.
A more sophisticated way to shoot an environmental portrait is to still get in close to your subject, but use a wide angle lens. This will still give a close-up sense of immediacy to the portrait, but will also show the background. If you place your subject to one side of the frame, your portrait will look less obvious and more balanced.
It is still possible to pose people for an environmental portrait. You can even place them in an environment of your choice if you think that it shows more about them.
An environmental portrait can also show your subject placed amongst people or objects that are in someway important or relevant to them. The basic premise of an environmental portrait is that if you take a picture of a thing, then all you have is a representational picture. If you juxtapose it with something else then you can create a greater meaning.
You can get creative with an environmental portrait by limiting the depth of field. This can mean that the background is out of focus to some degree, and won’t distract from the subject of the picture. Use a relatively wide aperture that will throw the background out of focus, but in such a way that it is still recognisable.
You can also show someone as a tiny part of a much wider environment, such as a sweeping landscape or even a city. This will give far less information about what they actually look like but will say more about their place in and relationship with their local area.
One problem with shooting environmental portraits is the crowds that can gather when you stop to take pictures – especially in the third world! Hordes of gawpers in the background staring directly at the camera can ruin the photograph. The way around this is to work quickly before people notice. Shooting with a telephoto lens and isolating a part of the background can also help. Another thing to be careful of are the shadows from on-lookers standing behind the camera. These can ruin a photograph without you even noticing until it is too late!
Lights, camera, action!
Action works well in portraits. If people are actually doing something they are likely to be far more relaxed and natural in front of the camera. This could be them just doing their jobs, such as making food or even spinning cloth, or it could be a performance of some kind. If you just shoot close-up portraits then you will miss the action: by shooting a wider portrait and showing the source of the action your picture will convey a greater meaning.
If you approach someone to take their picture it is often difficult to get them to just carry on with what they are doing. Often people will stand still and pose in some way for the camera – often smiling in the developed world, and virtually standing to attention in the developing world. Encourage people to carry on with what they were doing – using sign language if you have to. Taking interest in what they are doing and even trying things out yourself is a good way to relax people. Finally spend some time with them and be patient. When you cease to be a novelty and an intrusion then they will be more relaxed and natural.
One thing to be careful of with action in your portraits is having the subject blur if they are moving fast. To get round this you will have to select a higher shutter-speed.
It is always worth trying out a variety of styles and even lens settings when you are shooting a portrait. This is much easier if you are using a zoom lens and don’t have to actually change the lens on your camera. Alternate between close-up and wider environmental shots. At the same time, you can build a rapport with your subject, and make them more relaxed and natural in front of your camera.
Candid cameras
Environmental and action portraits are both particularly suited for candid shooting – where you take a picture without the subject of the picture knowing that you have taken the picture.
This throws up certain moral issues as it involves taking a picture without someone’s permission. This can be intrusive, although there are certain arguments that say that asking for permission can be intrusive on its own, and will certainly interrupt the flow of what is happening leading to less natural pictures.
I am happier with the idea of shooting semi-candid pictures. This is when the subject of the picture knows that there are photographers around and that there is a chance of them being photographed, but they haven’t expressly given their permission. This might be at a festival, a market or even a public performance of some kind.
There are many places around the world where people have a realistic expectation of being photographed. Having said that, they probably still won’t appreciate having a camera stuck in their face. As you are photographing people in a wider environment, you won’t have to get so close, and so will be able to work more discretely.
Candid, or semi-candid photography can be perfect for taking pictures that show an completely uninterrupted moment in someone’s life, but it is important though not to confuse taking a picture without someone’s knowledge with knowing that they don’t want their picture taken and just ignoring it.
Photography Tours
Professional photographer and author, Steve Davey, has launched a range of travel photography tours. For more information, please click here
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