Member-only story
8 Photographers You Need To Know For Understanding Environmental Portraits
Environmental Portraits grant both subject and background a high level of importance in the frame. Portraiture alone can be seen as the picture of the fish, and Environmental Portraiture as the fish within the fishbowl. That said, we want to introduce you to eight photographers who will give you a better idea of what Environmental Portraits are. Some of them are exclusively Environmental Portrait photographers; others, not so much. Still, when required, these last ones have sometimes taken portraits with an environmental approach.
When August Sander started taking photographs, they were just images or portraits. Sander has been described as “the most important German portrait photographer of the early twentieth century.” His portraits had a sincere voice in them, just the thing that environmental portraits pursue. His work is now considered to be Fine Art at its finest, and you can see some of his work here and here. I don’t know if this image is his most famous one, but is a personal favorite of mine. So, if you don’t know his work (which we pretty much doubt), do yourself a favor and click on that link right now! (You can also watch this video made by Sir Ted Forbes.)
