Environmental portrait photography is the art of taking pictures that will be used to tell a person’s story via its connection to a certain place.  They are always taken on location and not in a studio. Great portraits of this sort will capture people’s interaction with their natural surroundings to tell strong stories that generate emotion in the viewer, giving insight into where these people are, what they do, and who they are.

Recently, it has become very common to see companies use environmental portraits instead of the classic business portraits or headshots, which works. However, that doesn’t mean business headshots and environmental portraits are identical. Business headshots that are evenly lit and usually have a neutral background—are still a reliable go-to for introducing the members of an organization to the public.   However, an environmental portrait will deliver a better result when going for a more “real” depiction of a person in their workplace. This is a way to describe the subject’s life in their everyday job from an authentic and spontaneous perspective.