How to Take Crazy Outdoor Portraits

Learn 10 tips to improve your Environmental Portrait photography.

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In this tutorial, I'm going to run you through 10 tips to improve your environmental portrait photography.

By “environmental portraits,” I mean portraits in more of a travel or adventure context. This includes locals, self-portraits, and those shots where you have a friend standing in the distance behind an epic backdrop.

Let’s jump in!

Tip #1: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Locals for Photos

If you’re in a place where the people look interesting, don’t be afraid to walk up and ask for a photo. When you’re traveling, you’ll often see unique outfits, activities, and lifestyles.

My advice is to just approach them with a smile and ask. The worst they can say is no- and about 75% of the time (in my experience,) they’ll say yes.

Once they agree, you can do some basic posing, but try not to ask too much of them since they’re already doing you a favor. For instance, I might have them look toward a certain point or stand in a certain spot so the lighting looks good. 

Afterwards, I like to show them the photo and if it’s a great shot, I’ll get their contact info and send it to them for free. It’s a great way to make friends on the road, and build your socials.

I got this photo of a Catrina in Mexico during Day of the Dead simply by asking. I then edited out the background to make it appear more surreal.

Tip #2: Shoot Candid

Shooting candid is the opposite of asking people for photos, but don’t be afraid to take random shots of people while you’re walking around. Just keep in mind the context of your situation. 

In most first-world countries, you’re well within your legal rights to take photos of people in public. In places like New York or San Francisco where street photography is common, this isn’t unusual. 

However, laws and cultural norms can differ in other countries, which means it might not be a bad idea to ask locals what the photography culture is like wherever you’re at. You don’t want to be walking around a rough neighborhood with an expensive camera taking photos.

Tip #3: Use Props

If you see someone interacting with an interesting object, like instruments, games, or food, that’s a great opportunity for a photo. Props can give your photo a backstory, which as we know from the Story tutorial, drives engagement. 

Props are also great for portrait sessions with friends. If you’re not traveling and simply want to make a shoot more interesting, go buy a random object and figure out how to incorporate it in the photo. This can lead to some fascinating results. 

This photo, taken at a photography meetup at The Headquarters in Colorado, uses a mirror prop to make it look creepy. I had her look at the mirror in one shot, then edited it so it was looking at her in another.

Tip #4: Look For Action

My fourth tip is to look for actions happening in the world around you. If someone is juggling, running, or fixing something it can make the shot more dynamic, and comes with a degree of candidness built in.

This photo, also taken at the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico, features a Catrina dancing on stage.

Tip #5: Focus On Eyes

In portrait photography, the most important thing is that the eyes are in focus.

If everything else is slightly off, that’s fine- but always make sure the eyes are sharp. Many modern cameras even have automatic eye detection, which can help with your focus. This same rule applies to animals. 

Tip #6: Use Walkie-Talkies for Long-Distance Portraits

If you’re doing environmental portraits where your subject is far away- say, your friend is standing on a distant rock ledge overlooking a cliff, walkie-talkies can be a game changer. No more yelling across the valley, hoping the wind doesn’t carry your voice away.

Using the walkie-talkie, you can fine-tune your subject’s position on a ledge- where even a few inches can make a massive difference.

This photo, taken at Sam Boardman State Park in Oregon, is the first time I learned about the walkie-talkie trick from another photographer. Although this photo is a selfie, I was watching him get the same shot with his girlfriend by using a walkie-talkie.

Tip #7: Use a Timer for Self-Portraits

If you’re shooting alone and want a photo of yourself in the distance, use time-lapse mode or an external intervalometer on your camera to get selfies. 

For example, you can set your camera to start shooting after two minutes of lag, and then take 50 shots, each one second apart. That gives you time to walk over to the spot and try a variety of different poses.

Before you walk out, make sure your camera is focused where you’ll be standing. If there’s nothing to focus on (like in a field), bring a small tripod or object to place there, focus on it, and then remove it before shooting.

This photo, taken at Rock Island in Tennessee, is a self-portrait I captured by putting my camera on a timer in timelapse mode.

Tip #: Make Your Subject Comfortable

If you’re shooting with someone new, especially for a paid session, the most important thing is to make them feel comfortable.

As a general rule of thumbs, people mirror your energy, especially in a photoshoot. If you’re relaxed and positive, they’ll feel relaxed and positive. If you’re anxious, they’ll look anxious in the photos.

I like to grab a coffee and hang out for 30 minutes with them before shooting. This allows you to get to know them a little bit and break the initial awkwardness. When the shoot starts, don’t stop the conversation. It’ll help keep things feeling natural. Some of the best shots happen when they laugh at something you say.

Also, play some music on a portable speaker! It sets the vibe and keeps the energy up.

Tip #9: Study Posing Guides

I won’t go too deep into this since this is an adventure photography course, not a portrait course, but if you want to improve your portraits, study posing and studio lighting guides.

Certain poses work better for men versus women, and knowing how to crop at flattering points can make a huge difference. A good posing guide can quite literally take your portrait photography from zero to one hundred.

This photo, also take at the The Headquarters in Colorado, used a chair to pose the man in this falling position, than the chair was edited out in Photoshop.

Tip #10: Flip Photos Horizontally Before Delivering

My final tip is for when you give your images to your friend/clients. Before delivering the edited photos, flip them horizontally.

Why? Because people are used to seeing themselves in a mirror, which is horizontally flipped. When they see a photo that matches that familiar view, they subconsciously connect with it more.

If you don’t flip it, they might feel something “off” about the image without realizing why. It’s the subtle things that matter in portrait photography.

Let’s go ahead and jump into the next tutorial, where I’m going to cover ten tips to improve your Forest photography!