INCORPORATE THE SURROUNDINGS

Enhance your portraits by including props and add context by embracing the environment

integrating props and the surrounding environment into your portraits is a great way of adding context and personality to your shots. it can help to tell a story and add a narrative to your imagery. props and accessories will add atmosphere and also help the viewer to understand the personality, emotions and role of the subject.

environmental portraits can be very powerful, whether you are just making the most of nature to add interest to your imagery or are using the environment to tell a story about your character – it will help to draw the viewer in and hold their attention.

props can also add creativity and contrast to a scene. for example, adding an object that doesn’t quite fit and seems out of place can actually add a level of conflict and intrigue into an image, which will help to hold the viewer’s attention and force them to really think about what they are looking at. in addition, props can often tell us more about the photographer themselves, and can be a way of distinguishing the photographer’s work from someone else’s.

“as i mostly deal with beauty portraits my shooting props are different jewellery, clothes and other accessories,” says gekman. “at first, i decide what kind of image i am going to create, and then i choose props for the shooting. i always come up with the theme for a photoshoot myself – i think through every detail in the image of the model and buy accessories.”

“Props will help the viewer understand the emotions and role of the subject”