Anatomy of an Environmental Portrait

And that's why I now am able to take you step-by-step through the process we followed to make one of our favorite portraits in Maine.

I long had wanted to picture our friends Mick and Gloria in their marvelous country kitchen, featuring such great "visuals" as a painted linoleum floor and a pressed tin ceiling in a room dominated by a huge wood-burning stove. Gloria was (and is) a great cook and baker, so I wanted the portrait to also feature the pies, breads and cakes that she sold from her house, along with her mouth-watering homemade blueberry and raspberry preserves.

I thought the picture cried out to be square, hence medium format. Since I needed to show a lot of environment, I opted for my Hasselblad Superwide CM. Though Mick was no slouch in the personality department, Gloria was by far the dominant presence and I thought I would picture this by posing her in the foreground by her grand stove, with Mick in the far background. But, importantly, Mick was to be lit by the light from an open doorway, so as not to disappear in the portrait.

In most cases on location, I tend to make an available light photo (#1) to get a baseline image of what the ambient light is. When I want to make use of, or "ride," this ambient light while also using flash, I will shoot at a fairly slow shutter speed from a tripod to minimize blurring or camera shake.

In this case, the ambient light was fairly pleasant, but it did nothing to show off the great tin ceiling. So I set up two bare-bulb strobes on either side of the Superwide to mimic the broad look of window light while also creating enough raking light to show off the ceiling. (#2)

With that done, I was ready to place my subjects. As it happened, Gloria was working outdoors during the setup so I put Mick in the foreground and Judy in what would ultimately be Mick's place by the door. Here the idea was to set the artificial lighting so that it mimicked the natural light from the doorway--a question of simply tinkering with the strobes' output and the Hasselblad's shutter speed. I also saw that the earlier Polaroids didn't sufficiently show off the overloaded table on the left, so I moved it further in to the shot. (#3)

When Gloria arrived, I was able to position her the way I wanted for the final shot, and also reposition the rocking chair on the right. (#4) But there was a problem. Her stark white pedal-pushers not only drew one's attention inordinately, they also were way out of synch with the whole feel of the country kitchen.

"Can you put on what you normally would wear when you're baking?" I asked.

Gloria quickly changed into denim--the perfect outfit for the picture--and I then snapped what every location shooter hopes for: the perfect final proof. (#5)

And so, after five Polaroids, some subtle strobe-lighting, and some furniture moving, I removed the Polaroid back from the Superwide and attached the film magazine.

I was confident I would get a keeper...and I did (#6).

[To order a signed hardcover copy of Down East Maine/A World Apart, Frank Van Riper's Pulitzer-nominated, award-winning portrait of life in America's last coastal frontier, send $35 to Frank Van Riper, 3502 Quesada St. NW, Washington DC, 20015. (Price includes taxes, postage and handling.) If book is to be a gift, please include any inscription or dedication information.]