LIKE TRADITIONAL PORTRAITS, some people are more suited to environmental portraits than others. Of course, you can take an environmental portrait of anyone, but some people just perform better and look more natural in their own environments.

The key ingredient, after years of experimentation, seems to be a passion for life. People who love what they do and are comfortable with who they are, are much easier to photograph in this way and make for much better final results than people who do things to impress others. Often subjects can be older, and often the event in which they are partaking is a hobby rather than the daily grind.

For example, an office worker in office clothes is less likely to be enthusiastic about being captured on film than the same person at the weekend while they are working on something they love, such as model ship building or gardening or whatever it is that lights up their life.

That passion for what they do shows on their faces and it shows in the pictures. The key to great environmental portraits is inner peace in the subject you are photographing.

Now though it may be a tall order to demand that each of our models achieve Zen before we take out our cameras, we, as the photographer have the task of finding that one thing the subject does that makes him or her happy.

And once you do, get them talking about it, get them to ?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?ɬ??¢ÀÜ?°?É‚Äò?¢ÀÜ?°?¢ÀÜ‚Äö??¢ÀÜ?°?ɬ´?????¢ÀÜ?°?Ǭ¥??show and tell?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?ɬ??¢ÀÜ?°?É‚Äò?¢ÀÜ?°?¢ÀÜ‚Äö??¢ÀÜ?°?ɬ´?????¢ÀÜ?°?Ǭ¥??Ǭ¨?Ǭ®?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?Ǭ¢ get them involved in what they do and show them that you are as interested and enthusiastic as they are. Ask questions and let them elaborate, and once in a while put the camera down and get your own hands greasy or oily or full of dust, or whatever it takes to show them you are interested not only in them as a subject, but as a person and are willing to partake in their hobby.

Do this, and they will open up like little flowers and the intimacy that you achieve will show in your images.

Candid photographs and stolen moments

Sometimes you may not want the intimacy of a shared experience at all.

Sometimes the very best pictures are to be got by leaving your subject alone.

Sometimes you will want to go for the candid approach.

Candid photography can be tremendous fun, like hunting, but without anyone getting hurt.

It is also, perhaps the truest form of environmental portraiture. The moment the subject becomes aware of the camera, they are likely to be posed, likely to do things they wouldn?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?ɬ??¢ÀÜ?°?É‚Äò?¢ÀÜ?°?¢ÀÜ‚Äö??¢ÀÜ?°?ɬ´?????¢ÀÜ?°?Ǭ¥??Ǭ¨?Ǭ®?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?Ǭ¢t normally do, likely to change their behavior for the sake of the camera.

Getting a candid picture in a place to which the subject is more accustomed than you are, can be a bit of a challenge, though. They will be more aware of their surroundings and are more likely to notice something out of place. You may, like when shooting wildlife, give them time to grow accustomed to your presence and, as it were, forget about you. Luckily, this is quite easily done, just be quiet for a while and watch them do what they do, they will soon be utterly immersed in their passion for their hobby.

Now is the time to strike. Make sure the camera is set up well in advance and that the f-stop and shutter speed is as you want it. That way you can make the camera appear out of a shoulder bag and, in an instant, take the shot you have been waiting for.

One of my favorite photographic subjects, my father, is a tremendously interesting man. He has a number of hobbies and is passionate about all of them. But he hates being photographed and the moment he sees you pulling out a camera, his face takes on a forced smile and his hands and shoulders tighten up. Over the years I have been lucky enough to steal a number of pictures when he didn?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?ɬ??¢ÀÜ?°?É‚Äò?¢ÀÜ?°?¢ÀÜ‚Äö??¢ÀÜ?°?ɬ´?????¢ÀÜ?°?Ǭ¥??Ǭ¨?Ǭ®?¢‚Ǩ?°?É‚Äû?Ǭ¢t expect it, and these are amongst my most treasured.

Watching him lovingly interact with the animals he loves shows him as I will most like to remember him in years to come, and with any luck you will be able to capture similar shots of all your family and loved ones as well.