For many years, most portraits were created in a studio of some sort. This custom pre-dates photography by a handful of centuries, because, unless you were royalty and were able to do exactly as you pleased, it was more common to venture to the artist's studio, where the lighting, background, props, and other elements could be easily controlled. That soft and flattering "north light" used to illuminate portraits could be best guaranteed by painting in a space designed for that purpose.
Studio portrait sittings remained the norm after the invention of photography, because photos often took minutes to create. Traveling photographers sometimes carried along tents that could be used as portable darkrooms or studios. Even after more portable cameras and faster films and lenses freed photographers to capture documentary images and insightful candid pictures anywhere, portraits were still most often confined to studio settings.
The social unrest and anti-establishment feelings of the late '60s and early '70s placed a new premium on natural, less formal photography that emphasized realism. Suddenly, "candid" wedding photography was sought-after. Professional photographers became eager to set up lights in your living room to create family portraits in your own habitat. Before long, what was labeled as "environmental" portraiture became common, posed photographs with scenic backgrounds, such as the one shown in Figure 6.1. Enterprising pros either set up "natural" settings in their own studio backyards or compiled a list of parks, seashores, and other sites that could be used for these informal portraits.
Figure 6.1. Portraits needn't be confined to the studio.
The most interesting part of the whole phenomenon was that this new kind of portraiture didn't change much, except the setting for the photograph. Consumers didn't want quick-and-dirty snapshots. They expected their professional photographers to provide them with well-posed portraits, using flattering lighting, attractive backgrounds, and the other qualities they came to expect from formal studio portraiture. What consumers wanted was a studio portrait taken in a less formal setting, with casual dress and less rigid posing. Environmental and home portraits still had to incorporate the professional's skills, even if they needn't be taken in a studio.
While the portraiture industry hasn't come full circle, an updated version of time-honored portrait photographic techniques has returned to favor, and studio work commands the respect it traditionally has had. Portraits are still taken outdoors, but many are captured indoors in the studio. There may be more props, more latitude in dress, and variety in poses now, as anyone who's seen the kind of pictures high school seniors covet for their yearbooks knows. So, as a digital photographer, you'll probably find yourself taking people pictures in both kinds of settings. It's helpful to be comfortable with both.
Studio portraits are usually more formal. With a professional-looking backdrop or a "serious" background such as those omnipresent shelves of professional journals you see in so many executive portraits, a studio portrait can have a formal or official appearance. Even the crazy Mylar backgrounds and wacky props they're using for high school portraits these days retain a sense of "this is a professional portrait" in the finished product.
Location portraits, on the other hand, end up having a casual air no matter how hard you try to formalize them. The most carefully staged photo of the Speaker of the House posed on the steps of the U.S. Capitol will still look less formal than a relaxed portrait of the same legislator seated in a studio with only the American flag in the background.
My feeling is that you should master both studio and location portraiture. You'll want a studio-style picture for a newspaper head shot or for mounting over the mantel, but will probably prefer an environmental picture to hang above the couch in the family room or use for your holiday greeting cards. It's great to have an option.
It's probably best to learn studio work first, because all the lighting and posing techniques you learn for your home studio can be applied elsewhere, as you can see in Figure 6.2. You may be using reflectors rather than flash units for your portraits out in the park, but the principles of putting light to work for you are the same. The following section will get you started working in your own home studio.
Figure 6.2. The same flattering lighting techniques learned in the studio can be applied outdoors, too.
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