Simply put, an environmental portrait is an image that depicts a person in an environment. But there’s an additional, exciting element: by making intentional choices about the specific environment, photographers can create tension between location and sitter. The result is an image of a person in a place—home, landscape, workplace, or public space—that has some connection to who they are or what they do.
Conversely, a photographer might choose to capture their subject in a space seemingly at odds with our perception of them. The space might set a mood or create an emotional parallel, and rather than the sitter being the sole subject of the photograph, elements of the surrounding area also become part of the subject.
Whether by reinforcement or contrast, the setting can help the viewer understand more about the sitter. Of course, the image is further defined by specific technical and aesthetic decisions, including focus, depth of field, distance, contrast, and color.
David Hilliard has spent years creating large-scale, multi-panel color photographs, often based on his life or the lives of those around him. In this workshop, he shares a wealth of knowledge and inspiration about how to create environmental portraits that illuminate our subjects, inside and out, while revealing something unexpected.
Working knowledge of digital workflow and manual mode on your digital SLR or mirrorless camera. Participants must be able to download and select images using image editing software for class sessions.
Class will meet 3:30 – 5:30 pm (Mountain Time) on Mondays and Thursdays starting October 2 and ending October 19 (six online group sessions). Enrollment is limited to 12 participants.
Zoom Video Conferencing software (available for no charge from Zoom.com) will be used to facilitate the class sessions. Further details will be emailed to registrants.
Santa Fe Workshops always aims to produce a high-quality experience for our online attendees. That said, variables including regional and local internet provider speeds, traffic on Zoom's servers, and your own computing hardware can contribute to a less than ideal streaming event. While we do our best to minimize the impact of these variables, they are outside the control of Santa Fe Workshops.
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
For the convenience of participants, recordings of each class session are posted privately for one month after the end of each session. Santa Fe Workshops takes the recordings down after one month to protect the intellectual property of our instructors.
David Hilliard received his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and MFA from Yale University School of Art, where he went on to direct the undergraduate photo department. He currently teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Lesley University College of Art and Design, and at workshops nationwide. His work has been exhibited internationally and can be found at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and in multiple monographs and anthologies. David’s accolades include a Fulbright Grant and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Website: davidhilliard.com
Instagram: @davidthelens
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