I don’t mean you have to go hug trees or protest landfills (though I support you wholeheartedly if that IS your thing). By “environment” I mean the immediate space around your body that shows up in a headshot or portrait. Studio shots with solid backgrounds are great — clean, spare, adaptable for multiple purposes. But sometimes, depending on your occupation, a little atmosphere can add oomph and authenticity. A realtor with the skyline as a backdrop, a writer at her desk, a physicist in the lab. Or, as in this shot, a chef in his restaurant.
Brett Deutsch is co-owner and chief photographer of Headshots NYC, Gotham Family Photos and Deutsch Photography. Formally trained at the New York Institute of Photography, the School of Visual Arts and Pomona College, plus nearly 20 years of photography in New York City and on all 7 continents. His work can be found on The New York Times. Time Out London. Dallas Morning News. Backstage, and on countless websites, newsletters, annual reports and other publications.
