I was asked to write a blog in a networking website that told the story on how I got into business networking. I was then asked by the PR company handling the article to submit a photo. While I would have given a headshot photo of myself and that of Allan's, we decided to do an environmental portrait of ourselves to show people where we work and the tools we work with. 

We call the portrait above an environmental portrait. The elements within the portrait help in creating context by which the reader understands what the people on the photo are all about. With enough imagination, one need not always fall into an obvious choice for an element within work environment, e.g., a photography business needs to show a person holding a camera.

In our own environmental portrait, we want to communicate our personality and approach as a business (our clients would know that it is a team effort) while at the same time showing the critical tools of trade we use. We are also showing the atmosphere that our clients will encounter when they engage our services. 

Creating context for an environmental portrait still boils down to understanding the identity of the client and brand personality of the business. When an environmental portrait is done with honesty and creativity, it makes the photo resonate with the client's target audience and mirrors the experience potential customers are bound to have with the company.