You can do photos outdoors, it is a little more challenging as you have weather to deal with and it is a little less safe. I do local celebrity photos with the animals outdoors. No reason you can't do them in a pretty area though.

I do about half my work in the studio and half environmental. Both have their pros and cons. I like both equally and what I can do artistically with them about equally. I think I lean a bit toward the outdoor side as I love natural light. Though, people all seem to go bannanas over these colored paper shots.

The ability to do stuff with studio lights will set you apart from the masses of people with a digital camera. Which, only matters if you want your income to come from photography