Candid photography refers to the practice of taking pictures of people who are unaware that you are doing so. Being able to capture someone in the act is one of photography’s greatest strengths. It gives your pictures more life.
Regardless of whether the subject is aware you are taking a picture of them, you must take care to avoid disturbing them when you press the shutter. You can capture and hold onto the genuine feelings that were present at the time in this way. Additionally, how you view a scene and make use of it will determine how well your candid photography turns out. To be a professional photographer, you must have the ability to select the right moment, which only comes with experience.
Continue reading for a guide to candid photography basics, including uses and advice.
Table of Contents
What Is A Candid Photo?
The first time you hear someone talk about “candid” photos, you might be left wondering what that actually means. People of all skill levels can come together and concur on one thing, whether it was from a friend, relative, or another photographer. That candid photography is fantastic! A candid photograph is what, exactly?
Without any staged posing, a candid photograph captures the subject’s natural expression and movement. This kind of photography is excellent for capturing real-life moments when people are just being themselves. When taking candid photos, the subject is frequently unaware that you are recording them, which encourages them to behave more naturally for the camera.
Is Candid Photography Illegal?
Unposed moments of unidentified people may be captured while you are photographing candid moments of people. Despite how creepy it may sound, as long as you use the image for artistic purposes, you won’t be in trouble with the law. These images cannot, however, be used for commercial purposes in many nations.
The need for your subject’s consent to be photographed in some other nations creates a new obstacle for you to photograph them candidly. However, you can use posed candid photography to get around this problem.
Uses Of Candid Photography
Street Photography
The story of people’s daily lives is depicted in street photography. As a result, it is full of unguarded moments from individuals who are involved in street activities. Street photography is very unguarded as a result. However, it significantly differs from candid photography.
Wildlife Photography
As you must remain undetected to capture your subject in their natural setting, wildlife photography is quite similar to candid photography. Choosing a burst shot is also necessary if you want your work to be at its best.
Wedding Photography
A wedding is the ideal setting for candid photography because it is rife with emotions and happenings. In order to give your viewer a complete picture of the wedding event, you must be instinctive in your photography of the moments of laughter, tears, and enjoyment.
Candid Portraiture
A candid portrait is one that is created using a documentary style of portrait photography. By photographing in this way, you can capture the true interactions and feelings of your subject covertly.
How Candid Photos Be Taken?
You should avoid having the traditional “plan, pose, and shoot” mentality when taking candid photos. These procedures may work for other types of photography, but candid photography does not benefit from them. You should always be prepared because great candid shots can be taken at any time.
Here are 10 quick ideas that will help you take better candid pictures of anyone.
Keep Your Camera Setup Small
Keep your telephoto lens and battery grip in the bag when taking candid pictures. It will be much simpler to take pictures without your subject noticing if you keep your camera as discreet as possible.
To prevent your camera from appearing too flashy, if at all possible, use a compact zoom or a prime lens. You must maintain a low profile in order to take effective candid pictures. Your camera set-up is the first step in achieving this low-profile look.
Shoot In Burst Mode
Despite the fact that you can generally predict when a memorable moment is about to happen, burst mode guarantees that the photo is perfect. You’ll have a few more options to choose from rather than having to hope that you press capture at the right time.
Burst mode is excellent for capturing people’s responses to objects. Burst mode will record everything, including people laughing or shouting in excitement, cuddling up together, or simply having fun.
The number of photos you can take per second will depend on the camera you use. For entry-level cameras, this is often 3-5 photos per second while pro-level cameras can take upwards of 10. Use burst mode to your advantage when taking candid photos, no matter how capable your camera is!
Talk With Your Subjects As If The Camera Isn’t There
Not all subjects for candid photography must be unaware that you are there. In fact, you are allowed to take candid photos of clients who are paying you to shoot with them. The only distinction is that you record them acting naturally rather than constantly posing them for the camera. Keep the conversation going to get your subjects to stop focusing on you and the camera.
Some of the best candid photographers will maintain a dialogue with their subjects while taking pictures as the opportunity arises. Perhaps they’re sharing a story or reflecting on a thought-provoking query you posed.
It’s much simpler for people to unwind and forget about your lens when they are conversing with you. Your candid photography will really shine at this time.
Use Autofocus
Use autofocus rather than wasting time adjusting focus by hand. In this way, you always get a sharp image in a lot less time. You can forget about the rest when using autofocus and concentrate solely on the scene you’re photographing. This is a crucial camera setting to employ if you want to improve your candid photography skills.
Use A Semi-automatic Camera Mode
Even though the manual mode is fantastic, candid photography may not be best captured in this mode. Instead, try setting your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv or S) or Aperture Priority (Av or A) mode to ensure perfect exposure in every picture.
The shutter speed (shutter priority) or the aperture (aperture priority) are controlled by you when using a semi-automatic camera mode. The camera takes care of all of your additional camera settings. With less time wasted fiddling with settings, you can concentrate on getting the shot you want.
Semi-automatic camera modes are very helpful because candid photography necessitates that you always be prepared. You can spend more time shooting and less time fiddling with settings when switching from indoors to outdoors or from the sun to shade.
Don’t Stay In One Spot
You must remain mobile if you want to capture candid moments. Search for fresh compositions and perspectives constantly. If you linger in one place for too long, people will start to notice that you’re taking photos and will unconsciously pose in your direction. It is much simpler to appear stealthy while shooting if you move around constantly.
This does not imply, however, that you must move around while shooting. It’s more of a reminder to avoid becoming too accustomed to one position. Moving around will allow you to discover more possibilities and capture a wider range of candid shots.
Don’t Use A Flash
Face it, even when you’re expecting a flash, it can be unsettling. Any attempt at discretion will be destroyed if you use a flash when taking candid pictures. By the time the flash went off, your subjects would be aware of every photo you took. It’s difficult for anyone to ignore your presence when something is so obvious.
Rather, avoid using the flash in candid photos and keep it hidden. In this way, you can sneakily take pictures without upsetting your subjects.
Anticipate The Action
Truth be told, if you’re not paying attention, it will be difficult to capture candid moments. Being mindful of your surroundings and your subjects’ actions is essential for photographers. By doing this, you’ll be better able to predict what might happen before it actually does. As a result, you can better position yourself for the ideal shot, which is very helpful.
Preparation is essential whether you’re shooting a street photo shoot, an event, or an engagement session. You’ll have an easier time finding the right composition if you keep an eye out for potential shooting locations.
Shoot From The Hip When Possible
Nothing screams “I’m about to take a picture” than when you raise your camera to your eye. Instead, take pictures while swiveling your hips while using a wide-angle lens. You can use this to guide you if necessary if you have a flip-out LCD screen to use.
If you’re using a wide-angle lens, there’s a good chance you’ll automatically capture the image you’re after. You’ll be surprised by how well these spontaneous photographs turn out if your lens is pointed in the right direction.
Even though it’s not always the best approach, shooting candidly is ideal for keeping your subject unaware of the camera’s presence.
Always Keep Your Camera Out
Make sure your camera is always ready for action if you want to capture amazing candid moments. You never know when the next candid opportunity will present itself, so don’t waste time storing it in your bag.
To ensure you always have easy access, wear your camera around your neck. Nothing is more disappointing than missing a fantastic photo opportunity while fumbling for your camera in your bag!
Tips For Candid Photography
Start With The Right Gear
Any camera will work well for candid photography; all you need to do is keep it on you at all times. The lens is actually the most important piece of equipment for candid photography. You can stand back from the action and let the scene develop naturally when you use long lenses, such as a zoom lens with a focal length of 70–200mm.
Your Observational Skills Are Of The Utmost Importance
The capacity to recognize photogenic moments is perhaps even more crucial than owning a long lens.
To find that one split second when a person (or group of people) is enjoying a candid moment, you must have an acute eye that can scan large crowds or vast landscapes.
You must develop both the ability to spot the ideal circumstances as well as the eye-sight to spot these moments among the chaos. That is, you need to survey the scene and ask yourself the following:
- How are the subject and the light interacting?
- What is the ideal stance from which to take a candid photo?
- What is happening in the foreground of the scene?
- Do the foreground features have any interesting components that could enhance the picture?
Just a few things to think about when composing your candid photos are the ones raised above.
It goes without saying that good lighting will result in better photos, so you must think strategically about how the light affects the subject. On the one hand, a scene with backlighting can result in some stunningly dramatic candid portraits with silhouettes. The emotions on a person’s face, however, can become much more apparent when front lighting is used.
Try not to take any photos from eye level when it comes to the angle of view. Both high- and low-angle candid photos have merit because they enhance the image’s candid quality.
Keep Your Camera Close
The whole point of candid photography is to capture the moment, which can be difficult to do when your camera is tucked away in your camera bag.
Instead, keep your camera close by so you can quickly grab it when the opportunity arises.
Just make sure that getting the shot won’t be hampered by not having your camera ready to fire, whether that means carrying it with a wrist strap, shoulder strap, sling strap, or camera harness.
Suggested Camera Settings
There are no strict guidelines for the best camera settings because each candid photography scenario is unique.
There are a few general rules you can follow to get the highest-quality shots, though:
- In order to reduce digital noise in the photograph, reduce the ISO as much as you can.
- Use a faster shutter speed if you want to freeze motion. A shutter speed of 1/250 second or less might be required, for instance, to capture children playing.
- Open the aperture to make the background blurry. As was previously mentioned, there will be instances where the background will be unsightly or distracting, so reducing the depth of field by using a large aperture (i.e., f/1.8) will be advantageous.
- Instead of using manual mode, use aperture priority mode or shutter priority mode. Changing all three exposure settings in manual mode takes too long. In low-light conditions, use the aperture priority mode; for action, use the shutter priority mode.
- Unless there is a lot of action, always use single-shot autofocus on your camera. The camera will then be able to continuously track moving objects if you switch to continuous autofocus.
Do Not Use Flash
A harsh, bright flash that is pointed directly at the subject will instantly ruin the mood of a candid photograph.
Furthermore, that sort of lighting appears utterly unnatural, which is why I suggested above to pay attention to how the light is interacting with the subject.
If there isn’t much light, try increasing the ISO, slowing the shutter speed to prolong the time that light is on the sensor, or opening the aperture to let more light in. You can also try all three of these options!). Learn how the exposure triangle functions so you can adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to get a properly exposed image.
Put Yourself In A Position To Get A Great Shot
I mentioned earlier how important it is to develop a keen eye for spotting candid moments. While this is essential, there is another method you can try to capture candid images: position yourself carefully.
In other words, position yourself so that candid moments find you rather than stumbling around looking for them.
These are just a few examples of how to use this tactic: standing at the top of the stairs at Grand Central Station, setting up shop outside the wedding venue, or walking through a bustling street market.
Street photographers will tell you that it’s much simpler to find a location with lots of activity and stay there with your camera than it is to wander around the entire city hoping to stumble upon a great candid moment.
Take Lots Of Photos
One of the best candid photography tricks you can use is to take a lot of pictures in order to capture truly genuine moments.
Set your camera to burst mode, compose your shot, and start shooting!
Even when using burst mode, some photographers will advise you to shoot candidly. I’ve discovered that I simply lack the spatial awareness necessary to compose a good shot while holding a camera at my hip, but if you can do it and do it well, go for it!
