Tips For Shooting The Best Candid Photographs

Photography is the best way to capture all the best moments, wonderful places, beautiful landscapes or objects of interest around us. When an individual thinks or plans to build his career in this field a lot of practice and skill is what is required. We know that there are so many famous genres of professional photography like fashion, product, lifestyle, wildlife, wedding and make up etc. With time we have also seen that there is another particular style of photographs called candid photographs which has really been adored by most of the people in the contemporary times.

To become a great professional candid photographer you will have to work a bit hard and learn some of the tips and tricks that can help you realize this dream of yours. The very first thing you should know is what candid photographs really is!! Well, it is the kind of photography in which things like posing and presenting your subjects before the camera are left absolutely unplanned. It can be called secret photography in which the subject has no knowledge of being captured by the photographer.

Here are some invaluable tips and tricks which will help you to refine your photography skills and also prove conducive for your transformation into a professional candid photographer. So let’s read on.

1. Don’t Leave Your Camera Home

When it’s about candid photographs, it is all about capturing the unexpected moments in your camera. Best candid photography happens when you least expect it. What we mean by that is always have your camera on you. Carrying your camera will lend you all the opportunities to try your hand on some of the major events which might come out as the best in candid photographs.

Moreover when we talk about the cameras, mirror less cameras are the perfect for clicking candids. They are a lot quieter than the DSLRs and come in smaller packages. That’s a reason they are also easy to carry along. You can operate them with the same flexibility and all manual settings along with trying all the variety of lenses on them.

2. Street Photography With Smartphone

Well, for shooting every day, nothing can beat a built-in good camera on a smart phone. It’s a great way to hone and enhance your candid photography skills whenever you get a chance. There are phones which take great pictures these days. They may help you learn some of the coolest tricks for capturing candid pictures in various circumstances.

That will definitely give you something to learn when you get out for that shoot with your favorite camera. It might help you learn about the angles you need to click these pictures at and a lot of other important things. So whenever you get a chance and if you have that latest smart phone with you don’t miss bringing it to the best of its use.

3. Stay Invisible

If there is a secret for grabbing the best candids it’s to remain unobtrusive and low profile as much as possible. People quickly change their way and how they act just as they see a camera pointed at them. Don’t let that change defeat the purpose of a candid shot and stay invisible during that shot. You must have heard that candid pictures are “shot from the hip”. That means you do not hold the camera right across your face and it’s less visible to the people that you are capturing.

You can use a lot of tips to avoid your subjects taking notice of you. For instance, always refrain from using flash while clicking candids. Another great trick is to hold the camera after you have taken the shot. It will make people assume that you’ve been waiting for them to get out of the frame before taking the picture. They will not know you have already done the job!

4. Clicking Candids At The Events

At events guests are aware that they are being captured so you won’t require the exact level of deception in clicking candids. On the other hand most of the events take place indoors in poor lighting conditions. So flash will become some sort of a necessity. Make use of the diffusers and bounce flash so it doesn’t aim right at the people.

There are chances that a lot of flashes may be there and people may try ignoring them. You can also make use of the zoom lenses and fill your frame with people across the room. This is a great trick to click candids indoors. The other candid pictures indoors may be clicked at certain places like stairways, lobbies and doorways etc.

5. While Working With People You Know

When you are working with people you know or your friends and family they know what you are going to do. So it’s always better to click their pictures while they are engaged in conversations, outdoor activities, watching movies etc. It will lend you a great opportunity to click candid shots of them. You will have lots of chances when you choose to click candid pictures of people you know well.

The only thing is that you have to just not let them know that you are capturing them in your camera. It’s a great joy when your subjects are your near and dear ones. Clicking their candid shots will even leave them enthralled and astonished if you click all the good shots. Share the pictures later with them and see the joy in their eyes and the admiration for you.

6. Always Choose the Lens Wisely

Most of the candid shots are taken quickly. The choice of your lens has a lot to do at the location of the shoot and also with the style of your photography. Suppose you are in the middle of the street or right next to your subject or in the room, trying to take the best shot. The thing is that your lens choice should be well decided in advance and you need to be ready for the shot.

You need to consider between choosing the wide and telephoto lens. You will have to choose this accordingly in relation to your subject. Whether your subject is beautiful scenery, landscape or any other element of the environment! Or you are going tight and are focused on clicking people! The lenses should always be meticulously chosen.

7. Use That Burst Mode

Burst mode is your best friend when clicking candids as clicking them is an unpredictable action in its nature. To get the best candid photographs you might have to take a hundred shots. And if you keep waiting for the perfect moment to happen, you are certainly going to miss that one good one.

You will see that most photographers use the burst mode while capturing action but this can be best brought to use while clicking pictures of people laughing and smiling. So clicking candids with the burst mode on certainly gives you the best results and often the ones you are expecting.

8. Let There Be More Candid Look In The Portraits

So what is that you love the most about the candids? Honestly, they are often a lot more real and genuine. They bring out a clearer representation of the subject than a posed portrait of him. You can keep snapping pictures in between the poses. A portrait will have you your subject posing for the photographs. Just try something smart and tricky.

For example if your shoot is a thematic one and the subject is posing with the props, try capturing him while he’s not posing and is engaged in some other activity like adjusting himself or setting himself up for the photo. This will let you click more candid portraits and trust us they all will be great.

9. Respect The Privacy Of Your Subject

When you are clicking the candid picture always remember you are clicking the private moments of people’s lives. The thing is that you have to be very careful about where you are taking such candid pictures. What we mean to say is that if you are taking pictures without the permission of a person’s permission on his property you might get sued by him.

The best option is to familiarize you with the local laws about photographing people without their permission. Consent to the photographs and legal releases are very important when clicking candid photographs. It’s wise to be aware of the rules and regulations before attending an event and clicking the candids there.

Conclusion

We hope that this little piece of information hopefully answers all your queries and concerns about what candid photography is all about. Whenever you are trying to tell a story through a photograph there isn’t any better way than the candid picture. Keep your camera always ready and follow these simple yet efficient steps and surely you will get better at your craft.

Stories by Radhika is an elite photographer and has been renowned for finest candid photography in Chandigarh. Having extensive experience and a wide client base itself is a great benchmark we have established for ourselves. You can see the quality and standard of our pictures which itself speaks volumes about the work we do.

Delivering exceptional customer satisfaction is what we relentlessly strive for and our team of experienced photographers is also the best when it’s about any event photography in tricity. You can get in touch with us directly or through any other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook or Linkedin. We have solutions for all your concerns related to any genre of professional photography.