Moments… they appear for an instant and then they are gone. It is those moments that make the most memorable pictures, unposed, real and not self-conscious. Unlike carefully set up shots, candid photography can capture rare instances of life being lived naturally. Little miracles and special moments you can share with others.
Photography, like speech, is a form of communication. We remember ideas and communications that square with our impressions, emotions and understanding of the world and life. It’s all about speaking honestly and candid photography is like speaking honestly through images. It is simple, immediate picture taking and all you need is a camera and the ability to see and capture those spontaneous moments. Think about all those powerful photographs by great American photographers from Life magazine from the 20th century. There’s an authenticity and an immediacy in those photographs that leaves a lasting impression.
Now it can be demanding, but overall candid photograph is fun and relatively easy and you never know when you are going to capture those magical moments. So there a few things you need to do to capture good candid photographs:
1) Turn off the flash. Always bring your camera with you and be prepared to take the picture without the flash. And don’t worry about composing the shot because you can always crop that later. The trick is you just want to be fast on the draw so you don’t miss any of those spontaneous moments.
2) Be patient and observe. Most newcomers to photography feel an incredible amount of self consciousness about the act of taking a photograph of people. You feel like everyone is watching you and you are some intrusive force in their lives. Relax. People just aren’t as focused on you as you think they are, especially when they are doing something that makes for excellent candid photographs.
3) Get in the habit of taking your camera with you. It’s the only way to catch those magical moments that spontaneously occur everyday. Now this also means you will need to make sure your batteries are charged or fresh, or better yet, pick up a spare battery. That way you will always have a back up ready to go. Memory cards with significant amounts of space are important too.
4) Stay relatively sill and when you do move, do it slowly. You don’t have to do it so slow you look like you are doing tai chi while holding a camera but eliminate jerky movements. Find a place that will allow you to make the best possible photograph of the scene or pope that interest you. Stay there. The less you move, the less noticeable you are to those around you. If you see something you think would make a great candid photograph move gradually to bring your camera to your eye to make the image. Quick movements will catch your subject’s attention and draw their eyes to the camera and away from what they are doing.
5) Anticipate. use your ears, when two people are interacting, laughing or listening intently to someone else, there’s probably a pretty good photograph to be made showing expressions and interaction. This is the heart of great candid photography. Don’t worry if you missed the first set of reactions, there will usually be more if you give it a few moments.
6) Learn your camera. The models of cameras out there these days are so powerful and easy to learn but they still require some effort to take advantage of their full potential. This is another reason carrying your camera with you most everywhere is a big plus. Eventually you learn the finer features of the thing but this can only happen through the doing, trial and error, not the reading.
7) Use a zoom lens. We all have a strong sense of personal space. When someone is close to us we are much more likely to be aware of them and what they are doing. It makes us feel a little defensive. The farther away they are, the more we relax and be ourselves. As candid photographers, positioning ourselves some distance away from our subjects is an easy way to capture genuine, real moments. This is why a zoom lens is so important. With this kind of lens, we can stand back, unnoticed and record moments without making our subjects self conscious.
Smile and have fun. People like it when others genuinely express the good vibes of being in their company. Be enthusiastic and take an interest in others. If they seem very focused on your camera take some time to talk with them and just hang out. This helps others bring their guard down and let the real moments flow!
Stealth is important. Follow these tips and you will be hearing the ultimate compliment of a candid photographer: “I didn’t even know you were there taking pictures!”
About the Author:
Chris Cummins is a Kansas City photographer and owner of Glow Imagery. His passion is creating images that reveal the personalities, expressions and character of his subjects in beautiful images that become family heirlooms for his clients.
