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Photography Tips and Tricks

Top 6 Tips for Awesome Candid Photography

Featured image: Image courtesy: PicsDream, Prashant Godbole

Awesome candid photography requires a certain amount of spontaneity and unpreparedness on the part of subject. It’s all about being real and natural. Also, the more natural it is, the more difficult it is to shoot. It can take years to really master the candid style as it takes a lot of resilience, quick composition and a sense of what works to get make the ordinary moments an absolute stunner.

Following are a few tips that can help in getting that awesome candid photograph.

1. Being ready

As cliché as it may sound, with candid style one doesn’t plan for a moment to unfold; you capture as and when it plays in front of you. Hence, the first and foremost prerequisite for the photographers is to make the camera their second skin. Keeping it at an arm’s reach ensures the photographer is prepared to get the adjustments done with as much time as the subject gives for a particular shot. Candid photography needs inspiration and inspiration may not always walk around on streets when one plans to get some shots and sets out for the same. It’s rare to get an artistic opportunity and its best to grab it as it unfolds.

 

  1. Capture action

Action or people doing certain things add an aura to the candid photographs and provides the essence of the moment in relation to its surroundings. That is what defines a candid moment and people doing things make the best photographs. The subject is natural, focussed away from the photographer and engrossed in doing something which brings out the right emotions. Trades people in a busy market, a busy street, wedding and sports person are great opportunities for candid photography.

 

  1. Using the burst mode

The natural scenes are highly unpredictable and burst mode can often come of help to photographers to get the best shot. A series of shots of a particular scene can dramatically increase the likelihood of getting that perfect, spontaneous shot.

 

  1. Surprise your subject

Compose the photo quickly as and when the subject is giving a good candid pose. If the moment is suitable and doesn’t, in effect, disturb the candidness of the moment the photographer can surprise the subject by either calling them or drawing attention to themselves; it will not only retain the spontaneity but also get them to pose in a natural way, while their eyes are also looking at the camera. However, the photographer should be ready to click as there will only be a fraction of a second before the subject realizes that are being photographed, entirely robbing the moment of its spontaneity.

 

  1. Keep distance

Distance is a very essential part of taking an awesome candid photo. The nearer one is to the subject, the more the photographer risks getting noticed and the subject changing the position or composing itself into an unnatural pose. A telephoto lens can be of utmost help to a candid photographer to get unnoticed. The focus will be on the subject and its story rather than the whole scene around in the background.

 

  1. Limit the use of flash

Flash will almost always give away your position and alert the subject. Instead, widening the aperture and increasing ISO can come in handy. An ISO of 400, for example, with a wide aperture can give a shallow depth of field, blur the background and bring the focus of the viewer on the subject and its story. It is also helps in low light scenarios. However, in dire circumstances when flash cannot be avoided, the photographer may just have one opportunity to get the picture right; hence, the picture needs to be composed carefully.

 

Candid photography is a great way to add life to the photographs without obsessively bothering about the technical aspects of photography. Different angles, locations and a variety of scenes can be captured if the photographer can recognize the beauty of its spontaneity. The awesomeness of the candid photograph is determined not just by the gears but, to a large extent, by the photographers purview of artistic expression.

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