What is Candid Photography?

True to its meaning, Candid means being raw in a moment. So, what is candid photography? Candid photography is capturing moments in all their authenticity without the knowledge of the subject.

Unlike traditional photography where poses, lighting, ambiance, and makeup are all taken care of, taking candid is all about how well you blend in yet set yourself apart in a position for a lively picture.

It is quite obvious when a photographer is seizing the moment, the subject becomes aware and gets conscious of the acts. The trick to getting a perfectly imperfect candid shot is to blend in before the subject engages with you.

For more than a decade, candid photography has become a separate subject and people are excited as well as curious to use it. In the photography industry, there are professionals in candid photography who learned this skill to become specialized. It’s not every photographer’s cup of tea (learn this).

The Tricks to Capture Candid Pictures

➤ In a way, candid photography can be compared to wildlife photography as it goes by “before the subject catches you, catch the subject unless it’s a waste”.

➤ Use Burst Mode. As a candid photograph has an emotion that lasts only a second, it should be quick and random.

➤ Remember to blend in around your environment so well that subject shouldn’t catch you. It’s a matter of only a few seconds!

➤ Do not use flash.

Problems That a Photographer Faces While Capturing Candid Shots

Sometimes, the situation does not fall in your favor when you can’t find a subject to shoot that’s the time when the real test begins. Here are some tips to follow when you find yourself stuck in this circumstance.

Let’s take a look:

1. Focus on the face – Candid shots are all about emotions and the liveliness of the moment and the subject’s face is the focal point to find one. It’s the face that tells the story.

2. Search for a distinguish Composition – Take one step at a time if you are finding it difficult to get that one shot. Work on creating a striking composition and wait for the subject to join the frame. Mold the subject according to your composition.

3. Capture interactions – For instance, find a group of friends conversing where there are a lot of emotions going on. A laughing face, the shy one, one who is waiting for the conversation to stop, the storyteller, and so on. Voila, your Candid pictures are ready!

Here are the Top five compositions:

➤ Leading lines

➤ Rules of third

➤ Negative space

➤ Horizon line

➤ Symmetry and patterns

4. Shots of desolation – There’s always a person isolated from others indulged in their thoughts. Capture the solitariness at its best.

5. Setting + Subject – Here’s come the creative backdrop, art, or any advertisement that can help you get a great candid photograph. What you have to wait for is the subject to enter and his/her mood. Just wait for the right person to get into your frame.

6. Markets, city life, a busy street, stations, and parties are some places where you can find the subject with different emotions, some in doubt while others distressed. Capture them all!

These are a few things to keep in mind for that perfect candid shot. Be invested in the moments of other people’s lives from a distance, observe them. After all, they all are actors in your story or perspective.

Tools for Candid Photography

Now, candid photography is different from the traditional one that we generally see. This is a whole different subject of photography so it’s obvious that the tools or gears would be different.

Prime lens

One thing to keep in mind while doing candid photography is to strictly use prime lenses. A prime lens has a fixed focal length that cannot be zoomed in or out. The prime lens would give you a good storytelling portrait with creamy bokeh and of course a fast aperture. Having a fast aperture means you get good lighting that separates the foreground from the background eventually a good picture.

Extra Tip: The basic focal length for lenses you can use is 85mm and 50mm with f/1.2 available in Canon

Observation Skills

Other than having the right tools, you must improve your Observation skills every day. Learn all about candid photography however, it is your creativity and other skills that help you search for a candid shot or its setting and composition. Being able to find a candid moment in the crowd is the most difficult part and if you don’t practice, you won’t be able to continue it for a long time.

Keep Your Camera Ready

Because you never know when’s the right moment will come. Along with it never wait for the moment to come and then do the setting of your camera. Keep it ready too.

For a high-definition shot, you can apply these few basic rules:

➤ ISO should be minimized meaning a lower ISO value means less sensitivity to light, while a higher ISO means more sensitivity.

➤ To capture moments in action, use a shutter of 1/250 seconds or faster to capture an emotion in a bustling city.

➤ If the background is not supporting your candid photography, then comes the aperture to blur the background.

➤ In place of manual mode, try using aperture priority mode or shutter priority mode. In low-light situations, use aperture priority mode shutter priority mode in action situations.

➤ Choose single-shot autofocus only if there is almost nil action. But turn on the continuous autofocus in case there are many moving subjects.

Position yourself correctly

What is the use of candid photography if subjects become aware of the photographer taking pictures? Nothing, right!

That’s why position yourself with the right amount of lighting, and angle and yet away from the subjects’ eye.

Don’t confuse Candid Photography with Fake Candid Photography

There is still so much confusion or should I say misconception in the world of Instagram where people especially pose for fake candid also known as Plandid. But that’s not candid photography. Check out our Website to know more about Fake Candid Photography in detail.