Photography Tips : Taking Candid Shots
I took this shot of Vai today.
We were at a restaurant waiting for our dinner, and I sat right across this little guy.
I sat back and observed how he happily sipped his drink, wore Daddy’s tennis cap, and occasionally made silly faces to us.
And so I whipped out my camera (Canon Powershot S90), stretched my arm out, casually held and placed the camera on the table, waited (but I didn’t call out to him to look at the camera), and took 3 random (candid) shots of him.
This one is my favourite =)
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When taking photos, many naturally prefer shots of people looking straight to the camera.
The thing is, when taking photos of little ones, … it’s not that simple =) And I guess, it’s because they naturally like to move about or ‘look away’?
Personally, I often take candid shots with my pocket camera (eg. Shots of friends laughing away naturally, or of our kids running around and playing chase). In the shots, they’re not looking at the camera, but it’s perfectly okay, if you ask me.
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Anyway.
Since I believe almost ALL of us must’ve captured moments of friends, families, own little ones, etc, … here’re FOUR quick tips (on how to take candid shots) that I’d like to share with you this weekend.
Here they are :
> Bring along your camera everywhere =)
I guess the best way to take candid, spontaneous photos is to always have our camera ready when we need it? A good quality point and shoot camera would be nice to have, I think.
Personally, I almost always have my Canon Powershot S90 with me (No, I don’t go and bring along a bulky DSLR with me =) It’s relatively light-weight, small-sized, and I love its low-light function.
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> Switch OFF the flash (whenever possible)
Because, blinding flash kills the moment.
And I guess, this is one of the reasons why I love my current pocket camera. My Canon Powershot S90 allows me to take nice and clear shots in low-light situations, with no flash.
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> Take more than one shot!
THIS is possible today, thanks to digital photography that allows us to shoot multiple images (and delete the ones we don’t like later). Out of a few shots that we’ve taken, there’s got to be at least one that you quite like?
Btw, my hubby doesn’t quite believe in this though =) He is one photographer who believes in waiting for the RIGHT moment and shoots, just taking one or two shots. He believes every shot should matter, just like how he would shoot when using films many years ago.
[Anya was engrossed in her sand-play and was totally unaware of my presence. And when she turned and saw me, I caught her surprised look, hehe]
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> Don’t look at the viewfinder all the time and don’t point the camera to the person in an obvious way
Once your subject is aware that you’re going to take photos of them, they often stop what they’re doing or start to act a little … unnaturally.
So instead of holding the camera right in front of our face, holding it in front (or at the side) of our hip does make photo-taking … ‘less obvious’.
[Note; The wider the angle setting, the better chance you have in getting the subject in the frame =)]
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Anyway, I hope these simple tips come in handy for you.
Do have fun shooting around and capturing precious moments with your loved ones!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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[Oh btw, I’d like to say ‘HELLO!!’ to those who visit my blog from countries other than Singapore! Especially those from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam! WELCOME to Our Everyday Things!! =)]
