Candid

[iQing]

I am a fan of candid picture...

it is because my subejects appear very naturally in candid pictures...

However, it is not easy to take candid picture because one must know the proper timing and the positioning rather fast so taking candid pictures is a challenge.

[youngyew]

In my opinion, candid shots is counter-intuitively the most difficult genre of daily photography. Of course any Tom, Dick or Harry could take a candid picture, but to capture a fleeting but special moment requires luck, skill and practice.

I am never a good candid photographer. However, I do have a few opinions about the key tips in getting a good candid shot:

1. Don't make your friends (or anyone who's your subject) anxious. Let them familiarise with the presence of the camera, make them forget that there is a lens stalking them constantly.

2. One of the ways is not to let them know you are taking pictures at all. I had an experience of handling my friend's 12X optical zoom digital camera, with a electronic viewfinder. While holding my eyes on the viewfinder, standing faraway or in a corner, zooming in to a person, and snap away. I got some relatively satisfactory pictures this way because they never knew I was taking picture at all.

3. Digital cameras always have shutter lag (the time elapsed from the moment you press the shutter to the time the picture is actually taken). With this shutter lag, it's always hard to get the exact moment because this moment you press the shutter, the next moment that precious expression is gone. To work around this, apart from buying a better camera (which is obviously not a practical solution), you can preset your camera to a suitable fixed focal distance, turn off the flash, decrease the aperture size and set an appropriate shutter time. All these shortens the shutter lag and make sure that the picture you take is considerably clear in all situations.

[iQing]

My way of taking candid shots:

I alway off the flash and yes, optical zoom is useful.
sometimes I stand very near to my subjects yet they never notice my presence.
That requires some practice IMO.

always consider the positioning of the subject, I always make sure my subject is positioned at the centre of the whole picture... if possible, do not make the subject too small in the whole picture...

yeah, candid snapshot is very challenging, but it is very satisfying, esp when you capture the emotions of your subjects.

some of my candid pictures are blurly because my subjects were moving quite fast. :(

Candid is my favourite style and here are some of my candid shots :



candid 1 (http://lifefeel.fotopages.com/?entry=458383&back=http://lifefeel.fotopages.com/?page=0)

candid 2 (http://lifefeel.fotopages.com/?entry=458329&back=http://lifefeel.fotopages.com/?page=0)

try this exercise:
bring your digicam to your class. off the flash and try to capture the picture of your lecturers/teachers when they are teaching.

Well, if you get caught, you are rude.
so be careful....

this is one of the ways I sharpen up my candid skill

[markuzzz]

Yeah they are tough to take, and boy are they precious :wink:

here are two candid shots i took:

candid 1 (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/markuzzz/churchcamp05andmisc076.jpg)

candid 2 (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/markuzzz/pic139.jpg)

some other pics can be viewed at http://photobucket.com/albums/y254/markuzzz/

[taufiq]

http://static.flickr.com/40/95046226_04e8679cbd.jpg

Exposure: 1/640 at f/3.5
ISO : 100
Focal Length: 31.3mm

[Panda]

http://0201.netclime.net/1_5/S/T/D/skgi_863199_8169.jpg

Camera type: Olympus 10X optical zoom camera.

This is my most memorable candid shot that I took of my late brother. This picture was taken during CNY 2004. For more pictures, visit here:
http://sitekreator.com/bighard/hidden.html

[Thirdshifter]

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/3051/noteveryday7ix.jpg

at f1 in sepang.. hazy day most of the shot looks crappy.

1/2500 of a second at F9
300mm .. handheld!
.. it was a bright but hazy.


http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/6915/logical2gz.jpg

My nephew.. KL boy.. he just learnt that meatball comes from that stinking animal.. he is still in denial though.

1/400 of a second at F4. 50mm

[taufiq]

I'm sorry about your brother Panda....
And btw, it's a nice angle. Were you standing on top of a hill? Or did you climb a rambutan tree?

That was a nice shot Third.. The blur background looks like the camera is shaking or something but the main focus is clear and sharp.

[Thirdshifter]

That was a nice shot Third.. The blur background looks like the camera is shaking or something but the main focus is clear and sharp.

Those construction gloves in your pictures... i have those gloves, i don't know why but i do. Anyways here's another candid

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3513/hadiah0036jn.jpg

28mm F7 ISO 800.. it was dark and i was to lazy to hook up the flash. Thats why its a little grainy.

Thats my wife.. just starting to go through some of the gifts we got on our wedding.. i lined them up like a train.. she likes gifts.. like all women i guess?