Five Pro Tips For Better Candid Photos

shoot while walking
Shooting subjects while walking is a great way to catch candid moments - by flickr user loura

If you want to know who to ask about taking good candid photos, find yourself a photojournalist (PJ). When I first really noticed the difference in how a “PJ” shoots and a portrait photographer was spending time in one or two area photography studios. It was obvious we came from different worlds. From the selection of lenses, to camera settings, to framing, we were as far apart as people in the same profession could be. Portrait photographers are all about consistency, PJs are all about the moment in all its unstructured naturalness.

Whether you’re hoping to break into the ever-diminishing PJ ranks some day or are just looking for better candid photos, here some PJ tips for catching those world class candid moments.

Shoot From The Hip

Aiming and framing takes time and, as soon as you point a camera at someone, they react to it. Models, people in the media, and politicians all instantly adopt one of their automatic poses (or lunge at the camera) and people unused to being photographed looked startled and uncomfortable.

A good PJ gets used to aiming and shooting the first couple of shots before ever raising the camera to eye level.

Use A Fast Lens

Waiting for a flash to charge is out, you have to shoot fast! Shooting fast on the go means a fast lens and one more on the wide side.

You want to use a wide lens, but not so wide that it introduces wide angle compression into your pictures which becomes noticeable when doors seem to tilt toward the outside edges of images and it makes your subject’s head outsized compared to their feet. I wouldn’t go any wider than 50mm for candid photos, unless you’re shooting a crop sensor camera, then you can go as wide as 35mm.

Get In Close

In the old days reporters would use huge 4×5 cameras like the Busch Pressman Model C that would allow them to shoot a chaotic scene quickly and use that big negative to crop out the photo for the newspaper later. Today you can do something similar with a wide lens by shooting close in with a full frame sensor, a 50mm lens and zooming the cropped shot in post.

Take a Different Perspective

A PJ will either elevate their camera over the crowd and shoot at a slight downward angle or get low and shoot up which makes their subject look larger than life.

It’s okay to mix in a few eye-level shots, just mix it up with high and low angles.  This is especially important with a wide lens.  If you have a wide angle lens, either get low or get elevation because eye-level shots are going to show wide angle distortion.

Shoot While Walking

A great candid tip comes from something PJs do all the time: Shoot while walking. Let your subject start walking and shoot while you walk along next to them and backwards in front of them. You won’t be able to aim or time your shots, you’ll just have to blaze away and see what comes out later. Walking is a natural action and most people lose apprehension about the camera when they’re moving.

Try that and you’ll discover all the PJ tricks of not aiming, holding the camera up high shooting down and down low pointed up. You’ll discover Live View if your camera supports it and how convenient that can be for shooting on the go.

It may seem hard at first, but with enough practice you can do almost anything while walking backwards and shooting. The first thing you’ll learn is to sense obstacles and curbs, another reason PJs don’t always look while they’re framing. You may only get one or two good shots, but the ones that do come out will be fantastic.

Discount Photography Goodies

photowhoa
Sites like PhotoWhoa will email you hefty discounts if you're patient

Everyone likes a deal and for those with a little extra cash in your pocket and some patience, there are deals to be had in photography gear.

Almost all them have some kind of strings attached. One might have deals that show up on a one-time only basis, others may have shipping times that are measured in weeks. Hence the reference to being patient. But when you do find a product you’ve been waiting for, the savings can be substantial.

PhotoWhoa.com

PhotoWhoa is one of those sites that has a particular deal for a day or two before the next one rolls along. Your only choice is the current deal but the savings are significant.

PhotoWhoa will send you emails as new deals become available. Worth watching just for the size of the discounts.

DealExtreme

DealExtreme is one of the first of a new breed of Chinese retailers selling directly to consumers in other countries. They have a vast catalog that includes a bewildering array of electronics and gadgets, including many off-brand photography gadgets.

The savings are compelling and shipping is free but be aware that when I say shipping is a slow boat to China, that is not hyperbole. I’ve waited as long as three weeks for orders to arrive.

Not all the savings are that great. A Yongnuo YN560 Speedlight is $75.30 on DealExtreme and $79.99 on Amazon. Considering how long shipping takes, it’s up to you to decide if the savings are worth it.  Though on some items the price difference is worth the wait.

One caution with international retailers is that you can buy equipment, like cell phone jammers, that are not legal in some countries. Another caution is that they sell to an international market, so watch the menu languages for electronics.

Flash Umbrellas – Size Does Matter

wescot 7 foot umbrella
New umbrellas like this 7 foot Wescott for $99 are bringing umbrellas back

It may come as a surprise to many photographers today, but softboxes are relative newcomers on the photography and video lighting scene.

In the old days on movie sets there were huge hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamps (HMIs), and “hot lights” with names like “Blondes”, which was a 2K open-face light and “Red Heads” which were 1K. Only poor filmmakers used Red Heads, although I saw them sneak on to big sets as background fills occasionally.

About the same time in photography, you probably would have found floor flash units mounted inside large umbrella reflectors.

Photography has always had an edge on film lighting, until very recently. With the advent of DSLRs on movie sets, we’re also seeing some intersection in lighting gear. The old days of HMIs, jokingly referred to as standing for High Monetary Investment, are giving way to less powerful lighting options that produce more even lighting. Softboxes are now turning up in photography studios and film sets alike, although the lighting inside is somewhat different.

With advances in construction and materials, we’re also seeing flash umbrellas making a comeback in photography, although these are not your grandpa’s flash umbrellas.

When it comes to umbrellas in photography, size matters. The broader and more diffuse your light source, the more even the lighting on your subject. The older style umbrellas were small, not much bigger than an umbrella you might carry with you for rainy days. Today you have a better selection.

Companies like Booth Photographicare fielding umbrellas that would make any softbox owner blush with envy. Parabolics, because of the shape, are going to have less fall off at the edges. A parabolic light like a large umbrella, near your subject. is going to give you a bit of wrap around the subject, contributing to a very smooth overall lighting effect.

Booth umbrella
75 in reflective umbrella by Booth Photographic

Umbrellas lost favor to softboxes because, for a long time, the only large umbrellas you could find were really expensive. Today, they’re coming back into vogue with models like this 7 foot Wescott and this 75 inch silver model from Booth.

When you’re out shopping for studio lights, don’t forget to give some of the newer umbrellas a look. With price tags under $200, it’s possible that parabolics will stage a comeback.

Better Christmas Light Photography

christmas light photo
This shot would have been more interesting with some detail in the sky - By I, Daniel Schwen

Taking pictures of Christmas lights is fun and challenging, but mainly fun. Most places only have their lights on display a few weeks out of every year, so get those shots while you can!

The biggest mistake I see people making with Christmas lights is taking their little point and shoot and trying to take photos from a standing position with the camera set to automatic. This will not work.

Step one if you live in cold climate is to review our cold weather shooting suggestions to equalize the camera temperature before rushing it outside from a warm room.

Other than that you’ll need a tripod, a remote release for your camera, and an external flash, if you have one.

If you opt for a wireless remote release instead of the kind with a cord, do be careful to check that they are compatible with your camera’s “B” or Bulb setting. Wireless triggers and bulb operation can be problematic on some cameras.

It may not be totally intuitive that the best time to capture Christmas lights is after sundown but before it gets completely dark. That way you can preserve some of the color and texture in the sky instead of the inky blackness of space.

You’ll want to use the tripod and turn your camera flash off, otherwise your poor camera is going to run the flash setting up to Ludicrous Power in an attempt to light the night. If you want to add a foreground subject later, that’s where the external flash comes in.

In the old days setting your camera’s white balance was easy as most everything outdoors was tungsten balanced. Today there are more LED Christmas lights in the mix and most of those will balance closer to daylight.

This is one instance you may want to consider white balance bracketing and seeing which one looks the best for the particular display you’re shooting.

As it gets darker, when the sky fades to black, and after you get a few good shots of the whole display, then you can break out the external flash and start adding foreground subjects and use the light display as a backdrop. Follow the same general guidelines that are in our night photography article.

The main thing is to get outside with the family, have some fun and take great pictures. Let your imagination run wild and take pictures until your card is full.

Night Photography Tips

night photography
Night photography is fun and endlessly fascinating - By Circa24

As winter rolls into town and the heavy coats come out of the closet, we also start getting into the best time of year for night photography. The stores area all still open at sunset, all the lights are on, and there’s plenty of rush hour traffic for light streaks. Winter is the best time to get some great nighttime shots and still be home in time for dinner.

Equipment

Besides your camera, the key piece of equipment you’ll need will be a tripod. You’ll want one that’s light weight, sturdy, and fast to setup and take down.

Another factor to consider for tripods is the weight rating which, on many models, is a big, fat lie. You’ll want at least a 10 pound weight rating if you’re shooting a full size DSLR. No, your camera and lens combo doesn’t weigh nearly that much, but start getting close to the upper limit of the weight rating and the legs will start to bow and the slightest whiff of a breeze will make your tripod shake.

If you’re going with a brand name, I’d suggest a model like the Manfrotto 190XPROB 3 with a ball head. Weighing in at around 4 pounds, it’s easy to carry and fast to set up.

Timing

The best night shots happen just before it’s completely dark, while there is still enough light left in the sky to keep the background from being completely black and the shutter speeds slow enough to get all the great streaking effects and color aberrations that make night photography really fun.

Exposure

As much as I love my Canon 7D, and as great as the pictures are in daylight, the internal computer does not like night photography. It tries everything I don’t want it to do like correcting the white balance, averaging the exposure across the scene, and trying to optimize the contrast.

Night photography is one of the times I turn off automatic everything and work almost exclusively in manual. Strange things start happening to images with really long shutter times, so don’t be afraid to experiment. You can even get different results on the same scene with the exact same exposure settings.

Don’t Forget Your Flash

Bring your external flash, if you have one. Use it to combine a long exposure night shot with some foreground lighting, the effect can be quite attractive when done right.