Getting candids & relaxed looking photos?

[digitaldave]

Whenever I try to take a picture of a friend or family member in an informal setting (such as at my neice's birthday), I find that people will almost always pose for the camera, and that often results in uninteresting pictures. So how do you go about getting candid shots in such a setting, or even getting posed-but-relaxed shots?

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[telenous]

Hello Dave,

I think there are two ways to go about this: either you establish some sort of rapport with your subject, easing them into the photographic frame as it were, or you shoot when they are not aware of it. Both methods could work, the former is more challenging (while the latter is not universally admired). I think that if you are quite relaxed about what you are doing, people will respond to it by mirroring your behaviour. It's generally very difficult for anyone to be un-self-conscious when a camera is pointed at them. Try to accustom everyone to your presence with the camera in hand, shoot a few frames even when you know they are wasted because everyone is posing. At some point your shooting will be just another thing that happens around them. That would be the time for your candids.

I have tried this procedure a few times - and it often works.

 

[Pherdinand]

In addition to the above advice:
What I do sometimes is, I keep the camera around and pretend I am photographing for a while. If i just pick it up and snap within a few seconds, they will indeed pose or stick a tongue out or something. But they get bored of posing quick enough. It's a matter of who has more patience🙂
SO i just keep on fiddling with the camera - focusing, reframing, or just staring through it and talking about some other stuff, and at some point i notice they start to forget about the camera.

ANother trick I used on my Minolta Dynax 5 slr: There's a DOF preview button. When i press it, the aperture closes down with a sound that resembles the actuall shooting sound very much, unless you are familiar w the camera. SO i just press the little button and people think the shot is done and they relax immediately. Then comes the real click 😀 But this trick cannot be done many times with the same person. Alas, they learn.

 

[Nachkebia]

Ofcourse Alkis is spot on as usual, but I would add my technics too, what I do sometimes is lie! yes! let`s say I take couple of pictures and say I am finished and keep talking about other subject, keep doing it for some time and wops! I take a picture, another stupid thing you could do is, take out camera and play around with it for long! but don`t take any picture, after couple of minustes (20-40) they will ignore you and thats when you start taking pictures.... Sometimes are you can do intrigue stuff! sometimes I screem so everybody can look at me and I take picture at that moment!! you can drop the chair! so everybody can look at it! but compose before! 😀 anyhow stupid things I said just now don`t take it seriously 🙂 but some of them in some situations work 🙂

Pherdinand : hehe, exactly! You are faster 🙂

 

[bsdunek]

Another good method is to have them doing something they enjoy. If they have a collection of something, or they build models, restore old cars, do woodworking, or whatever. Have them show you what they do, and this gives an excuse to take some photos. You might start by photographing the subject of their interest, then take a few of them in the process. I have found this often works well. 😎

 

[RML]

The more you shoot the more people will see you as part of the "normal" situation, the more they ignore you, the easier it gets to shoot candids and unposed shots. Once you're part of the furniture they'll ignore you completely. When was the last time you actually noticed the mailman in your street, or the cleaning lady in your office? They are there, do their job, and are "invisible". That's what you want to become. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

Remy, you are a tough guy!
I always talk to the cleaner (guy) in the building, and a few days ago I noticed the "mailman" is an extremely attractive young girl 🙂

[you are right of course]

 

[smileyguy]

I am no pro but a couple of things I have found that work (mostly already mentioned here) are to just keep shooting. I usually will end up with a few posed pics (which are not my goal) but then have several candids and relaxed pics. People WILL pose for you, it is such an automatic reaction. Let them pose and then keep shooting.

For me, it's something that I have to get over and accept. I hate it when I put the camera up to my eye and the person strikes a pose that is so contrary to what they were doing... ARRRRGGGHGHHH! You set up a nice shot, beautiful light, person engrossed in what they're doing, sidle up to them, put the camera to your eye... then they look right into the lens and start mugging for the camera. Oh man...

 

[RML]

Remy, you are a tough guy!
I always talk to the cleaner (guy) in the building, and a few days ago I noticed the "mailman" is an extremely attractive young girl 🙂

[you are right of course]

Well, I greet the cleaners in the building where I work. A left-over thing from my days as a security guard.

Did you see my wife?! She's beautiful, and nowadays a "mailman". Don't let me catch you chatting her up! 😛

 

[AusDLK]

Shoot from the hip...

 

[MelanieC]

My friends are so used to me having a camera on me, and pointing it at them, that they no longer pose. Just take pictures constantly. Eventually they'll forget about the camera. I wouldn't worry about "wasting" film. Sometimes the posed pictures come out pretty entertaining (art, no, fun mementos, yes).

 

[thurows]

One of my professors said bring your hand to your face often, i.e. itch, rub or even hand on chin thinking, when around the people that you want to photograph, then when they're actging natural and not paying any attention to your hand at your face, pick up the camera. Click.

 

[gareth]

My friends are so used to me having a camera on me, and pointing it at them, that they no longer pose. Just take pictures constantly. Eventually they'll forget about the camera. I wouldn't worry about "wasting" film. Sometimes the posed pictures come out pretty entertaining (art, no, fun mementos, yes).

I couldn't agree more.

I like to take people as they are, and photograph them talking or doing things. Eventually they will almost forget you have a camera. Almost.

If it's people you know and will shoot again, give them prints. If they are good they will be happy for you to shoot em again.

Or if I have to shoot a portrait quick, and you are getting that tense stare back from the subject, I'll set up the camera, hold it still and move my eyes away from it, maybe pulling a thoughtfull expression or something. The subject doesn't think you are going to take the picture, they relax that wee bit, then hit the button. People try to anticipate when you are going to shoot, if they are really trying hard to do this, I'll make a bit of a game of it.

A famous photographer, who's name escapes me, talked of wearing them down. He said, I keep going till they are almost bored, and wondering what the hell I'm doing, you see a gradual change in expression.

I'm not suggesting you do that, but you can see the logic in it, and his portraits were wonderful. If only I could remember the name!

 

[dadsm3]

I just tell them I'm going to slap them if they don't 'look nicely at the camera'.....sometimes it works, sometimes you get something like this;

 

[payasam]

Many good ideas here, for example, the Dummy Click. Wear 'Em Out is OK only if you have enough time. Perhaps the best is to just get people to do what they normally do and like doing: "You get on with your work and let me get on with mine." Being unobtrusive helps enormously -- not moving much, pre-focussing, etc. -- but is obviously of no use unless there are many people present. A useful trick is to get someone, or take someone along, to talk to your victim and hold her or his attention. The victim shouldn't be speaking when you release the shutter: people don't like puckered lips and crooked mouths. A variation of the Big Rule: never, never photograph anyone who's eating.

 

[Pherdinand]

Sometimes the posed pictures come out pretty entertaining (art, no, fun mementos, yes).

Is this what you mean?🙂
[that's me, posing in a friend's t-shirt in front of her camera]

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Baseball bat for parent and ice cream for kid. Sort of. You understand.

 

[grantray]

I tend to shoot while I'm engaging the subject in conversation. They're sometimes weirded out for the first couple of clicks, then they relax. And that's when I get good shots.

-grant

 

[gareth]

I tend to shoot while I'm engaging the subject in conversation. They're sometimes weirded out for the first couple of clicks, then they relax. And that's when I get good shots.

Always a good idea. But I try to check my camera settings first, and stop to think and adjust now and again. I find it hard to make the conversation and shooting seemless. But hey I'm a bloke, ah can'nae multi-task.

Having said that I'm often shooting portraits with a DSLR now. Too many bleedin functions and options. Maybe rangefinders help keep it simple here.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Set it up, the camera, the light this side of the bar is really not at alll different from the light on the other side of the bar.

Even focus does not really matter exactly. Look at 'classic' street photos and see that many are out of focus.

Exposure pre-set, focus estimated and both left alone. So smile, chat and click.