Getting candids & relaxed looking photos?

[Xmas]

Memphis

For context, how old was the birthday girl, and if she is yours are you allowed to publish her Leicaness?

The important bit done the answer to the query...

All it needs is for the photog to be more patient than the target. It is like a Tiger shoot double barralled Elephant gun, .475 Win Mag etc... or two Leicias 36 exposure cassettes etc....

Noel

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Heh...a chance to show off one of my favorite shots.

I've shown this before. It's my grandmother. I love the woman dearly, but she hates having her picture taken. I got this with the Canon P and the Canon 50/1.8 before I sold that lens. Wide open, I believe, on HP5 in Diafine.

What do I do? I carry my camera almost everywhere, even when I'm just in the house, and I wait for the perfect moment. I'll be doing a lot more candid portraiture soon due to people telling me that I should keep it up. I think that the most important thing you can do is to wait. The shot will come, but you have to know when to take it.

 

[canonetc]

Getting Candids and Relaxed looking Shots

Getting Candids and Relaxed looking Shots

Occasionally I "shoot from the hip" when the subject/person is not in motion, or will be sitting in the same place for a least a few minutes.

Sometimes I will look through the viewfinder but instead of focusing directly on the subject, I focus on any object that is at the same focal distance as my subject. A chair, a crack in the floor, whatever.

I've found that as long as my face is not behind the camera, and even if the lens is pointing right at them, most people do not think I am shooting a picture. Ignorance is bliss. Sometimes I will look away as I click the shutter. Then, I move the camera out of sight and slowly advance the winder. If they hear the camera click (and I know this because they suddenly look at me with a questioning facial expression), I look only at the camera, as if "something went wrong," or I act like nothing happened at all. Poker face.

Naturally, the real surprise is in the darkroom or when my prints come back from the lab. And sometimes the shots are okay, or, at least, interesting.

Cheers,

Chris
canonetc

 

[Ash]

Scale focusing and joking around.

A lot of people I know are used to me having a camera with me, albeit aren't happy to be in the shot. It's true after a minute they get bored of posing, but when you know people well enough they stop caring around the camera in their face. Some of the best shots can be had through scale focusing though; the camera is at a different angle, and you're merely fingering the lens. People dont pay attention to it, and suddenly you get a shot of them with a goofy grin etc.

I guess also you need to tell people they'll look better in your photo's if they stop posing or hiding and LET you take a good shot..

 

[Xmas]

Ash

The Rolli is really good for candids, not people know one from a miners lantern.

Noel

 

[Ash]

very true! that's how I got these - http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=9040683&blogID=150600355

I realise I'm whoring my blog, but I can't help it 😀

Noel thanks for that, I forgot that TLR's are one of the easiest candid camera's.

 

[payasam]

Those people are a pain, Roland, who keep saying, "Look up", "Smile", "Pick your nose for the camera" or whatever. On getting exasperated enough, I used to tell them that it was a still camera and they were not directors of motion pictures. Now I don't wait: I say this before I start to do anything. The ultimate cure is to hold out the camera to them and say that I'm just not capable of doing the job. If they are rude enough to mess with my work, why should I not be rude as well?

 

[niimo]

There is some great advice and wisdom imparted in this thread, thanks everybody! 🙂