8 Tips for Taking Amazing Candid Photographs

Spontaneous shots are just as important as the formal photos at a wedding. A professional photographer should be able to deliver to a high standard, making sure all the important moments of the big day have been recorded. Candid photos must be, simple, unposed and provide honest, truthful and sincere memorable shots.

Taking candid photos are not always easy, but there are various techniques that one can adopt, which will help make taking them a little easier.

1. Be ready at all times

Do not go anywhere without your camera, as you never know when a fantastic frame will occur. Keeping the camera constantly out on show will also get guests used to seeing it, so anyone who is camera shy will begin to feel more relaxed.

2. Capture people unaware

The key to producing candid shots that work well is to capture people unaware. If they do not know you are taking pictures they will look more natural. Try to be as unobtrusive as possible and make yourself disappear into the background. Using your long lens will ensure you can take snaps of people from a distance without them knowing.

3. Sneaky people don’t use flash

Remember to remove your flash if you do not need it, as that will give away your cover. If you are shooting in lower light, try increasing your ISO setting, use a faster lens, or set your camera to the natural light mode, as these should improve the quality of the light in the photo. To make life easier, and to ensure you can work quickly, set your camera to auto focus and set a smaller aperture, because the smaller the aperture, the more your subject will be in focus.

4. Use Different angles

Also, do not be afraid to move around to capture different prospective. Shooting from the hip also provides an unconventional angle, and can give a photo an interesting depth. You should also try taking multiple shots, by using the continuous shooting mode on your camera. By doing this, you are far more likely to capture a decent shot if you have several to choose from. If people are unaware you are taking the picture then you are far more likely to capture them with their eyes shut.

5. Think Ahead

Try to think ahead of what sort of images you might take on the big day. Taking pictures of the guests reacting during the speeches always makes great shots, and emotional expressions during the first dance always make fantastic pictures.

6. Couple Shots

Additionally, try and spend some time with the happy couple away from the other guests. Ask them to walk together chatting, kissing and holding hands. This simple interaction between them will capture some beautiful emotional pictures that will encompass what the whole day has been about.

7. Create Photo Depth

To give your photos more depth, try including something in the foreground of the subject you are trying to capture. You can achieve this by shooting over someone’s shoulder or taking the picture between branches of a tree.

8. Group Shots

Groups of people pictured together always make great shots. This is because they interact with each other and can add emotion to the shot.

These are just some of the tips and tricks out there on how to take high quality candid shots. Next time you find yourself photographer at a wedding or an event, keep all of these tips in mind, and your photos are surely going to impress.

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