this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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Photography

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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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how to take candids? (alien.top)
submitted 11 months ago by wastelandbrain@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro
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someone a few months ago gave me a free Pentax ME super. I fixed it up myself and have been teaching myself how to use it, with assistance only from the handbook. I've enjoyed playing around with it and experimenting with what I like to take photos of I've discovered that I only have three true muses:

  1. small details of things. I've been trying to develop more of an eye for this, but I mean simple things like the close up of a rocking chair, or a grave.
  2. architecture. I love churches and beautiful old buildings. I'm lucky to live in a place with many of them.
  3. most of all, more than anything, I love photos of people. and yes of course I take pictures of friends and family. but I'm talking true, real life candids. people I know who are in the middle of conversation, people I don't know who are out in public being themselves. my biggest issue with this one is how to actually take these photos. I don't want to be intrusive or make anyone uncomfortable, but I also want the natural candid itself. where I'm unnoticed and don't have to worry about influencing how the photo turns out just by them knowing I'm there.

I struggle in general with the feeling of being watched and/or judged at any given moment. so I will often forgo taking a photo of something because I feel like people are watching me, even if it's only of an old church. this is obviously a problem that carries into every part of my life, and is in itself a silly issue. but I'm working on it lol.

in the meantime, can anyone give any tips on how to go about taking the photos I'm truly passionate about? especially of people who don't see I'm taking a photo of them. I don't even know if there's a way to do this, especially in public with people I don't know, though that is where my heart lies and what I am passionate about most of all.

I live in Canada, if that helps any. regardless, thank you for reading and listening. love you all :)

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[–] Deckyroo@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

If you are more worried about people judging you because you’re taking a picture of something, you won’t be able to take a nice picture.

[–] Pvtwestbrook@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Most people don't care at all. Some who do won't say anything. I've never had an issue.

Some tips, there's a few ways to go about this:

  1. Be sneaky. Shoot from the hip. Act like your camera is broken or you're trying to adjust it, or you're reviewing photos. I don't like this "style". For starters, you're acting like a creep and if caught it's hard to get away from that. It will also never help you get over your anxiety and will actually reinforce it. And you'll probably screw up some potentially good shots.

  2. Be obvious. Don't try any tactics to sneak a picture. Look like you belong there and act professional. I have some business cards with links to my site and qr to my Instagram ready. As if I'm a photographer.

Side note, some of my favorite photos are when I was "caught", and the subject is looking directly at the camera.

[–] oven_coven@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Hold your camera up more often than you need to. I love candids and want people to just carry on. I fake out a lot before taking an actual shot. It helps get people around me used to it and then they start ignoring me a bit. And if it feels right, I’ll just sit and scope around so no one knows when I’m actually going to shoot (rather than raising the camera repeatedly).

I also fire pretty liberally, because you never know what you might catch.

And if I’m with like a group of my own friends, I stay in the conversation and chat while I’m framing up a shot. It seems to help downgrade the drama/importance of ~taking~ a ~photograph~.

[–] PureCommunication503@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

i take photos for my school and i get it, it feels really weird. i have anxiety and i’ve just found the more u do it the less nervous u get. now i’ve been doing this for 3 years and still sometimes get the nerves and it’s totally normal to feel awkward at first. but the best photos r the ones u have to get uncomfortable for to get the shot. i’ve also had a lot of people laugh to their friends while or after taking the photo and i just kind of smile or laugh with them, it’s weird but it works and makes it less awkward. for tips start off in big crowds, i know that sounds weird but if there’s less people they’re more likely to look at u and you’ll notice when they do because there’s not many people around. it’ll be harder to take the photo, but 1. u might get a cool photo, and 2. ur getting out of ur comfort zone and getting used the taking photos around people. this is what helped me