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My own experiences of shooting candid in both Photokina in Cologne, Germany and PMA Show in New Orleans, were different. In the former, using a manual focus Canon New F-1 (without motor drive) and three single focal length fast lenses, enabled me to shoot candid more discreetly compared to the latter where I was using my Canon EOS-1N with two fast aperture EF zoom lenses. In most cases, the people at PMA Show knew I was going around recording the moments on film and some even posed for me whenever I reached their booths. So much for trying to be discreet. In Photokina, I can get as close as one meter away from my subjects and they wouldn't even notice (or couldn't be bothered by) my presence.
Remember essential question number two of "How to focus attention" on the subject? As with other types of photography, how you focus the attention toward the main subject is important in candid photography. Don't believe it? Take a look again at the previous 22 photos shown (above) so far in this issue. Can you find any that does not focus attention on the main subject (s)?
The composition of the above photo
on the left is quite loose but nevertheless, your attention is centered on the man
with the briefcase. This type of candid is used primarily for travel photos. The
photo on the right was captured from a distance with the FD 100mm f/2.0 medium telephoto
lens. A wide-angle or standard lens will not make an impact like this since my presence
would have distracted their attention. This photo can also be used as a candid shot
in travel photography. |
