Candid Technique in Wedding Photography
Candid technique in wedding photography. First, what is candid technique? Candid technique is one of photography technique that focuses on spontaneity rather than common or classic technique, on the immersion of a camera within events rather than focusing on setting up a staged situation or on preparing a lengthy camera setup. Candid technique is best described as un-posed and unplanned, immediate and unobtrusive. This is in contrast to classic photography technique, which includes aspects such as carefully staged portrait photography, landscape photography or object photography. Candid photography technique catches moments of life from immersion in it.
Today, candid technique is used in wedding ceremonies. Candid technique’s setup includes a photographer who is there with the “subjects” to be photographed, close, and not hidden. People photographed on candid shots either ignore or accept the close presence of the photographer’s camera without posing. The events documented are often private, they involve people in close relation to something they do, or they involve people’s relation to each other. The pictures a wedding photographer takes at the reception, of people dancing, eating, and socializing with other guests.
Equipment for candid technique is typically lightweight, small and unobtrusive rather than big and intimidating. Lomo rule photography describes using an old Russian point-and shoot-camera for candid photography. The larger the equipment, the more difficult to master the art of making the equipment appear to be unobtrusive to achieve candid photography.
Candid technique typically requires high film speeds or ISOs as strobe flashes can interrupt interactions, causing people to stage their photo appearance rather than behaving naturally. For this reason, candid photography has traditionally taken place outdoors, where the sun provides ample light. Due to higher film speeds (ISO) being required for indoor ambient light photography, candid photography can feature grainy, high contrast images. However, several recent full-frame DSLR cameras have brought high-ISO noise to historically low levels, allowing for clean, saturated images at speeds up to and beyond ISO 6400.
As small point and shoot cameras with affordable lenses are used widely for candid technique, photographs may feature vignetting, distortion and over saturation of colors. Due to short reaction times, exposure or focus may be slightly off. Due to strobe flashes being obstructive to candid photography and incompatible with many compacts, pictures may show blurring or other technical faults. All these are usually accepted as features of candid technique, and often, part of what makes candid technique an art.
Rangefinders and small, early film SLRs have long been preferred equipment for candid photographers. Candid photographers also seem to prefer the use of black and white film, which has an inherently artistic appearance and roughly 3 stops more dynamic range compared to digital cameras. However, as the dynamic range of digital cameras improves, smaller cameras are developed, and lens speed and sharpness improves, candid photographers are given many new tools to capture high quality candid images.
Tags: candid technique, photography technique, Wedding Photography
