Candid Shot - Does it relay any story?

[kuul13]

1/90s | F13 | 66mm | ISO 160 | No Flash | Nikon D80

I am loving candid photography a lot.. It is fun klicking pictures of people in the crowd, capturing their expression naturally. I would like to know how did I capture the expression. Do you feel his state of mind? How is the composition, light, cropping, background, post and does this picture relay any message or story to you? I know I asked everything not a very specific question but I want to know how I did? I am not sure how can I klick a better candid picture on a very sunny day, when you are just walking in the crowd and point your camera on someone and klick. I mean how will you preset your camera for the best setting - I feel it very difficult. Most of the shots are either over-exposed or under-exposed. Which one is better in those situations for post processing?

[slugger]

It's really hard to tell what's going on from this photo, he looks confused about something. And I'm not really loving the post processing. You can see a halo effect around his nose from not getting the selective color, also one shoulder is white and the other is blue which is weird looking.

[Nakean]

Originally Posted by kuul13

1/90s | F13 | 66mm | ISO 160 | No Flash | Nikon D80

I am loving candid photography a lot.. It is fun klicking pictures of people in the crowd, capturing their expression naturally. I would like to know how did I capture the expression. Do you feel his state of mind? How is the composition, light, cropping, background, post and does this picture relay any message or story to you? I know I asked everything not a very specific question but I want to know how I did? I am not sure how can I klick a better candid picture on a very sunny day, when you are just walking in the crowd and point your camera on someone and klick. I mean how will you preset your camera for the best setting - I feel it very difficult. Most of the shots are either over-exposed or under-exposed. Which one is better in those situations for post processing?

Ok, composition wise...you the photographer has to tell the story. One of the easiest ways to do this is with your aperture(depth of field) and your zoom. Is the girl in the background included in the story? She's in included in this story because you used a very small aperture at f11. She is also the only other symbol or subject in your photograph. I would say from where you took this shot, you have zoomed to far in to convey a story.

Less technical and more story telling here..... Think first about your subject. Then you need to position yourself so the background matches the story you are trying to convey. Then you look for symbols or signs. So the background might be a carnival with a crowd and concrete or a park with trees and grass. Your symbol would be a ride at a carnival and cotton candy or a swing set or kidy pool for the park. Start there and then worry about your lighting.

Try and put your subject back to the sun so you can photograph their front in entire shade. This may mean moving your own feet instead of your subject. Hope this helps.

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by slugger

It's really hard to tell what's going on from this photo, he looks confused about something. And I'm not really loving the post processing. You can see a halo effect around his nose from not getting the selective color, also one shoulder is white and the other is blue which is weird looking.

Slugger, thanks for the honest critique. I really appreciate. I too feel the same - Actually this picture was taken in a ballooning festival and this guy was with his 2 children, it was very hot sunny day and lot of people around. May be he was was confused where to take the kids Post processing, yes I know now why the blue halo effect around his nose. I should have converted the entire picture to b/w instead being selective. The background was actually blue and it reflected on him and on his shoulder. Let me edit the image to full b/w tonight and post it for critique. Thanks again!

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by Nakean

Ok, composition wise...you the photographer has to tell the story. One of the easiest ways to do this is with your aperture(depth of field) and your zoom. Is the girl in the background included in the story? She's in included in this story because you used a very small aperture at f11. She is also the only other symbol or subject in your photograph. I would say from where you took this shot, you have zoomed to far in to convey a story.

Less technical and more story telling here..... Think first about your subject. Then you need to position yourself so the background matches the story you are trying to convey. Then you look for symbols or signs. So the background might be a carnival with a crowd and concrete or a park with trees and grass. Your symbol would be a ride at a carnival and cotton candy or a swing set or kidy pool for the park. Start there and then worry about your lighting.

Try and put your subject back to the sun so you can photograph their front in entire shade. This may mean moving your own feet instead of your subject. Hope this helps.

Nakean, Very well said. Photographer has to tell the story. The scene was from a ballooning festival and I randomly klicked him. In the original picture I had the crowd but to get the focus on this guy I had to crop the image. Another question comes up: When you generally crop an image to focus on an individual (if I only need to include him in the picture) then how to use the crop tool effectively? I generally crop using 6x4 proportional crop and that's the reason the girl was included. Should I go for more tighter crop so that I can get rid of her? but that mean I had to either crop his head or chin. Isn't it?
Well, regarding the use of higher aperture, I didn't get time to change my setting from previous klick. That's why aperture was little higher (f11). I guess I need to setup my camera to best setting before klicking.

I agree with story part of your comment and will keep that in mind. But most of the time it's impulsive shots. Tonight, I will play with the original and try to post an edit. Please do critique that too. Thanks for your comment.

[Doug Sundseth]

There's no special reason that you need to stay with the original aspect ratio when cropping. (Note that most common print sizes are not 2x3 aspect ratio.)

If you're planning to print, you might need to get a custom frame or custom matte, but that's really the only downside to non-standard cropping.

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

There's no special reason that you need to stay with the original aspect ratio when cropping. (Note that most common print sizes are not 2x3 aspect ratio.)

If you're planning to print, you might need to get a custom frame or custom matte, but that's really the only downside to non-standard cropping.

Thanks dough for the tip. I will keep this for another photo. I am wondering how the frame would look with a crop of different aspect ratio?

[kuul13]

Here is another version of the same picture but in full b/w. Does it look better than the original post?

[S_Sanyal]

kuul13, I appreciate your efforts on candids. I agree that its fun and challenging at the same time. Its a great passion of mine too

Unfortunately for this picture, the way I personally work, I like to see more of the context, and that's one area where this shot fails for me.

Its a good idea to work in streets with the aperture you used (here f/13) to keep things sharp throughout. but I have a feeling that in this case, you were too close to your subject or zoomed in more than necessary. I also fail to understand how the woman fits into the story. All I see is a man looking out somewhere, in a crowd. As some posters above have said, he looks lost...

But is a "man lost in a crowd" story enough?
I understand its impulsive for you and thats perfectly legitimate. But as a photographer, you may want to train your eyes (even when not behind a camera) to "see" stories and then shoot, only after a decision on WHAT you want to portray. Mind you - this isnt an elaborate process but may happen in a few seconds even, if you have trained yourself such. And thats what would make your shots stand out. I would say, 70% of the time see and observe, and maybe 30% shoot. In this regard, its good to use a fixed lens as you know your focal length and wont take long to compose. None of these are any thumb-rules, but I find over the period that I've tried evolving as far as the shooting of street candids are concerned, its greatly helped me.

As for your b/w edit, I feel it lacks contrast and range. I see mostly grays and hardly any clear depth. PP will certainly help. But its best to get it right when you shoot so that the PP is helped by the picture itself, as-shot.Noticing light in a situation is as much as an observation activity as seeing the stories.

To illustrate what I'm talking about, I'm sharing a photo essay of mine that was featured in a Streetphotography website (link below). Look especially at photos 8,11,14 and 16 (click on thumbnails to view). They are all candids of people in their environment / on the street.

Photo Essay: Calcutta Contradictions, by Saptarshi Sanyal | Invisible Ph t grapher Asia

Hope I wasnt too harsh and the points help in future work.
All the Best!

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by S_Sanyal

kuul13, I appreciate your efforts on candids. I agree that its fun and challenging at the same time. Its a great passion of mine too

Unfortunately for this picture, the way I personally work, I like to see more of the context, and that's one area where this shot fails for me.

Its a good idea to work in streets with the aperture you used (here f/13) to keep things sharp throughout. but I have a feeling that in this case, you were too close to your subject or zoomed in more than necessary. I also fail to understand how the woman fits into the story. All I see is a man looking out somewhere, in a crowd. As some posters above have said, he looks lost...

But is a "man lost in a crowd" story enough?
I understand its impulsive for you and thats perfectly legitimate. But as a photographer, you may want to train your eyes (even when not behind a camera) to "see" stories and then shoot, only after a decision on WHAT you want to portray. Mind you - this isnt an elaborate process but may happen in a few seconds even, if you have trained yourself such. And thats what would make your shots stand out. I would say, 70% of the time see and observe, and maybe 30% shoot. In this regard, its good to use a fixed lens as you know your focal length and wont take long to compose. None of these are any thumb-rules, but I find over the period that I've tried evolving as far as the shooting of street candids are concerned, its greatly helped me.

As for your b/w edit, I feel it lacks contrast and range. I see mostly grays and hardly any clear depth. PP will certainly help. But its best to get it right when you shoot so that the PP is helped by the picture itself, as-shot.Noticing light in a situation is as much as an observation activity as seeing the stories.

To illustrate what I'm talking about, I'm sharing a photo essay of mine that was featured in a Streetphotography website (link below). Look especially at photos 8,11,14 and 16 (click on thumbnails to view). They are all candids of people in their environment / on the street.

Photo Essay: Calcutta Contradictions, by Saptarshi Sanyal | Invisible Ph t grapher Asia

Hope I wasnt too harsh and the points help in future work.
All the Best!

Thanks Saptarshi, for your valuable comments/suggestions. Definitely these tips will help me in getting nice pictures in future. Yes, I know I have to train myself to observe keenly and then shoot. I guess practice is the key here. Regarding the presence of the lady in the picture, I would say that I was able to capture contrasting moods - guys tensed, lost and confused. While the lady is jolly, relaxed and having fun

You are right about the fixed length lens. I wish I get it soon. I have added little more contrast to the picture. Hope it looks better now.


Thanks for providing the link and they are really good. The contrast is bit on a higher side for my taste but some I really liked. Thanks again!!