A new trend of photography style is emerging known as the candid photographer. While candid photos are easy enough to understand, why would anyone want to hire a candid photographer when their regular photographer can do exactly the same thing in between their other photos?
Well, some might argue with me on this, but they can’t. At least, not quite in the same way a dedicated candid photographer would. Consider that a normal photographer is focused on getting those beautifully posed shots, so they’ll be more focused on helping their subjects get in the right position and their imagination will be occupied with envisioning the outcome of the photo, carefully piecing together all the parts of their photo to capture something magnificent.
While on the other hand, a candid photographer doesn’t sculp together the perfect photo, they wait for it to “occur in the wild” and attempt to capture it. There is an intrinsic value in candid shots that can never be reproduced in a posed shot, with the exception of some amazing actor abilities, who can captivate any audience on whatever medium they’re shown on, maybe; but, aside from those rare unicorns of actors, there is simply a different kind of draw & attraction that breathes interest into what could only be described as a sense of appreciation for the genuine smile, the full-hearty natural laughter, or perhaps the full-of-pain teardrop that runs down a burning red hot cheek of an angry and disappointed mother scolding her own grandmother; it’s that bona fide sense of emotion you can only feel when it’s there.
When it’s real, you can feel it.
Of course, if you’re not an empathetic person, you’ll likely have no idea what I’m referring to. So, to help you really understand it, here’s my official breakdown, as explained in the description of my Bark profile, below.
Ideal as a secondary photographer or as a primary photographer for every day events. As a candid photographer, I try to capture every day moments and turn them into beautiful lifetime memories. Although photo requests will of course be granted, my best work will be capturing photos that captivate the natural laughs, genuine excitement, wholesome smiles, and other human emotions we all experience throughout our day & night. Whether it’s just a weekend outing with friends or a romantic night for two, my goal is to be as invisible as possible, capturing the candid moments that will make for fond memories while producing photos that will captivate any social media audience. It’s not the natural-looking pose, but the actually natural, organic, and naturally beautiful, elegant, and artistic photos that stir the emotions of your experience when others see them. There is no greater beauty than the one you find in your every day life: more beautiful than yesterday, but not nearly as beautiful as it will be tomorrow.
Details: The Candid Photographer service is a niche photographer service meant to cater to those who are looking for photosets of social events in their everyday lives and aims to provide an artistic perspective and angle when portraying your average day experiences within a photo and, is perfect for any aspiring lifestyle influencer looking to share captivating photos on social media that require little to medium retouching to achieve such quality, retouching services included, of course.
It is not intended to serve as a primary photographer for major life events and photographer session time is not charged based on time. It is purely a ‘purchase what you like’ type of arrangement and if there are no photos from the session that you find desirable, you have no obligation to pay. Reservations are limited and offered on a first come first serve basis. Due to the fees structure of this service, clients waive any rights to photos taken in a public environment and for photos taken in a private setting, are politely asked to sign a release form, which may be refused in exchange for an hourly fee and liability waiver form.
To be sure, the difference of a candid photographer from one that would be considered a “primary photographer” for major life events, is that the latter will pose you for certain photos, such as for a single, couple or group portrait and will direct you on where to look, how to stand, etc. to give you that “Hallmark” studio family portrait that you might see on your parents’ wall, over the fireplace. They generally have a shot list to fulfill when it’s a wedding or rehearsal dinner, ensuring that the slots you’ve planned out in your photo album are filled with the picture perfect shots you had in mind.
On the other hand, a Candid Photographer will get a general idea of what your plan is for the day and will, for the most part, try to remain un-interruptive of your plans. They will observe and sometimes seemingly take mundane photos of you or your surroundings, looking for an artistic shot that accentuates one, the other, or both. While they may take photos of a proposal, in contrast to the primary photographer who takes a wide shot, capturing the entire moment as it unfolds, a candid photographer may take more focused shots, such as the hand about to accept the ring, or the tear dropping from the fiancée to be, while adjusting for a depth of field shot taking in the nervous sweat of the gentleman on his knees while quickly snapping another shot immediately thereafter with the focus adjusted on the bride to be to later be combined into a double-center focused photo encapsulating the tense moment also filled with excitement.
Simply put, a primary photographer captures the story as it’s being told, while a candid photographer captures the emotions as it’s being felt. For memories, a primary photographer is ideal because they can provide photos that help retell a story. To capture the joy and excitement of a brief fleeting moment and present it in a way that can be felt for ages to come, presented in the form of a photo and may be more accurately described as a work of graphic design art, is what a candid photographer such as myself, aims to do.