Taking Natural Or Off-The-Cuff Photos

Taking spontaneous or natural photos form the majority of pictures taken by amateur photographers. That won’t come as a shock to anyone as a natural or candid picture covers virtually any photo that isn’t arranged as a pose.

Spur of the moment portraits, taken without prior planning and the use of a tripod, are the easiest photos to take but can produce some very good, and often unexpected, results. This can happen by just remembering to take your camera with you and hope the right opportunities come up before you leave home.

Quite often some the best informal portraits are taken at weddings. With plenty of relaxed people around, with the possible exception of the bride and groom, and lots of social interaction going on there will always be endless opportunities for taking the un-posed or surprise shot. The best photos are invariably taken when people aren’t even aware that they are photographed. Professional photographers are now adopting this method of taking candid, un-posed pictures at weddings while still managing to produce wonderful and memorable pictures.

Of course the problem with taking spontaneous photos is that quite often you aren’t really sure of exactly what you have managed to capture until you preview the photo on the cameras LCD screen. Hopefully, there will be revealed a great shot full of character and impromptu humor.

Unfortunately though quite often all that will be revealed is an indistinct tangle of people with the main subject nowhere to be seen. If that happens, and it will, then just shrug your shoulders, delete the failed photo and move on in search of your next shot.

Although candid photos usually come from a spontaneous moment they can still be planned to some degree to remove the uncertainty about getting the exact image that you want to capture. Try and anticipate your subject movement and how a certain situation might evolve. It is important to use the right focal length for the shot you are trying to create. If you don’t want you subject to be over shadowed by the background, use a telephoto lens. A wide lens is best for group shots or if you consider the background important. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with using the camera in a landscape style instead of the usual upright position. Another tip for getting the most from your spontaneous photos is to make more use of the background.

Don’t always try and make the subject ‘big’ in the shot, let the background into the picture. This can help make the picture better by adding context and scale.

Insight Photographers are based in Hull, East Yorkshire and are specialists in wedding photography, corporate work, head shots and portrait photography