The lesson is that camera and lens size matter. IвЂ™m sure this is one of the reasons that people like to take photos on smartphones, and why the results can be surprisingly good вЂ“ because the people being photographed feel no pressure to do anything, other than act natural. If an experienced model feels this way, then imagine the effect on somebody who is not used to having their photo taken.

She commented afterwards that the experience was different, and that she felt under much less pressure to be a good model with the smaller camera. I have also used a Fujifilm X-T1 and 56mm lens, which is much smaller. I have photographed her with an EOS 5D Mark II and an 85mm lens, which is a fairly large combination. Use a small camera and lensДЄ friend of mine is an experienced model. At the very least you will have some interesting experiences and new stories to tell. Be open to random encounters, and the possibilities that can arise from them. When you are traveling and people are being open and friendly like this, take advantage. I politely declined, although I would have liked to see the look on his wifeвЂ™s face when I arrived. He was a little drunk, and invited me to their house for dinner. They explained what had happened, and then the father asked me to take a photo of all of them together. Then they continued on down the street, and beckoned me to follow them.Д¬urious, I followed, and they led me to a car parked around the corner, where their father was waiting for them. He obviously wanted to be in the photo, and a few seconds later he was joined by an older boy, presumably his brother, who also posed for a photo. He passed in front of the camera, stopped, turned towards me, and started waving his hands in the air. From the corner of my eye I saw a small boy running down the street. I raised my camera to take a photo of a mud brick building. It was late afternoon, quickly fading to dusk, and the streets were lit by a soft red glow, cast by the setting sun. I remember my first evening taking photos in Bolivia. The resulting portrait is one of her (and my) favorites from the shoot. I waited until it happened again, then asked her to hold the pose while I took the photo (right). I was taking photos of a friend when I noticed that she had a particular gesture that she sometimes made, when the camera wasnвЂ™t pointing at her. How do they behave while the camera isnвЂ™t pointing at them? How do they respond when you talk to them? What expressions do you see when they talk about something that interests or excites them? What unconscious gestures do they make? Watch for the moments in-between, the ones where your model is relaxed while you pause before taking another photo. If you are taking photos of somebody in a formal situation and you want to capture natural expressions rather than a more forced one (or the sullen expressions preferred by many fashion models) then you need to become a keen observer.

Look for expressions that capture character Here are some tips for taking candid portraits of people with permission. Or even somebody that you donвЂ™t know, but have seen in the street and asked for permission to make a portrait. If you think of a candid portrait as being one that captures someone acting authentically or with a natural expression, as opposed to one where the model has been directed to pose or act in a certain way, then it follows that you can also take candid portraits of people you know. This is usually seen in street photography, but also applies in other areas such as documentary style wedding photography. The phrase candid portrait is often used to refer to the type of portrait taken when the subject is unaware of the photographer.

Candid portraiture