Candid?

When people ask me my favorite kinds of photos to take, usually I reply “candid photos of people.” Which might seem surprising if you have ever looked at my post history on Instagram, there are almost no people in those posts. (One of the “rules” that I boxed myself in with was “no people.”) Where did all the photos of people end up? Everywhere but Instagram.

Anyways, what is a candid photo? Hypothetically a candid photo would be one that’s un-posed. The thing is, all photographs are posed. Even if the subjects had no idea the photo was being taken, the picture is still being framed, focused and otherwise composed. So what if the subjects do know they’re being photographed? Well, that’s good for consent purposes. Does it make the photo less “real”? It doesn’t matter, because even if it’s fake, it’s real. Nothing matters. But everything matters. Whatever.

Back to this week’s “candid” photos: I wanted to share photos that capture small moments, the ones where people don’t worry that there’s a camera on them, the ones where people drop their guard for a just a bit. Maybe C should have been for “casual,” these are the small instants that feel “real” as much as a picture can ever capture something like that.

July 2019. Bamboo Garden (Seattle, WA)

I got lunch with Mandy and Joseph at a cute restaurant when we visited Seattle. The kind of lunch where you walk by it and think, “oh that could be fun” and just walk in: no checking Yelp reviews, or trying to make sure we have “the best” food. The food was pretty mediocre if we’re honest, but it didn't matter! The two of them relaxing and laughing embodies the “let’s just go with it” feeling of exploring the city.

October 2019. Wayfarers Chapel (Palos Verdes, CA)

This is my mom, dressed up for Mandy and Joseph’s wedding. I think I was just introducing her to some friends of mine she hadn’t met yet. She was excited to be there, not paying attention to the camera in my hands, just being her mom self.

November 2019. Elephant Rock (Tiburon, CA)

Meghan, Mac and I took a day trip to take photos in Marin, so the two of them knew there would be a camera on them the entire time. Earlier in the day, the pictures of them have faces that say “ugh, get the camera out of my face.” As the day was wrapping up, we wandered along the Tiburon waterfront and stepped out to take in the view, they relaxed a bit and I got this shot.

December 2018. The Internal at Long Now (San Francisco, CA)

Nicki and Brian being themselves. We got drinks at my favorite bar before our swim club’s holiday party, so we were dressed up a little bit. It was right around sunset, and the light in this back room at the bar was incredible! I love how Nicki is in the middle of her natural laugh and Brian is in the middle of his natural general lack of reaction.

Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think by replying! See you next week!

XOXO,
Margs