Improve your candid photography skills with these 6 helpful tips

Sometimes its great just to take a photo for the sake of taking one, especially if you catch a candid scene at the last minute. There are several ways to do this and still come out with a great picture. Here are some ways to improve your candid photography skills with these 6 helpful tips.
Taking great candid photos comes in handy when at a family function such as a reunion, wedding, or vacation. You don't just want to pull out your camera and start shooting. Keep in mind the tips below to take awesome candid photos.
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1. Keep your camera with you
One obvious tip is to have your camera with you wherever you go. If you mainly use your smartphone's camera, then this is easy since smartphones are small enough to comfortably carry around with you. A DLSR might be great for shoots, but having a point and shoot camera works ideally for candid photos, since they require little set up time.
2. Lower your camera
If people know you are about to take a photo of them, they might show it by looking less natural. Keep your camera at your hip to get the most natural shots possible. People won't know that you are taking pictures if your camera is lowered. Have your lens on wide angle setting to get the best shots possible from this angle.
3. Don't use flash
Since these are candid photos you probably aren't warning others before shooting, so if you have the flash on, you might get unwelcome stares or comments. Turn off your camera's flash so you don't take anyone by surprise. You'll get plenty of candid shots and everyone will continue having a great time.
4. Change perspective
You don't necessarily have to keep your camera low for a change in perspective. Changing perspective from where you shoot can give you different angles to shoot from and some great candid shots from a variety of views. This can also change your photos' composition as well. Get plenty of low and high shots, zoom out and in, and shoot at an angle. You never know what great shots might come from changing your camera's perspective.
5. Lots of shots
Remember to take plenty of shots. You might get some awesome shots and not so great ones, but that's okay. There will be plenty of great candid shots to choose from. Put your camera on continuous shooting mode to get the perfect shot.
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6. People in action
Take plenty of shots of people doing different activities. This is also a wonderful way to take shots while people are distracted. You can still get candid shots of people doing stuff since they are focused on what they are doing and not you. Take a bunch of these to get the perfect candid shots in action.