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How is candor used in photography and writing? In candid photography, when you take 2 photos in a span of 2 seconds the picture will change vastly, highlighting a different aspect from the picture before. Candid photography is seen as a video in picture form. Candor is used in writing by being real and honest through words. Candor in writing is usually used to describe characters in depth. It is also commonly used to develop a dialogue. Authors may develop candid tones to their writing to better relay their thoughts and ideas. Onomatopoeia is an example of how candor can be used in writing. However, developing and writing your own candid writing can be difficult, as it requires the input of one's own voice; to help with this issue, here are some helpful pieces of advice to follow when trying to write your own candid writing! |
What makes its use appealing? |
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How has candor been portrayed in media?
In media, candor is almost always known solely for its photography, but it can be seen on reality tv shows, bloopers, and even sometimes in interviews. In particular, the show Candid Camera, which ran from 1948 to 2014, created situations to deliberately invoke reactions out of people. Based off of most videos having over 2 million views and its long run time, it can be seen that people seem to find entertainment in watching candid videos, loving to see the unfaked reactions being expressed in response to these out-of-the-ordinary situations. These candid videos aren’t restricted to having the whole scene unravel in one picture like candid photography, so you can see every detail in action. Candor has gained such a popularity in media, because whether the candid product is funny or heartwarming, the viewer gets to share the feeling as well.
Reproduced on the right is a clip from the popular show, Candid Camera Classic:
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Candid Camera Classics | Candid Camera Classic: Escalator Trap!, digital video
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Candid Photography
What is it?
Candid photography is photography taken without prior rehearsal; it was taken without the knowledge of the subject. However, it could also mean that the photographs do not have a posed appearance. There may be an awareness of the camera itself; however, there was no prior preparation or disturbance during the photo session, resulting in a natural appearance . |
What makes it different?
In contrast to traditional photography, candid photos capture events in the moment, while traditional photos tend to photograph a posed shot. What draws many people towards candid photographs is their naturality, storytelling, and in-the-moment emotions. The act of posing for pictures can make someone seem more rigid, which makes the unposed spontaneity of candid photos seem more attractive and comfortable. Origin:
Dr. Erich Salomon, who would take photos of politicians, diplomats, and other important figures in the 1930s, is credited with being the first candid photographer. His photos were shown in League of nations conferences, and they were dubbed “candid photographs” by an English editor after its stark differences with the usual posed and rigid photographs more commonly taken. Later, candid photography began to emerge as an artform: Henri Cartier-Bresson and Garry Winogrand, and Arthur Fellig were a few of the very famous candid photographers who focused on life in New York and documented it through street photography. Through his publication titled The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson popularized the concept of "the decisive moment," which refers to the precise instance in which a photograph is taken, and it captures the complete essence of the event itself; it can be considered the perfect shot, during which photographers must expect then capture important moments during that fraction of time. His book has been described as "a Bible for photographers" by Robert Capa, a professional and established photographer and photojournalist, and is arguably one of the most fundamental and influential photobooks from the twentieth century. |
Modern-Day Candid Photography
Common applications and uses in everyday life: While it is used as a creative art form, candid photography also has uses outside of just that; for instance, photojournalism, a type of journalism utilizing photos to tell news stories, is a common way in which these photos may also be used. Many different news outlets take photos that evoke different kinds of emotions to tell and explicitly exhibit different events as well as the public sentiment to the depicted events. Other forms taken by candid photography include photographing for special occasions, such as weddings or baby portraits and street photography, both of which use the photographs to share a part of someone's life and capture the emotions associated with these events in picture-form. |
Commonly-used equipment: Very popularly associated with this style of photography, and even dubbed the "candid camera," are Leica cameras, which have been around since the 1920s. They were used to photograph popular photos like Che Guevara's head shot taken by Korda, and used by famous photographers, most notably Henri Cartier-Bresson. Leica Cameras are still widely used for photography today, along with DSLRs and other digital cameras which can take large amounts of pictures at a time. If using this kind of special equipment piques your interest, click here to learn more specifics about the type of camera lenses and other effects to use. |
However, not having access to these cameras does not mean you can not take candid photos of your own! In fact, you can even use your phone camera to come out with equally amazing outcomes-- take the example photos below for instance, all of which have been taken with smartphones and no special equipment whatsoever.
Examples of candid photography:
Photos via Grace Chung and Srilakshmi Koya
Learn how to take candid photos yourself!:
SLR Lounge | Photography Tutorials | How To Capture Candid Moments | Photography 101, digital video
Webpage Design by Grace Chung and Srilakshmi Koya