The Question Of Candid Photography

8/14/2019 The Question Of Candid Photography.

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The secret to taking the best people

pictures is to observe your subjects,connect with them, and use your camera


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This project seeks a detailed exploration into the world of candidphotography, questioning and in search of the true meaning of theword Candid. I became interested in Candid photography after lookingat the work of Corrine Day particularly her collaboration with Kate Moss,

appreciating and capturing her natural beauty, inspired by this I decidedto look into what other forms of candid photography and photographersthere were, delving into the history. This project reveals the beauty butalso the intrusion candid photography can promote.

Firstly I decided to explore into the variation of definitions for the word

Candid:

Honest honest or direct in a way that people find either refreshingor distasteful.

Photographed informally photographed/filmed without the subjectknowing or having time to prepare or pose.Informal or Natural especially caught off guard or unprepared.

Synonyms;

Blunt, Genuine,Honest, Open,Unconcealed,

Just, Unbiased,

Unreserved,Pure, Sincere-

Frank, Truthful ,Outspoken,

StraightUnconcealed,

Upfront,Straightforward,

-


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Since the early days ofphotographyportraiture has been animportant genre. The

earliest portrait

photographsresembled the portrait

paintings of the time. They wouldhave been commissionedphotographs and because of thetechnology of the time they wereusually taken indoors using naturallight and were quite formal incomposition. Because exposuretimes were lengthy the sitters hadto adopt a posture that they couldhold. Usually the subjects wereseated or leaning against an objectand often their hands were out ofsight to minimize movement. The

photographic style of Nadar wastypical of the era as shown (secondtop right) in this image of theactress Sarah Bernhardt.

As technology improved and the

use of artificial light became morecommonplace, this meant that
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/N/nadar/nadar_photographers_wife_full.html


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With the advancement of technology, came newopportunity, this enabled Candid photography tobranch out and with the making of the film Fellini'sLa Dolce Vita in 1960, and the Paparazzi was born.

This gave the word Candid a whole new meaninglaying the foundations for what The Press havebecome today. Since then the press have becomemore and more intrusive and could now bedescribed as to promote voyeurism, similarly toRuth Adams and Sophie Calles work. The Paparazzi

generally take un-staged, candid photographs ofcelebrities from the red carpet and even venturinginto their private lives with the use of telescopiccamera lenses, in hope of capturing somethingentertaining or picking up on the hottest celebritygossip etc, these photographs are then sold to

hundreds of newspapers, magazines, TV andwebsite networks worldwide. Recently this form ofcandid photography expanded even further, withthe set up of a new mobile phone service forleading paparazzi figure, Darryn Lyons (top right)founder of Big Pictures photo agency and hiswebsite, www.mrpaparazzi.com in order toencourage camera phone photographs of celebrities


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The images centre on the watcher, the voyeur. Thework shows everyone how it feels to be watched, tohave ones private space invaded, to be vulnerablewithout even knowing it. At the same time the images

are intriguing enough to force the viewer to become thevoyeur, to really want to stare and examine the subjectof the image.

I have studied Ruth Adams Privacy vs. Voyeurism project andfound references in her work which are comparable with SophieCalles Suite Vnitienne, both exploring into Voyeurism ofdifferent forms. Whereas Calles work is just an interest andstudy of other peoples behaviour, Adams reveals the darker

side of Voyeurism referring to perversion as she intends to openthe viewers eyes, seen in her artist statement. Her work is anextreme and intrusive approach to drawing attention to theissue, portraying a direct insight to what the voyeur would see,making the viewer feel uncomfortable by intruding into the mostprivate aspects of a womans life whilst they are totally unaware.

It is almost an abuse of Candid photography, the ghostly styledepicts a long exposure time, as though the voyeur has beenwatching and waiting. I also think that her work alike SophieCalles relies on the concept behind it being particularlycontroversial. There is something quite intriguing and fascinatingabout Ruth Adams work, I think that it makes the viewer feel in

control yet vulnerable and scared at the thought of it could haveha ened to them or the eo le around them without them even


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I followed strangers on the street. For the pleasure offollowing them and not because they particularly

interested me. I was photographed them without their

knowledge, took note of their movements, then finally

lost sight of them and forgot them.

At the end of January 1980, on the streets of Paris, I

followed a man whom I lost track a few minutes later inthe crowd. That very evening, by chance, he was

introduced to me at an opening. During the course of

our conversation, he told me he was planning an

imminent trip to Venice.


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Sophie Calle a French writer and conceptualartist/photographer is someone who has particularlyinteresting perspective on Candid photography.

Through her projects such as Suite Vnitienne, LaFilature and The Cash Machine, that practicallypromote voyeurism, she investigates and analysesthe lives of herself and other people. Inspired to starther work as a photographer and observer aftertravelling the world, and returning home to Paris only

to feel isolated. Acting as a detective in her project,Suite Vnitienne, Please follow me she follows aman around Venice referred to as Henri. B analysingand photographing

his presence and activity, following on from this she

also takes part in her own cat and mouse chaseafter getting her mother to organise a privateinspector to do the same, Calle claimed she wantedphotographic evidence of her existence.

Her work gives the word Candid a whole new

definition, and in my opinion a much more sinisterone due to her stalker-like behaviour, intruding intothe private lives of others in comparison to thecandid style of someone like, Henri Cartier Bresson,who captures beautiful moments in a much morerespectful manner, she appears to be more

comparable to the paparazzi. Perhaps this is why I

theboundariesand putting a

newers ective on


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style of photography. Observing and giving theviewer an insight into other peoples lives focusingon question of identity and intimacy, something

which I find interesting. In her piece CashMachine, 1991, obtaining photographs from asecurity camera, which exposed how even thesimplest encounter between man and machine canevoke a variety of emotional responses, loss, hope,disappointment, fear, violence and joy. Calle drawsthe viewers attention to behavior of the peoplearound us yet unlike the paparazzi she does notexploit it, but welcomes it with open arms,analyzing it and presenting it to us in a veryclassic, honest style.

I really enjoy Calles work there is something verycaptivating, yet slightly devious about viewing it,as it feels like you shouldnt really be looking at it,although this gives an impulse to view it more. Herconcepts are an important component of her work

which makes it even more interesting in myopinion, as this makes her work quite personal to


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In an interview for the March issue of Vogue magazine, "Iwanted the shots to be genuine, so that when people look atthem, each picture will say something different.

Another style of candid photography which I have chosen to study isCorrine Days series of 9 Kate Moss portraits, which originally inspiredand influenced me to base this project on Candid photography. I wasfirst introduced to Corrine Day through a collaboration with aphotographer friend who photographed portraits of me in the style ofher (see next slide). The photographs are developed through a seriousconversation between sitter and photographer in order to capture the

sitter in natural manner and to bring out true character, in this case,Corrine Day has brung a new face to our usual perception of KateMoss, portrayed glamorously across the fashion media. Immersed inthe conversation Kate Moss is presented to us in nine black and whiteframes against plain backgrounds, again similarly to Sophie Calleswork this gives it an honest style and enables the viewer to focus on

the subject wholly and not be distracted by any outside matter-

A similar project to Days Untitled Kate Moss portraits, is AndyWarhols Screen Tests shot between 1963 and 1966. These silentshort films included a range of close-ups of celebrities from EdieSedgwick to Salvador Dali .The sitter was instructed to sit still for the

duration of the roll of film, resulting in portraits of those who felt atease, unease and those who cracked, delving into and revealing thetrue character of the celebrity sitter showing a different side to them,similar to Day. Warhol also manipulated light and shadow to capturethe mood, appearance and personality of the sitter. Similar to Calle,both Warhols and Days work is focused more on the concept ratherthan the aesthetic quality.


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Seeing Dali's unease become evident is at once intimate and very cruel -

a man falls apart in the light and lie of fame. Warhol's screen tests

have a probing persistence that makes them real records of people living

and dead.


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This collaboration between me and aphotographer friend, Chris Parker,features me playing the part of KateMoss in Corrine Days series of candidportraits. They were developedsimilarly to Corrine Day by aconversation between sitter andphotographer, therefore capturing mein a much more natural state, this was

partly due to the comfortable andrelaxed discussion and atmosphere.Not only this but my appearance isvery toned down, catching me afterwork, with little make-up on this also

shows another side to me.I think the photos are similar in styleyet differ in aesthetic

quality as they are not such close-upframes, I feel this gives it more, with theaddition of the posture and body languagealongside the facial expression, which Dayfocuses on with Kate Moss. This issomething the photographer wanted tocapture, describing me as veryexpressional, particularly through my useof hand gestures. The best image is

displayed, top right I feel this photographhas ca tured me at the decisive moment


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Here are a few more of my collaborative photographs in the styleof Corrine Day although they are not framed or captured quite aswell as my final image shown on the slide before, they dohowever continue to show an interesting perspective on candidphotography. The longer in which I was in front of the lens themore used to and relaxed I felt, therefore by the stage I was at inthe centre image and final image on the other slide, I was

completely lost in the motive and aim of the photographer enablinghim to capture me in my true element. I think the project was very


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Richard Billinghams take on Candid photography is through various documentary based

projects on his own family & home life. This innovative move invites the public into an urban

existence, exposing Billinghams dysfunctional family, revealing his alcoholic father, troubled

brother and huge physically of his mother. Capturing a Glimpse of their shambolic everyday

existence the viewer is uncomfortably confronted, this in turn opens the viewers eyes to

whole new culture which is generally alien to most, although Billingham states this wasnt his

intention, it does however create this effect. His family are almost exploited, a style more

similar to the press than to photographers like Corrine Day, however this observant manner

is quite similar to the style of Sophie Calle. He took so many photos of his family, that they

became unconscious and accustomed to it, this enabled him to portray a genuine depiction

of their normal behaviour.

When studying his pictures they made me feel slightly uneasy at first, however I grew

appreciative through my curiosity and interest in this alien world. I think that these

photographs are a gateway for the public into other areas of life, I believe this is very

important aspect of living and life experience.

'it's not my intention to shock, to offend, sensationalise, be political or whatever, only to

make work that is as spiritually, meaningful as I can make it - in all these photographs I

never bothered with things like the negatives. some of them got marked and scratched. I

just used the cheapest film and took them to be processed at the cheapest place. I was

just trying to make order out of chaos. -Richard Billingham
http://www.artseensoho.com/Art/LUHRING/billingham97/billingham6.html


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These close-up portraits of my friend were taken and edited by me, as Itried to capture him in a more natural and truthful manner similarly toCorrine Day, being relaxed in front of the camera anyway I was able tocapture some really effective photographs. I love the casual expression andattitude, I think they portray his laid-back personality as well as the use ofsepia toning and grain helped give the images character. I really think thecentral image I really caught the decisive moment perfectly similar to Henri

H i C ti B F h


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Henri Cartier Bresson, Frenchleading individual of modernPhotojournalism, and influentialstreet photographer in the 1930s.His interpretation of Candidphotography was his undeniable

and renowned talent of capturingthe decisive moment, in whichthe subject is unaware and lost inwhatever they were doing,therefore creating informal yetvery truthful portraiture, similarlyto Corrine Day and even RichardBillingham to a certain extent.However not only did he have agood sense of timing but a verysophisticated and creative style ofcomposition, in order to capturethe moment perfectly. In 1945 he

photographed the liberation ofParis and from 1947 he travelledEast for 3 years before returningback to Paris where he publishedhis first book, Images laSauvette (The Decisive Moment).Therefore opening and confronting

the viewers eyes honesty toculture and happenings around the

Cartier Bresson was revolutionaryand showed what I feel an artistic

and interesting perspective ofcandid moments, influencingphotography for generations tocome, something I reallyappreciate. I also really enjoy theuniversal appeal to his work, aseach moment tells a different story

and appeals generally to everyone.

For me the camera is a sketch book, aninstrument of intuition

and spontaneity, the master of the instant which,in visual terms, questions

and decides simultaneously. ... It is by economy ofmeans that one arrives


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This is a typical and famous exampleof the beauty of Henri CartierBressons style. His ability to capturewondrous and striking moments in a

candid format, is what makes hiswork so unique and influential,fathering the street photographystyle. Everything about this photohelps capture the moment thiscouple are sharing perfectly, from

the composition to the lighting to thetone and shadow. I also believe thatthe use of Black and White also addsto the overall effect of this imageplus Cartier Bressons style ingeneral. The eye is immediatelydrawn into the middle where thesubjects are sharing this decisivemoment and then the viewer realisesthe added details such as, the dogwatching and the reflections on thewindow pane, all adding to thecomposition and mood of the picture.

I have tried to capture a similarKiss,

own warmtonedindividualstyle.Similarly toBressonthough, the

eye is drawnin centrall


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Thi did


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This candidphotographpresents aninformal portraitof myself, it was

developed alikeCorrine Daysphotos of KateMoss during aconversationwith my

boyfriend.Although it wascaptured muchmorespontaneously,whereas Days

was set-up,because of this itreveals me in a

completely naturaland unawarestate. I used picture editingsoftware, (Paint Shop Pro XI) toinflict soft focusing and controllighting and colour levels. Theoutcome of the photograph is

similar to David Hamiltons workwho also made use of softfocusing to inflict a fairy talelike style. However my photoincludes much more summeryand warm tones in comparison

to Hamilton whose work is much


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Rwanda1994-Survivor of Hutu death camp. I it d I t t ti t b h t d


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I am a witness and I want my testimony to be honest anduncensored. I also want it to be powerful and eloquent and

do justice to the people I'm photographing." JamesNachtwey

Inspired by the American Civil Rights Movement and the VietnamWar, James Nachtwey self taught himself photography in order tobecome a war photographer and photojournalist. His first foreignassignment came in 1981 when he recorded the IRA hunger strikeof Northern Island. Since then he has travelled and exhibitedinternationally including, Afghanistan, Somalia, Romania andSouth Korea. His extensive travel enabled him to capturephotographs that recorded pain and suffering, war, culture andongoing issues in which he attempts to let the images speak out tothe viewer, almost like a cry for help, and open their eyes to thesuffering they are unaware of. His artistic ability to be able tocapture the unpleasant subject in a way that describes the issuesbest, a talent similar to Henri Cartier Bresson, with the decisive

moment-

I admire his bravery and talent to provide the world withshockingly honest images of witness, his style of Candidphotography is devised to break our isolation by confronting uswith the blunt and honest truth, he aims to concern and provokepeople into action. Although the subjects are often distressing his

style is very sophisticated with his interesting use of compositionand adaption to bad lighting reveals artistic talent. Again similarlyand typically of candid photography he displays his work in blackand white which I think communicates a very classic and honeststyle.


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This photograph was taken byme of my teacher, it has aninformal notion and iscomparable to the work of acandid photographer Keith Moswho describes candidphotography as Just life. I thin

this expression describes thebeauty of Candid photographyperfectly, as it is nothing morenothing less. I really like thisDiptych portrait as I love thepensive facial expression on heface as if she is lost in herthoughts, it is similar to thephotograph below taken byKeith Moss showing the subjectdazing dreamingly into the

distance. I love the use ofshadow and toning which I

,specializing in Landscape,Seascape and candid peoplePhotography, which I call "Justlife."

it representsthe shadow ofthought castover her mindat that decisive

moment intime, also it is
http://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.htmlhttp://www.keithmossphotography.co.uk/Just_Life_gallery.html


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When I started this investigation intothe definition of Candid PhotographyI had certain expectations of what Iwas going to discover however through my research I have

found that there are many different approaches and ways of

looking at Candid photography, some of these are to do withdifferent genres and others are because of technologicaladvances.

Initially portraiture was more formal yet with advances oftechnology such as the use of Electrical Lighting and shorter

exposure lengths, this enabled a gradual escalation of creativityand innovative design. Since then Candid Photography hasdeveloped and expanded, into diverse fields of Photography,from War Photography to a more Artistic approach toConceptual Photography. From my original interest in CorrineDays series of informal Kate Moss portraits which led me to

undertake a collaborative project myself, this gave me anindication of what Candid Photography is. However I have sincediscovered that it is much more than this, whereas Corrine Daydeveloped her work through a conversation between sitter andphotographer, other Candid photographers have developed avery different approach. Henri Cartier Bresson believed in the

decisive moment and many of his photographs were taken

Documents

The Question Of Candid Photography