You want to create great images of your friends or family when you’re on vacation, but how do you do it in a way that doesn’t leave them looking stiff or awkward?
Photographing the people you’re on vacation with is a big reason many of us take a camera along with us. Pictures of your family and friends are great for social media, making photo books, or just for looking back on in years to come. As well as the classic group shots, portraits, and selfies, unposed pictures (what photographers call ‘candids’) are an important part of the mix – they’re more genuine and show people looking more relaxed and having fun.
Ask any street photographer and they’ll tell you there are numerous techniques for photographing people in this way – some rely on being sneaky and making an image without their subject knowing. Other methods are more honest and just use the familiarity you have with your subject – after all, you’re on vacation, too.
Here are a few of our favorite techniques.
Take a Step Back
A good way to remove yourself from the scene – so you only observe events and don’t influence them – is to get further away, then use a telephoto lens. To begin with, try this with the 50mm or 55mm end of your standard zoom lens, but also consider getting hold of a telephoto zoom lens like FUJINON XC50-230mmF4.5-6.7 OIS II, XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, or XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR. These will let you stand further back, and zoom in to fill the frame with your subjects, who won’t realize you are taking pictures of them.
© Afton Almaraz
This technique works very well in a place where your subjects can lose themselves in something and where you have lots of space to play with. A beach or park is a great example.
Preset Your Camera
You want to be spontaneous when making this type of image, which means the less you have to think about when you’ve got the camera in your hands, the better. Let’s look at how to set up your camera so it is ready to frame fleeting, spontaneous moments as they happen.
- Engage Wide/Tracking AF mode so the subject nearest the camera will always be focused on and kept sharp. Press MENU OK and navigate to the AF/MF SETTING menu, then choose AF MODE > WIDE/TRACKING.
- Switch on Face Detection so people are given priority for focusing over other objects. Press MENU OK and navigate to the AF/MF SETTING menu. Then choose FACE/EYE DETECTION SETTING > ON > EYE AUTO.
- Be aware of the Focus Selector switch on the camera: S (single), C (continuous), M (manual). Keep it at C so the camera tracks your subject while you half-press the shutter button.
- Use continuous shooting to capture bursts of images, as opposed to single images. Press MENU OK and navigate to the SHOOTING SETTING menu. Choose DRIVE SETTING > HIGH SPEED BURST. Note that Drive mode can be accessed via a dial or button depending on the camera model.
A wide aperture helps blur the background behind your subject, making them stand out. You can tell the camera to take this approach by using the Portrait Scene Mode, or by switching to Aperture Priority mode (A on the mode or shutter speed dial) and selecting a large aperture (a small F number).
Shoot From the Hip
Normally, when we pick up a camera, the first thing we do is look through its viewfinder (or on its screen) in order to compose the image – but this isn’t the only way. Street photographers often forgo this in order to react more quickly and remain inconspicuous, photographing by simply pointing their camera in the right direction and without looking exactly what’s in the frame. It’s a technique called ‘shooting from the hip’, since the camera is positioned around hip level when this is happening.
Shooting from the hip is necessarily imprecise, so you’ll have to live with a significant reject rate – especially when you’re starting out. But practice makes perfect: use a wide-angle lens and try to get close to your subject. Make several frames, moving the camera very slightly between each one.
If your camera has a flip-up LCD screen, you can also use this to photograph from waist level, which doesn’t attract as much attention.
© Jonathan Irish
Take a Different View
Speaking of tilting LCD screens, these make it much easier to photograph from unusual angles, and you should take full advantage of this for your people pictures.
When photographing kids playing, try getting down to their level instead of framing from your own head height. You’ll be able to see more of their faces and what they’re up to, plus the more equal viewpoint gives a stronger emotional connection.
© Alison Conklin
Hopefully this approach will inspire you to try out other angles, too, such as looking down vertically from above. It’s amazing how a small difference in viewpoint can create a huge impact!
Think About the Light
Often what separates good photos from bad photos is light. And one of the easiest ways of changing how the light falls in a photo is to change where you are standing. Have you ever made a picture of someone and thought, “It’s a shame they are in shadow and the background is too bright?” Chances are, if you were standing on the other side of them, so the light was falling on to their faces instead of their backs, the results would be much better.
The lesson here is to try to look at where light is coming from before you start photographing. This doesn’t need to be anything too technical – just look around you and notice where your light source is coming from, then move so that you are standing between it and your subject. It could be the sun (even behind a cloud) when you’re outdoors, or a window if you’re inside.
© Afton Almaraz
Make Your Camera Normal
If you suddenly pull out your camera in a group of people, they can all react by making odd faces or shying away. The solution is to have your camera around all the time so your friends and family have a chance to get used to it and the fact you’re making pictures of them.
Show them any winners in Playback mode, so they know you’re making them look great, not silly. Be ‘that person’ who’s always got their camera around their neck (though don’t overdo it and get on everyone’s nerves either!)
Your Next Steps
- CHALLENGE Show us your best images that have been ‘shot from the hip’ – post them to social media with the hash tags #MyFujifilmLegacy. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.
Header image © Seth Hughes
