Most clients who hire me for event photography tell me that they want a mixture of “candid photos” and “posed photos.” I think this is the right approach to covering an event – some photos where the people are posed and smiling at the camera, and some where the people are unaware that the camera is on them, documenting authentic interactions.
However, I have found that the meanings of “candid and posed” are often different from one person to another, and what one client might mean by candid isn’t the same as someone else. So I think it’s important to be super clear.
For me, the definition of whether a photo is “candid” or “posed” is about whether or not the majority of people in the photo are looking at the camera. (And wow, that sentence has a lot of prepositions.)
For posed photos, I might approach a small group of people to ask if I can take their photo. Then I’ll spend a moment arranging everyone to ensure that everyone’s faces are showing and indicate when I am making a photograph.
In candid photos, I prefer that the subjects are being themselves in the moment without worrying about being photographed. In these images, the majority of people in the photograph are enjoying the interaction and are not acknowledging the camera.
(Then, of course, there are the actual photos of the event, right? Things like the speaking program, the performers, the ceremonies, etc. Those aren’t really candid or posed. They just…are. So rest assured I always get that stuff, too.)
I ask that my event clients create a shot list of any desired posed group photos and send it to me ahead of the event. This way, I can ensure that I am getting the most important group photos as I am scurrying around the room covering everything.
I’d love to hear from you if you have questions about this process or if I can help you get exactly the event photographs you need.