When it comes to candids you are looking for spontaneous, off-the-cuff grabbed shots which are not necessarily snapshots. Their essence is capturing that moment of time when they were seen doing something... not necessarily what they wanted to appear to be doing, nor what the photographer wanted them to be doing.

Candid photography is not just about portraying people in unguarded moments - those uncomfortable situations ranging from embarrassing to compromising. Nor is it about hanging-out outside restaurants and night-clubs at 3 o’clock in the morning waiting for stars, celebrities, footballers and their other girlfriends to make fools of themselves. Candid photography is about observing human life through the camera, recording it and perhaps making a statement for others to look at and, if they wish, to compare themselves for reasons including self-confidence, ego, humour or even shock horror, etc.

Candid photography can be practised anywhere there are people from on the street, in the home, at work, at the supermarket... it is possible wherever there are people. You don’t have to know your subject (it may actually help if you don’t) but you do have to be aware of your subject without them being aware of you.

For many, this type of photography is difficult to do... if you’ve ever had that unnerving feeling when a camera is pointed at you, you will recognise that same feeling in the faces of others when you are pointing a camera at them. People’s reactions are unpredictable and range from quite unconcerned to threatening anger, and from genuine humour to utter fright. But that, of course, is only if they notice you taking photographs... the secret is to see, but be unseen... to observe, but be unobserved!