If you've been wanting to start taking candids, or if you want to improve your candid game, hopefully this thread can help. Anyone can feel free to contribute advice here.
The way I see it, any candid photography activities must meet the following objectives:
1. Get the shot you want. Otherwise, what's the point?
2. Don't blatantly look/act like a creep. Of course there's a little bit of inherent creep factor to taking candids, but your goal is to minimize the appearance of it as much as possible.
3. Don't get caught. People have gone to jail for "improper photography" of boobs and butts in public, and while bellies might be a bit of a gray area it's best to not leave that up to legal interpretation.
Each objective is just as important as the other two, although #3 is probably the most important. The advice here will help satisfy all three.
1. Don't initiate contact (verbal or physical). Look but don't touch.
2. When you see a belly, consider if it's worth the effort. I've seen people post candid pics of bellies that aren't that big and I just have to wonder why they bothered. I try to only take candids of big/huge bellies.
3. In most cases you only have 1-2 chances to get your shot before looking suspicious. This is especially true of places that aren't overly crowded. For example, don't follow a pregnant woman around the whole damn Target, and you can only pretend to be interested in bed sheets or shower curtains for so long. Especially with superb sightings, it can be tempting to the point of obsession to make sure you get the girl from as many angles as possible, but you have to resist this temptation if it's going to take too long. I once found myself idly staring at Greek yogurt for five minutes because there was a preggo 15 feet away. Fortunately I don't think she noticed. Blend in, make your attempt, and move on. (There are some exceptions to this. Ikea and grocery stores, especially during high traffic times, may afford more opportunities since it's conceivable that people can cross paths multiple times in those stores. You still need to know when enough is enough.)
4. Turn off the shutter sound. If your phone doesn't allow this then I wouldn't even bother.
5. Use video mode instead of photo mode. Multiple benefits here: you don't have to keep clicking the shutter button, you have a better chance of getting the right shot, and you can always pluck stills out of the video afterward. Choose as high a resolution and frame rate as possible. Some people have good luck with slow-motion mode which, depending on your phone, shoots at 120-240fps instead of the normal 30-60fps, but my particular phone underexposes slow-motion videos so I stick with 4K at 30fps. Make sure your fucking flash is off, and if at all possible, and set your phone to not lock autofocus while recording.
6. Hold your phone close to your body, and/or at an angle where you are certain no one can see the screen. I usually hold my phone at my side by my leg, unless I have a shopping cart and can hold it up higher.
7. Don't look at or otherwise manipulate your goddamn phone while taking your candids. It's tempting to check and make sure you're getting the goods or touch to focus, but just don't. It's a good way to draw attention to yourself. If you miss the shot, you miss the shot.
8. Know your device. It may take a while, but you should gain an understanding of how close/far away you need to be and what angle to hold your phone.
Other suggestions?
The way I see it, any candid photography activities must meet the following objectives:
1. Get the shot you want. Otherwise, what's the point?
2. Don't blatantly look/act like a creep. Of course there's a little bit of inherent creep factor to taking candids, but your goal is to minimize the appearance of it as much as possible.
3. Don't get caught. People have gone to jail for "improper photography" of boobs and butts in public, and while bellies might be a bit of a gray area it's best to not leave that up to legal interpretation.
Each objective is just as important as the other two, although #3 is probably the most important. The advice here will help satisfy all three.
1. Don't initiate contact (verbal or physical). Look but don't touch.
2. When you see a belly, consider if it's worth the effort. I've seen people post candid pics of bellies that aren't that big and I just have to wonder why they bothered. I try to only take candids of big/huge bellies.
3. In most cases you only have 1-2 chances to get your shot before looking suspicious. This is especially true of places that aren't overly crowded. For example, don't follow a pregnant woman around the whole damn Target, and you can only pretend to be interested in bed sheets or shower curtains for so long. Especially with superb sightings, it can be tempting to the point of obsession to make sure you get the girl from as many angles as possible, but you have to resist this temptation if it's going to take too long. I once found myself idly staring at Greek yogurt for five minutes because there was a preggo 15 feet away. Fortunately I don't think she noticed. Blend in, make your attempt, and move on. (There are some exceptions to this. Ikea and grocery stores, especially during high traffic times, may afford more opportunities since it's conceivable that people can cross paths multiple times in those stores. You still need to know when enough is enough.)
4. Turn off the shutter sound. If your phone doesn't allow this then I wouldn't even bother.
5. Use video mode instead of photo mode. Multiple benefits here: you don't have to keep clicking the shutter button, you have a better chance of getting the right shot, and you can always pluck stills out of the video afterward. Choose as high a resolution and frame rate as possible. Some people have good luck with slow-motion mode which, depending on your phone, shoots at 120-240fps instead of the normal 30-60fps, but my particular phone underexposes slow-motion videos so I stick with 4K at 30fps. Make sure your fucking flash is off, and if at all possible, and set your phone to not lock autofocus while recording.
6. Hold your phone close to your body, and/or at an angle where you are certain no one can see the screen. I usually hold my phone at my side by my leg, unless I have a shopping cart and can hold it up higher.
7. Don't look at or otherwise manipulate your goddamn phone while taking your candids. It's tempting to check and make sure you're getting the goods or touch to focus, but just don't. It's a good way to draw attention to yourself. If you miss the shot, you miss the shot.
8. Know your device. It may take a while, but you should gain an understanding of how close/far away you need to be and what angle to hold your phone.
Other suggestions?