Candid Photos for Camera-Shy Couples: A Guide to Feeling Comfortable from a Destination Engagement Photographer

Learning how to feel comfortable in front of the camera starts with unlearning everything we thought we knew about being photographed. It’s like Blake and Erin walking hand in hand through the cobblestone streets of Red Hook, no stiff poses, no agenda, just two people showing up fully as themselves, soaking in the moment as it unfolds. Capturing candid photos of authentic moments along the way. Somewhere along the way, we were taught to pose. To freeze. To pull our chins forward and smile like we were being graded on it. We were trained to be picture-perfect, whatever the hell that means. But here’s the thing: perfection is boring. Perfection doesn’t laugh so hard it snorts or cry when the vows hit too close to home. Perfection doesn’t trip on the sidewalk in Red Hook on the way to a surprise proposal and laugh it off with red wine in hand.

It's time to unlearn all of that, to stop performing and start living in the frame instead. Not for the camera. Not for Instagram. Just for the moment. Because that’s where the good stuff happens in the mess and the real.

Candid Photos as Rebellion: Being Yourself in Front of the Camera

Being yourself in front of the camera isn’t always easy, but it’s where the heart of the story lives. Candid photos aren’t just a trend, they’re a rebellion. A joyful rebellion, spontaneous, honest, and full of heart. They say: I’m not here to look perfect, I’m here to feel everything. And that’s where the soul of it lives.

Blake + Erin’s Story: Real Love in Red Hook

Take Blake and Erin. They’ve been together for three years, and one August afternoon, Blake called me from a train heading back from Philadelphia, with the ring in his bag and a plan in motion. Erin thought he was picking up his car. What she didn’t know was that Blake was planning to ask her to spend forever with him that very night.

Red Hook was their spot. A cozy date night. A favorite restaurant. Just another summer evening in Brooklyn, until it wasn’t. He dropped to one knee at Louis Valentino Jr. Park and Pier, and she had no idea it was coming. The sun hit just right, the wind tugged at her hair, and her face cracked wide open with surprise and joy. No script. No staging. Just real emotion, spilling out right there on the pier. And that’s the good stuff.

The Beauty of Chaos

This is where being yourself in front of the camera really shines, like Erin’s spontaneous laughter echoing down the street or Blake leaning in close as the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t planned. And that’s what made it so unforgettable. The candid photos often tell the best story. It’s the windblown veil during post-ceremony photos. The strolling through downtown after an ice cream date during your engagement photos. The tears that came out of nowhere when you saw your dad trying not to cry. The genuine laughter and shock from your surprise proposal. That’s the story. That’s what you’ll want to remember.

How to Feel Comfortable in Front of the Camera by Being Yourself

Your people don’t need you to know how to pose; they just want you to know how to feel comfortable in front of the camera by simply being yourself. Because here’s the truth: your people don’t want a stiff, posed version of you. They want you. The real, messy, radiant, laughing-through-tears version. The one who throws her head back when she laughs. The one who holds eye contact a little too long during the vows. The one who forgets the camera is even there.

Letting the Camera In

Let’s talk about how to feel comfortable in front of the camera, because it’s not about nailing the perfect pose. It’s about showing up the way Blake did, ring in his pocket and heart racing, walking through Red Hook like it was any other date night. It’s about laughing like Erin did, freely, fully, not for the camera but for the person standing across from her. Candid photos turn your memories into tangible memories forever. 

It’s about breathing and feeling in the moment. Laughing when something’s funny. Letting your eyes well up when they do. Holding your partner’s hand the way you always do when no one’s watching. It’s about being yourself in front of the camera. It’s okay to be nervous! It’s okay to feel a little awkward at first! But the moment you let go of trying to get it "right" and just let it be, that’s when the realness shows up. I’ll guide you, gently, when you need it. But more than anything, I’ll give you space to be human. To be in love and totally present in the moment. 

Letting the camera in means letting go of control. It means trusting that your story is already enough. It means saying yes to the chaos, the softness, the in-between moments that make your day yours.

Book Me as Your Travel Photographer

If you’re wondering how to feel comfortable in front of the camera, look to Blake and Erin. No Pinterest board. No perfect plan. A moment that came together with spontaneity and trust, grounded in the kind of love that doesn’t need a script.

The real stuff happens when you stop trying to perform and start allowing yourself to just be. Be in love. Be surprised. That’s what being yourself in front of the camera looks like. So here’s your permission slip: You don’t have to pose. You don’t have to perform. You just have to be. And I’ll be there with my camera, chasing the wind and the wonder and every perfectly imperfect moment in between.

To every couple planning a proposal, wedding, or celebration of love, wherever you are, I see you. Let’s skip the stiff poses and tell the story as it really happened. Let’s document the love and the real. If you’re looking for a travel photographer to capture your next greatest adventure, inquire here.