Once there were candids that dominated all social media platforms, with people posting beautiful candid shots on every social media platform. The tongue-in-the-cheek captions and perfectly-framed photos were a hit among youngsters, and pretty soon you could see your favourite celebrity’s IG grid with aesthetically-shot photos. However, the meticulously-planned duckfaces were soon shown the door when a trend called “plandid” swept social media.
While plandids are a great way to stay up with the latest trends, Kool Kanya’s still photography program will help you click amazing photos and make your IG grid more vibrant and unique.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- What is a plandid?
- How to get your plandids right?
What is a plandid?
If you look up the Urban dictionary, you’ll know that plandid refers to a picture "meant to look like it was taken unbeknownst to the person in it.” Essentially, a ‘planned candid.’ This trend is all about appearing natural, but just not too natural because social media is a judgmental place. But, did you know that this is a basic modelling technique and you would have probably been doing this all along?
How to get your plandids right?
Here are some excellent tips to get your plandids right:
- Try the “cough” smile technique
To get the perfect plandid, you will have to look away and will be seemingly photographed mid-laugh. You don’t really have to laugh; just cough once from the diaphragm while smiling. Though it might feel and look weird, it will result in the perfect open-mouthed smile, and your picture would say “look how much fun I'm having!” - Make friends with motion
Contrary to what you might believe, you have to keep moving around to get your best shot. You can use the burst mode to capture pictures of you moving at different angles. You can spin around, move your face, or not look at the camera moving towards your face.
3. Pay attention to the location
While everyone aspires to look cute in their photos, it’s just half of the equation, because your background makes up for the other half. Do you pay enough attention to it? So, where you are, tells more than half of the story. The backgrounds that work really well are walls, murals, bricks, ruins, or anything that indicates that you are on a rooftop.
4. Look anywhere but the camera
There’s no need to overcomplicate your pose because if you are uncomfortable, it will show in the picture. What you can do instead is interact with the people and things around you so that you don’t focus on the camera. You can play with your hair, check your phone, or laugh at something that’s out of the frame. Or, you can look into the distance or look down. You can look anywhere but the camera.
5. Get a nice camera
While it does take hours of planning and hundreds of photos to get the perfect plandid shot, the more photos you click, the higher the probability that you’ll capture the perfect moment. In such cases, a camera with high-speed sequential shooting (or continuous shooting mode) will take several photos per second, and pick up small changes in your expression until you get the perfect shot.
6. Ask for help
Plandids are as indulgent as regular selfies, but let’s all agree that it’s more refined. Since it’s you who’s taking the plandid, you wouldn’t want to get your arm in the shot. Either you enlist a loved one to help you or invest in a good tripod, set your camera to self-timer and frame images with foreground elements (like a tree branch or doorway) to emphasise the fact that you aren’t aware that your photo is being clicked.
7. Stay authentic
Do you travel often but aren’t into very touristy poses? Then travel plandids are your go-to option. In fact, these are quite popular on IG because people like to present a very polished image of themselves online. While you might not wish to show that you care too much, you definitely do not want to give the impression that you are okay with poor-quality pictures. What you want is the fabulous version of our life to look authentic. So, when you look away from the camera, the photo looks less calculated and we appear less vain. Also, use a good photo editing app to make your photos appear surreal!
P.S. Don’t forget to add the #plandid hashtag, as it lets you be more real with your followers. This is your way of admitting that the effortless photo took some effort.
8. Do something with your hands; don’t sit idle
This is a neat trick and prevents your plandids from appearing too boring. If you just stand there, doing nothing, the entire purpose of a plandid fails. You have to be caught in motion, doing something. So, pretend that you’re wearing sunglasses, flip or play with your hair, hold a drink, or apply lipstick. In short, do something with your hands.
Did you know that if you look up images tagged as “#plandids”, you will come across numerous posts with the tag! It’s quite popular! So, go on, adorn your IG grid with beautiful plandids.
