I love these! I much prefer the spontaneous shots over staged shots. Capturing life, capturing moments--this is for me the greatest value of photography.
This reminds of years ago when I was in college. My best friend was a psych major and had to do 'experiments'. For her the experiments involved catching people unawares in public. She would use me as a prop. We would go into a crowded area--a subway car, Grand Central Station--and she would have me behave oddly. I was supposed to do something that might startle or surprise people. She would record their reactions. It was an interesting exercise. Although, in hindsight, I'd say it probably put me in some risky situations:))
I think so too, capturing raw emotion or expressions has that interesting appeal that is very difficult to replicate with a staged or posed shots. Candid shots appear natural 🤩.
Oh my, I'm not sure about the culture back then but nowadays public pranks is a thing and people are usually okay with. Some will even play along.
Your best friend was ahead of her time doing public experiments. People tend to make the best reaction in public places. They will appear shock or surprised at first and then smile or laugh after knowing that it's just a social experiment 😁.
But of course, there are instances that it won't turn out well 😁.