These are all find candids... they show what the people were doing. But I would be real hesitant to call them "portraits". For myself, the definition of a "portrait" is much more of a controlled setting. This might be controlled lighting, controlled environment, controlled posing (choosing one or more of these, though at times not necessarily any particular one). Realizing that not everyone has the same definitions of words, all I'm saying is that for me, "candid portraiture" would be an oxymoron ... something like "jumbo shrimp", the words sort of contradict each other.
However, there are other types of portraiture ... "environmental portraiture", for example. Where the point is to create a portrait of an individual that expresses who they are by including their environment within the image. The one that comes closest to that, I think, is this one:
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I like the use of both foreground and background elements to give a sense of where she is and who she is. The posing with her hand up to her neck is pleasing, even if it does happen to be candid. The lighting on her in this image is better than most of the others in that it gives her a three dimensional form.
My suggestion to improve on "portraiture" would be to take some of your friends and sit them down in front of window light and turn them from side to side. See what light works the best in defining their face and features and go from there.
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