Beginners

Beginners guides to understanding how your digital camera works

Top 10 fashion portrait tips by Brian Rolfe

by Fujifilm EMEA March 5, 2015 Comments2

I love shooting fashion portraits, easy to plan, far less work than an editorial or commercial job! Give me a good model, quite often no team, just me, the model and an idea of what we want to create and almost without fail we’ll come away with some great shots that look uncontrived and natural. These are my tips for approaching this kind of portraiture…! !

#1 Put together a mood board beforehand that gives the general idea of what you’re aiming for, this doesn’t have to be an exact guide of the result you’d like but more of an overview so that everyone is on the same page. If you’ve not yet got a clearcut style then it’s good to find an image that’s close to what you want to create.!

#2 Pick the right model for the style you’re shooting, it sounds obvious but casting a very commercial girl next door type model when you want an editorial style with attitude is generally not going to work.!

#3 Remember models are people too, take the time to chat with them, get to know them a
little. Fashion portraits and people photography in general is as much about your personality as it is a model’s, create a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere and it will show in your results!!

#4 Try not to over direct, I always find a good professional fashion model allowed to pose free will usually create magic you never thought of yourself, that pretty much goes for fashion portraits as well as editorials.!

#5 Don’t ever put your camera down while the model is in front of you, you may just miss a candid shot that is a killer! I’ve done it and you will kick yourself.!

#6 Don’t get hung up on having a full team, some of my favourite shoots have been with no make up, hair or styling aside from what the model brings with her or him. I’ve shot models in an old pair of my jeans and that’s it.!

#7 Keep things simple, good lighting doesn’t need multiple light sources and expensive
modifiers, one light or daylight works best for a fashion portrait.!

#8 Play with angles, shoot from the floor, move around the model and experiment.!

#9 Keep make up natural or even shoot without any at all, a blank canvas and unstyled hair bring a realism to the shoot.!

#10 I generally keep styling basic for this kind or shoot, denim, t-shirts, vest tops, basics underwear, again give your model some ideas in advance or get something in yourself if you don’t have a stylist.! !

Have fun!

About Brian

Brian Rolfe is a professional photographer based just outside of London with a clean and classic style specialising in beauty, hair, fashion and portraiture.

Inspired by the classic photography of the sixties and the supermodel era of the eighties and nineties, he takes a simplistic approach, preferring to work with one or two lights and keep retouching to a minimum in order to enhance rather than overpower an image.

Filed under Be Inspired Portrait Tutorials

XQ1 – The Photographers compact?

by Dale Young February 24, 2015 Comments3

Want a small, powerful camera that has features you actually want to use? The XQ1 might just be what you’re looking for.

Like many of you, I have my main camera (X-E2) that I use day in, day out. I know it like the back of my hand and could use it with my eyes closed – if you get my drift. The problem is, sometimes I just don’t want to carry a bag around – no matter how small it is. I want a pocket sized camera that I can forget about until the need takes me. Here’s the catch though, I don’t want a pocket sized camera that offers no control and is very noisy in low-light. This is where I think the XQ1 really shines, it just seems to tick all those boxes:

Pocket-sized
Manual control
High quality images, even at high ISO.

Being so used to my X-E2, I thought it would be a good challenge to use the little XQ1 for my day out to London. Not only that, but I could rid myself of the bag that I’m always carrying about, which was super!

So, like you do when you love photography & adventure, I starting taking pictures. I took the usual suspects at first; trains, train station & people randomly wandering about their business.

One of the first reasons I would class this as a photographers compact camera is simply that you can change the focus point manually. This is something I do ALL the time on my X-E2 to aid with my composition. With other compact cameras I have used, you either cannot set it or it’s not easy to access.

For our day out we headed to the Natural History Museum, this was a great location to test the ISO performance. Looking back at the photos there is clearly some noise & grain, but it has a very film-like quality to it that I think adds to the atmosphere of the shots.

Another point to make about this camera as I discovered on the day, was how quick it turned on. Now this may not seem life changing, but when you are with a bunch of friends that don’t do photography and want to move on to the next exhibit, speed is everything. It made many shots possible that may have otherwise been lost. This also translates well into styles like street photography – you see someone or something interesting and you need the camera to be ready immediately to capture it.

QUICK TIP: For ease of access, I kept the camera inside my inner jacket pocket (blazer style). With that, I pretty much never missed an opportunity to shoot what I wanted – no fumbling in bags, jean pockets etc.

Due to the size of this camera, it really is super discrete. I could get those moments that I may not have been brave enough to shoot with other cameras, with even my X-E2.

And when all is said and done, it takes a great dinner party picture!

I think for many photographers using DSLR’s or Mirrorless cameras, you get very accustomed with a level of quality to expect and because of this, many wouldn’t dream of downsizing to a compact camera. But, as hopefully shown in this blog, the XQ1 makes an exception to this. It shows that you can still be creative, still get excellent quality images and at at a size that literally allows you to take it anywhere with ease.

Any questions? Drop us a comment below – and yes, I cannot wait to try out the latest model, the XQ2 🙂 [WATCH THIS SPACE…]

Filed under Photography

Edinburgh Street Photography Workshop with Matt Hart

by Fujifilm EMEA February 18, 2015 Comments3

Spend the day with renowned Fujifilm X Photographer Matt Hart, exploring the exciting streets of Edinburgh picking up tricks and tips from Matt along the way. This will be delivered in a relaxed and often, very entertaining way. You will also have personal guide Ami Strachan for the day to reveal all the best locations to shoot street in Edinburgh.

The course will give you an insight into the way Matt works and his style of Street Photography. You will learn how to anticipate and capture decisive moments throughout the city. And, having a guide for the day will help to future-proof your knowledge of the area. So, if you choose to come back – you’ll know all the best spots!

What you will learn:

The skill in spotting a possible subject.
What to look for in a great scene.
How to blend in and be invisible.
See and compose a subject with a scene or background.
Capture a subject without intrusion.
Develop confidence in shooting in the street.
Photography in public places safely.
Use different depths of field for different types of shot.
Use varying speeds for different effects.
How to review your own work.

After the event you will be able to post your work and talk to Matt through his Social Media pages or by e mail; this can include online critique and coaching when requested.

When and where?

The workshop will take place on Sunday the 8th of March from 10:30am till 4:30pm with a break for lunch. Don’t worry – there will be plenty of comfort breaks for those who need them throughout the day.

In addition to Matt’s expertise, a Fujifilm representative will also be on hand with a selection of the latest cameras and lenses to try, and will be there to help answer any of your technical questions.

The exact location will be made known when a ticket is purchased and will be distributed via email.

For more information on cost or to book, please visit the event page here.

Images from past events can be found here.

About Matt

Matt is a black & white street and event Photographer based in Liverpool England.
His journey through photography has been over 40 years mostly using film. He still shoots film, but more recently he prefers the freedom and flexibility of the digital medium striving to retain the integrity of the original image. Matt’s stock images have been used in advertising all over the world, his work has also been published in many books and magazines, including many photography magazines.

X-Photographers Spotlight – Matt Hart

Filed under Blog

That photographer friend…

by Dale Young February 17, 2015 Comments8

As an amateur photographer like many of you, I’m always looking for an excuse to shoot. Whether it be a day out, a wedding (as a guest), birthday party and the list goes on..

Because of this, the people close to me are used to me carrying a camera everywhere and posting out of context, random images to my personal Facebook wall on a very regular basis. I think as a result of this I have made it a bit of a personal responsibility to document events in my life and for others close to me. Maybe it’s so in the future I can look back happily nostalgic, or even to review my own photography, but for whatever reason it means that if you invite me to a party, gathering, or day out, you will end up with some images to remember it.

I think everyone has someone like this in their family or their group of friends and when I think back, my Grandad was that person. He would film all the family occasions with his cine-camera and every now and again we would have an evening to enjoy the images & film he’d taken on his slide projector.

These images are demonstrating exactly the kind of documentary photography that I have come to love. The opportunity came about when I was kindly invited as a guest to a birthday party. I even remember saying to my better half whether I should take the camera and “Do you think they would mind if I took images for the evening?” but then I answered my own question with “Why wouldn’t they? It’s capturing a beautiful moment in their life.” So I packed as light as I could, as after all, I was a guest as well as the unofficial photographer.

Once I arrived, I set up the basic camera settings that I would use for the night. In my case this meant classic chrome, ISO AUTO, shutter set to AUTO and aperture set to f/1.4 (to keep the ISO to a minimum in the low light environment).

I started by enjoying a snack or two (of course!) and then looking around the room for the best costumes (fancy dress theme was the letter ‘T’), best expressions and where the best lighting was in the room. As you may or may not know my favourite set up is the X-E2 with XF35mm lens, this night was no exception. I had only this gear with me and a spare battery just in case.

After the initial ‘Venue set up shots’ I began to focus my attention to people, being people – looking for those little moments and expressions that may otherwise be missed. From the happy & silly to the indifferent, any moment that could portray emotional involvement with the event would be snapped.

The evening was going well and mingling had just started to make good pace when something brilliant happened – a magician turned up! And what was even better? Simple, this guy was superb. He immediately had people huddled in small groups laughing and puzzling over his close-up magic wonderment. This was the perfect element for me to focus on, I wanted to capture the suspense, surprise and bemusement that followed after each and every trick.

My approach here was to keep an eye on where the ‘actual’ excitement was in each moment. For example it could be the expression of an individual, the trick itself, the movement in the image etc. These are some of my images hopefully showing just that.

I did occasionally stray away from the automatic focus and automatic shutter to help capture this fast fingered magician in motion.

What is the next essential part of any family party?…. Yes, you’re right, it’s dancing! 😉 And not just any old songs either, it had to be the ‘classic’ Macarena.

It’s all about those little moments that create one collage of memories and emotions caught in time.

And most importantly, trying to capture the single most significant moment that sums up the whole event. The shot below shows my best attempt at this. Here you can see the family coming together after a rousing speech and the DJ reflects perfectly how their emotion is shared outwards by others around them.

So the question is… are YOU that photography friend that everyone knows? Are you the one who makes it your passion to capture life as it happens for you and for your family? If so, I salute you! If your answer is no, why not give it a go? It will expand your skills, your confidence and very importantly it will develop your own style further. For me, if you haven’t noticed, I can’t help but shoot a lot of Dutch Angle style, rightly or wrongly, this is part of my style that has developed over time.

Please share your own experiences and thoughts in the comments below.

Happy Shooting! 🙂

Filed under Be Inspired Reportage

Win a place at Alex Lambrechts ‘Fashion X Street’ workshop!

by Fujifilm EMEA February 11, 2015 Comments1

Alex Lambrechts is offering the chance for two lucky photographers to win a free place at Alex’s newest ‘Fashion X street’ workshop (usually £115 per person). It will be based in Soho, London for a Street Fashion shoot with a twist.

Who is it for?

Suitable for all levels of photographers, because you’ll be receiving personal hands-on tuition, tailored to your experience level. This course is especially exciting for those still on the fence about switching to the X-Series from traditional DSLR, rangefinders and/or other formats, and a must for those wanting to pick up loads of new and unique tips and tricks.

Note: it is not essential to bring or use Fujifilm cameras, the majority of principles taught are indeed universal, and you will have the opportunity to use Alex’s cameras and lenses if you wish.

What will you learn?

This hands-on Fashion X Street workshop will focus on the various techniques and ideas Alex frequently uses when shooting an ‘On-Street’ Fashion, Press or Portrait job, shooting with both daylight and flash for varied environmental and lighting effects. During this 5 hour course, you and up to 14 others will be learning/testing loads of tips, tricks and secrets. Prepare to be taken out of your comfort zone, no matter how experienced you are!

Alex Lambrechts:

We’ll be shooting a professional international Fashion Model, you’ll will be taken right the way through the process, from the pre-shoot, makeup, styling and planning set up, to directing your model for maximum results, learning the following along the way:

In-depth manual control and familiarisation of the various features unique to the X-Series, as well as basic manual photography. (again, it is not essential to bring or use Fujifilm cameras, the majority of principles taught are indeed universal)

Accurately & confidently selecting and using various focal lengths, in both Auto & Manual focus modes, with a variety of focusing techniques for different lighting and environmental situations.

Knowing how and when to switch between the various view options of the Hybrid viewfinder and LCD to get the most out of these great tools in every situation.

Looking for, identifying and creating dynamic compositions on the go, for that ‘reportage look’ whilst avoiding the typically boring/posed images.

How to shoot in the ‘real world’ and ‘on the fly’ with varying lighting conditions and moving subjects on location.

How to effectively break the ‘Professional Photographer Mindset’ and rules to achieve more visceral and striking imagery, and find your own unique style.

How to use your flash in various ways, for either fill or creative lighting, as well as incorporating existing or external light sources, to enhance your creations.

The final part of this day will then be spent reviewing and editing your new images, (catching up in the warmth) as well as going over any aspects you might want to revisit or discuss again.

Note: I also follow up with an hour Web cast live group chat session where all participants can discuss their shots and I will go over how I process my images again in even more detail…

For more information click here.

Where and when

The workshop will run on Saturday 28th February, starting at 12:30pm till 5:30pm.
Address: B-SOHO, 21 Poland Street, Soho, London. UK. W1F 8QG

How to enter

For a chance to win, simply post your best street fashion image into the comments section of our #FujiFashion Facebook competition post by the 18th February 2015 at 10am. Alex will then choose the two lucky individuals by Thursday the 19th February.

Fujifilm UK Facebook

Past workshops

Want to know more? Have a look at past workshop blogs from the links below:

X SERIES STREET FASHION WORKSHOP

SHOOTING STREET FASHION WITH ALEX LAMBRECHTS

Remember, if you don’t win, you can still purchase a place on the workshop here.

Good luck! 🙂

Filed under Blog

Story behind the photo – Sheepish sunrise

by Ben Cherry February 5, 2015 Comments10

This story started out with a glance at the forecast the night before. With heavy fog and cold, mirky conditions on the table I had to at least try and get out in the early hours and capture these often photogenic conditions. Though Curbar Edge is very convenient for me to get to in the Peak District, I was beginning to feel like a one trick pony so decided to head over to a hill called Higgar Tor, which has lots of beautiful rock formations and a great view. Thankfully the main roads were well gritted and there is a car park very close to the hillside so my journey to the top of the hill was pretty straight forward, which is just as well as I arrived just the sun had come up, above the horizon… Funnily enough, there was hardly any fog and the sky was quickly clearing and it was turning into quite a spectacle.

I was not alone at the top of this seemingly lonely mountain though, there were two other photographer’s who were already there and in the prime positions for the sunrise. To avoid breaking the unwritten code of standing in front of another photographers shot, I had a little think to myself on how to approach the situation. While scouting around I came across a small herd of sheep, which seemed to have adapted well to the wintery conditions, as if their white coats were designed for this all along! As soon as I saw them I decided to use them as my main subjects for the morning.

Without a subject, I find it quite difficult to connect with landscape pictures, so having the sheep to focus on helped me focus on how to do the beautifully unravelling situation justice.

Since I had the Nissin i40 flash in my bag I decided to give it a go in the challenging conditions with the X-T1 and the 18-135mm lens. It quickly turned very bright and made the little flash work hard, which did result in relatively slow refresh times, but this could have been due to some slightly older batteries in it. What I wanted to do was to use the flash to give the sheep a tiny bit of definition in the part shaded from the sun. I deliberately moved so sheep were initially between me and the rising sun.

Now it may not look like the flash was used here, but if you look closely, particularly at the left front sheep’s eye then you can see a little glint. That was from the flash. I had the exposure compensation down a notch or two to try and retain a bit of the sky, otherwise it would have burnt out, as at that moment in time I wasn’t using any filters. The flash was on 0 exposure compensation and I attached the diffuser. Again, to reiterate I didn’t want the flash to be obvious in this picture, instead I wanted it to just give a little glint, to highlight the eye, which it did. What I liked about back lighting the sheep with the low sun is the wonderful warm glow given to their outlines.

The sheep then headed down the side of the hill to continue their grazing.

I decided to use the Velvia film simulation for much of the morning as it really gave a punchy finish to the photos, though sometimes the contrast was a little too high so I would sometimes change it to Provia.

Though the more I compare the above images, the more I lean towards the Velvia image as it is so attention grabbing. It is great having the options at your finger tips and being able to change the look of the image so easily and I haven’t even mentioned Classic Chrome yet!

As it was slippy under foot, I was very happy to have had the 18-135mm attached to the camera, as it gave me the versatility required to adapt to where I could move to and where the sheep moved! The first shot below was taken at 36.6mm, while the image after was at 135mm.

As the sun rose and the intensity of the colour faded I started using Classic Chrome more, to yet again change the look and feel of the pictures.

Though the sheep were seemingly trying to hide on occasion..

Using a longer focal length reduced the angle of view, which was helpful for this example as it gives focus on the sheep and the snow covered hill behind.

Though freezing conditions (literally), the gear performed flawlessly, even if the batteries suffered a little due to the cold. Certainly something to consider if spending a long time in cold conditions, having multiple batteries will save you from frustration.

Leaving the sheep to graze, I decided to test out the i40 flash in another filler situation. Using the 10-24mm and a tripod I set up the exposure compensation to capture the surrounding area how I wanted it to look and then adjusted the TTL function on the i40 to fill in the shaded area of the rocks.

This was the set up… The i40 looking the piece on top of the X-T1.

To change up my photos again I decided to use the same techniques as discussed in the previous Story behind the photo blog, using filters for long exposures. On the other side of the adjacent valley was a factory/power station of some description and it looked like it could look pretty cool if slowed down. This was a 28 second exposure.

What do you think to the photos? I hope it shows that the adaptability of the Fujifilm X-Series. Any questions please leave a comment below.

Until next time, go out, shoot and share your results with us!

Filed under Be Inspired Landscape / Cityscape / Seascape Wildlife

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