Category Archives: Digital Imaging Tips

Exposure Basics for Shooting With Mirrorless Cameras

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I often get questions from readers and workshop students about how I exposure for my scenes.

Which exposure mode do I use, how often do I bracket, and in what increments? Which metering pattern do I prefer, center weighted, spot or multi segment? How do I handle challenging light? What should the histogram look like? Do I exposure for the right or the left?

Since proper exposure is such a vital part of photography, I thought I’d give you a quick primer on the exact exposure methods I use with my Fujifilm mirrorless cameras. Note, these techniques work with pretty much any kind of mirrorless camera.

I’ll start by saying that my technique looks a lot different than it used to, simply because mirrorless camera technology makes exposure a whole lot easier.

Compared to digital, color slide film had very narrow latitude, only about five stops, so you either nailed it, or else you threw the picture away. Anyone could get it right in easy light, but when the light got really tricky…

…Let’s just say that this is what separated the men from the boys. Your exposure chops were the most important skills you had as a photographer and serious shooters were forever chasing the dragon of being able to perfectly expose for every type of scene, no matter how challenging the light.

Oh, and I say “men” & “boys” because it’s us male people who tend to obsess about the technical aspects of photography, like how big our lenses are and how good we are at exposure. Women are perfectly capable of making a perfect exposure in tricky light, they usually don’t flap their wings so much when they nail it.

With DSLRs, things are kind of the same. Even though modern sensors have a much wider latitude than film, unless you shoot in Live View Mode, you still have no idea what the picture will look like until you actually shoot it and press the playback button. However Live View on most DSLRs doesn’t give full functionality and performance, especially with regards to autofocus.

Also, if you’re shooting fast breaking scenes, waiting to see if you nailed it might mean the difference between nailing the scene or missing it.

The Magic of Mirrorless

It’s a whole different world with mirrorless cameras. Real-time Live View with full performance and WYSIWYG viewfinders shows you what the picture will look like before you take it, simply because what you’re looking at on the screen is an exact view that’s being fed directly from the sensor.

It’s like magic. There is no surprise. No more “oops.”  No more blowing the shot because you underexposed when you should have overexposed, or because you used the wrong type of meter.

Even in the most challenging lighting situations imaginable, you can still see EXACTLY what your final image will look like. And that changes everything. 

With this in mind, here’s my basic exposure workflow:

  1. Turn on camera and set to Aperture Priority Mode.

  2. Point it at the scene.

  3. Look at the LCD or peer through the EVF.

  4. If I like what I see, I press the shutter button. 

  5. If it looks too dark, I turn the EV+/- Dial a few click up until I like what I see. Then I press the button.

  6. If it looks to bright, I turn the EV+/- Dial a few click the other way, until I like what I see. Then I press the button.

 

I’ll say it again: IF I LIKE WHAT I SEE, I PRESS THE BUTTON. 

It’s as simple as that. Most of the time, the camera gets it right, but if I want something different than what the camera is showing me, I simply turn the EV Dial until l get the look I want. Even if I’m using a different exposure mode, like Shutter Priority or Program.

In other words: The EV+/- Dial is your friend. 

Here’s an example:

The other day, I was riding in an airplane. I looked out the window and saw beautiful sunset light hitting the “winglet.” I grabbed my camera and pointed it out the window.

Hmmm… what should I do to ensure “proper exposure?” Set a spot meter and point it at the winglet? Or maybe at the brightest part of the sky. (That’s what we used to do.) Nah, that’s too much work.

I simply looked at the screen and decided that the current exposure at 0EV was a little to bright. The color on the winglet was a little bit washed out, so I turned the EV+/- Dial to -3 and pressed the button.

That’s all. I turned the EV dial until I liked what I saw. Then I pressed the button and immediately Tweeted it to Alaska Airlines as soon as we landed.

Here’s another example.

In the scene below, the camera told me that “The right exposure” was one thing, but I wanted a slightly darker background and more contrast, so I turned the EV+/- Dial to -7 and took the second photo.

What About Shutter Speed and Aperture?

Ok, now we’re getting a little more complicated. But not really.

For some picture situations, you’ll want a high or low shutter speed in order to freeze or blur the motion. Other times, you might want a wide or narrow aperture in order to get a shallow or wide depth of field.

In Aperture Priority mode, you can control both of those parameters by simply turning the Aperture control until you see either the shutter speed you want or the f/stop you want. The camera will compensate by changing the shutter speed, which you can see right in the display.

So, for most scenes, I simply point the camera and think about how I want my scene to look. Sharp? Blurry? Lots of stuff in focus? Only one thing in focus? Once I figure that out, I turn the Aperture ring until I see either the shutter speed or f/stop that will create that effect.

For the first picture below, I wanted a fast shutter speed. I set my aperture to f/2.8, which got me a speed of 1/640 sec. For the second picture, I wanted blurry water, so I set my aperture to f/16, which gave me a shutter speed of 3 seconds.

What about ISO?

If my current ISO setting won’t give me either the f/stop or shutter speed I want, I simply adjust the ISO. (You could use Auto ISO, but I prefer to change it manually.)

Here I was photographing crows early in the morning when the light was dim. I was using the new Fuji XF200mm f/2, which meant I needed a high shutter speed in order to get a sharp photo of a flying bird. I cranked the ISO up to 1600, which gave me a high enough shutter speed.

It’s a simple as that. Need the speed? Crank up the ISO dial.

What about Manual Exposure Mode?

Manual exposure mode works pretty much the same way, only you have to control everything. You adjust the shutter speed, aperture control and ISO, and watch what happens in the viewfinder. As you adjust those controls, you’ll be able to see the picture get brighter or darker.

When you get your desired shutter speed or f/stop, and you like what you see on the screen, press the button.

Simple as that.

If your picture is too light or dark, adjust SS, f/ or ISO until you get the look you want. Then press the button.

What about The Histogram?

The Histogram is a graph of all the tones in your image. Without going into too much detail, (you can read a great post on histograms here), the basic rule is that you don’t want to have a giant spike on either side, because that means that either your highlights or your shadows will be “blown-out.”

Sometimes it’s ok to blow out your shadows, because shadows are your best friend in photography. Blown highlights don’t usually look as good in photos.

You also don’t want to have a huge gap on the right side of the histogram. Due to the way that digital sensors capture light, there’s more tonal information in the brightest tones than in the darker tones. This means you have more latitude for processing your photos if they’re generally brighter than if they’re darker.

If you try to brighten the really dark tones in your photo processing software, you’ll end up with more noise than if you adjust the brighter tones.

You can display a histogram right in your LCD/EVF. (Depending on the model, you can show a simple histogram or a 3-color RBG histogram. Either is fine.) This can help you with your exposures. Why?

Because you can’t always trust your LCD. Sometimes it can can fool you. Not all cameras have the same quality viewfinder, and not all screens are calibrated the same with 100% accuracy. Also, the LCD can look different in excessively bright or dark light.

I usually trust the LCD on my Fujis, but I’ve seen some cameras where the LCD is not very accurate. You’ll generally find this to be true with cheaper cameras.

It’s very simple to incorporate this tool into your shooting method. When you’re doing the “Exposure Workflow” I outlined above, just keep an eye on your histogram and make sure there aren’t any huge spikes or gaps at either end. If there are, simply adjust the EV+/- Dial or our camera controls until it looks ok.

Ideally, you want a nice, even bell curve that extends all the way across, but doesn’t jump over either side. When in doubt, you should aim for a brighter image than a darker image. However the exact shape will very depending on what you’re shooting.

If you’re photographing predominantly light or dark subject matter, or subject with very high or very low levels of contrast, your histogram won’t look like a nice bell and it may even have some gaps the edges. You may even have some spikes.

Sometimes spikes and gaps are unavoidable, especially if you’re shooting high contrast subjects. Again, you just don’t want too much stuff blowing over the edges.

Imagine how different the histograms would look like for these three photos below.

Being a great photographer still requires a high level of proficiency and experience with your camera. It takes knowing which settings to change, being able to adjust them quickly in real-time, anticipating your scenes and knowing how to translate your creative vision into a final photograph.

Years of practice.

However, the basics of getting a good exposure are relatively simple when using mirrorless cameras. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Look at the screen/viewfinder and if it doesn’t look right, make an EV adjustments as needed. When you like what you see on the screen, press the button. It’s that easy.

How to Use Fujifilm’s New Focus Bracketing Feature

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The May 2018 firmware updates added the new Focus Bracketing feature to the Fujifilm X-T2 (which is currently $500 off) and X-H1. First introduced in the GFX earlier this year, and [now included in the X-T3 and X-T30], Focus Bracketing has been one of the most talked about and alas, one of the most confusing features since it was released into the two top shelf X Series models.

I’ve gotten quite a few emails from readers asking how it works. I finally had a chance to try it out myself, so in this post, I’ll give you the basic rundown on how the Fuji’s Focus Bracketing feature actually works and how to put it to practical use in your own photography.

First, a little background. Focus Stacking, is often used in closeup and macro photography, when you’re already dealing with extremely shallow depths of field. That said, you can get great results when shooting traditional landscapes at more “regular distances.” Either way, the technique involves creating a series of photos shot at slightly different focus distances, then combining, or stacking them in Photoshop or Lightroom.

All of the extremely narrow focus slices are added together, which results in an final image that a much wider depth of field than you’d normally be able to get with a single frame. The restyle can be pretty dramatic. Even if you don’t have an X-T2, X-H1 or GFX, you can still do Focus Stacking, you just need to put your camera on a tripod and perform your focus adjustments manually.

Step 1: Set Up The Focus Bracketing Menu

The new Focus Bracketing menu lives inside the Bracketing Menu. The easiest way to get there is to set the DRIVE DIAL to BKT and press the Fn Button that’s tied to your DRIVE SETTINGS. On both the X-T2 and X-H1, the default setting has the front Fn button assigned to DRIVE, although you can change this to any Fn button if you like. Otherwise, you can access DRIVE SETTINGS at the top of the SHOOTING SETTINGS MENU.

Once you bring up your DRIVE SETTINGS menu, the first step is to go to BKT SETTING —> BKT SELECT —> and choose FOCUS BKT at the bottom of the menu. This is actually the most important step; you need to select which kind of BKT you’ll be doing. It’s easy to miss this step.

Once you choose FOCUS BKT, hit OK and you’ll be taken to the FOCUS BKT SETTINGS page. Here you choose the number of frames you’ll shoot, your STEP, which corresponds to the difference in focus distance for each shot, and your INTERVAL, which is how many seconds between each frame.

For FRAMES, I’ve experimented with anywhere between 10-60. For the example above, I had it set to capture 50 frames. If you have very shallow subject matter, you can easily get by with less. If you’re trying to show an extremely wide range of focus, you might want to choose a higher number of frames. The max setting is 999 frames. I can’t imagine how long it would take to load 999 images into Photoshop.

With regards to the STEP setting, 1 is the smallest focus distance difference between frames, from front to back, and 10 is the highest. It’s not an exact number, though. Fujifilm hasn’t provided any specifics on how far this is, so you’ll have to experiment and see what works for you. In my own tests, I’ve tried 3, 5 and 10, and I’ve found that 10 seems to work pretty well. For extreme macro, you may want to use a smaller number.

For INTERVAL, I just use 0 and let the camera fire the entire series in quick succession.

The nice thing is that once you’ve set up your Focus Bracketing preferences, and as long as the DRIVE dial is set to BKT, you don’t have to go through all the other steps again. The next time you hit the DRIVE button, you’ll be taken right to the FOCUS BKT SETTINGS Page. Unless, of course, you choose a different type of bracketing.

Step 2: Take Your Shots

Once you have your BKT SETTINGS all configured the way you want them, it’s time to shoot your series. You’ll probably want to use a tripod, and you probably want to get as close as possible with your lens. You can use any lens, but for super close macro, I recommend using a dedicated macro lens like the XF80mm f/2 Macro lens, or XF60mm Macro lens. This will give you the best edge to edge sharpness.

Another alternative is to use one of the Fuji MCEX extension tubes. I use the MCEX-11 with a variety of lenses. The general rule is that the wider the lens, the closer you can get, which means the more shallow your depth of field will be.

For this “Red Lettuce” image, I used the MCEX-11 in conjunction with the XF35mm f/2 lens. One of my favorite lenses for macro with the MCEX tube is the XF23mm f1.4, although I’ve used quite a few of my lenses with the MCEX, including the XF100-400. The nice thing about using long lenses, is that you have an easier working distance and increased DOF.

The technique for shooting is to set your focus on the closest part of the image you want to be sharp. For this example, I started with the very front edge of the lettuce leaf, which you can see in the shot above.

You can either focus manually or use autofocus to set your focus point. If you’re using AF, I recommend using Single AF and setting the green focus box to a relatively small point for the most accuracy. If you’re focusing manually, you’ll want to use FOCUS CHECK so you can zoom in and make sure you’re hitting the right spot. After you’ve got your focus nailed, you can go ahead and press the shutter. The camera will shoot the number of frames in the interval you specified.

When shooting macro, I usually set the camera to ELECTRONIC SHUTTER. This helps prevent any camera shake that may occur from the shutter slamming up and down inside the body. With the ES, there are no moving components during capture, it’s just individual pixels turning on and off.

The last thing to do be fore you hit the shutter is to pray that the wind doesn’t blow during your series. This is easily the most frustrating thing about shooting macro. It’s nearly impossible to shoot closeups if there’s even a slight breeze.

Step 3: Stack Your Frames

Once you’ve got all your shots, it’s time to combine them into a single image. The most common way is to select all of the frames you want to use and open them in Photoshop. (If you don’t use Photoshop, there are other programs that do Focus Stacking, including Affinity Photo, HeliconSoft, Zerene Stacker

Once they’re loaded, you need to set it up so that each frame is a separate layer. Go to FILE —> SCRIPTS —> Load Files into Stack… If you’re opening from Lightroom, you can bypass this by selecting all your images in LR, then doing EDIT —> Open as Layers in Photoshop…

Once they’re all loaded, you’ll have a single, multi-layered image. Now, you choose EDIT —> Auto Align Layers… This step automatically adjusts all your frames so that they match with each other, in case there are slight differences between frames. Like if the a slight breeze blew while you were right in the middle of shooting. That happened with my example, and it turned out OK.

Next step is to do EDIT —> Auto-Blend Layers…, making sure you have the “Stack Images” box is checked. Hit OK and wait for it to finish.

As with the above, step, it can take a few minutes if you’re running a lot of images.

When it’s done rendering, you’ll have your stacked image, with all the focus layers combined. Chances are, it will look pretty cool.

You may need to do a slight crop to clean up the edges from when it auto-aligned. After that, you can save or export your final, finished, stacked image.

Finished, Stacked Image!

Here’s another example below. This was shot with the XF100-400mm lens and MCEX-11. It was made from 60 frames, set at STEP of 10 and INTERVAL of 0, using a 2-second self timer and the Electronic Shutter. Fist, three random images from my series, showing some of the different focus points used, and then the fourth, final stacked image.

Once you get the hang of it, Focus Stacking is pretty easy to do. The new Focus Bracketing feature on the two high end Fuji’s makes it even easier. You probably won’t use it all the time, but it can be a fun technique that opens up a whole new world of photography for you. I guarantee, once you open this box, you’ll start scanning your world for potential macro scenes. You might start seeing your subject matter in a whole new way!

Have fun!

Final Stacked Image!

 

Luminar Tutorial – My 5 Favorite Image Processing Tools

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I’ve been using Luminar as my main image processing software for well over a year now. I find it to be a very easy to use program, and with the diverse set of tools and presets it contains, as well as Customizable Workspaces, it’s not only a very powerful editing solution, it offers a fun canvas with which to explore your creativity.

With the most recent update, Luminar was given a number of performance upgrades. RAW engine has been re-engineered, which means it does a remarkably better and faster job demosaicing RAW files, especially those shot with Fujifilm cameras.

This means you’ll get cleaner, smoother RAW files, more accurate colors with fewer artifacts, and automatic corrections for lens distortion, chromatic aberrations and fringing.

In addition, Skylum will be coming out with their promised DAM (Digital Asset Management) feature later this year. This will give Luminar full image catalog capabilities, which will make it an all-in-one image file and editing solution and a viable alternative to Lightroom. (You can read my full review of  the Luminar 2018 improvements here.)

Today, I’d like to offer a short Luminar tutorial and give you some insight on some of my favorite and most used tools when I process my images. Hopefully this will shed some light on what you can do with the program and give you some ideas of your own.

Keep in mind that in addition to doing my RAW conversions in Luminar, I also use the program to tweak select JPEGS in order to give them a little more life.

1. Accent – AI Filter

The Accent – AI Filter automatically analyzes your image and uses artificial intelligence and carefully written algorithms that apply “smart enhancements” to improve your photo. If you only have time for a single tool, or if you just want to make a very quick adjustment, this is probably the first tool you should reach for.

In most cases, the Accent – AI Filter does a great job of controlling your highlights & shadows and adding a little bit of vibrance and clarity to make your image pop. Here’s a before and after example to show you how it works.

For very quick adjustments with added control, choose the Quick & Awesome Workspace, which contains the AI Filter, as well as the Saturation/Vibrancy and Clarity tools.

2. Develop / RAW Develop Tool Panel

The RAW Develop tool panel is your standard, full-service toolkit for adjusting the specific exposure parameters of your RAW files. (If you’re working on a JPEG file, this tool is simply called Develop.)

Similar to what you’ll see in Lightroom, Photoshop and many other image processing programs, this is where you can make adjustments to White Balance, Tint, Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks and Clarity. 

In addition, you can also apply Lens Corrections and make Transform adjustments. If you’re used to working with this kind of tool and enjoy the process of fine-tuning your exposures, then you’ll probably use this tool quite often.

For even more tonal control, try adding in the Advanced Contrast tool.

3. Structure

Sometimes you feel as if your image would be improved with a little sharpening and definition. This is when you reach for the Structure tool, which increases Clarity and micro-contrast in the areas between the edges in your photo.

In other words, it doesn’t sharpen the edges, it enhance definition in the areas next to your edges. This gives the impression of added sharpness and it increases the overall “crispness” of your photo.

For more control, you can adjust the Softness slider, which controls the overall softness of the textures in your images and adds/decreases the apparent contrast of your darker tones. The Boost slider accentuates and softens the edge detail in your photo, which adjusts the overall clarity of your image.

Be careful, though. A little goes a long way. You can easily overdo your Structure control, and it will be easily apparent if you slide too far.

4. Polarizing Filter

Just like the real thing, the Polarizing Filter in Luminar darkens your blue tones, which increases the richness of your blue skies. It also darkened the less obvious blues inside clouds and on distant mountainsides, which adds contrast and gives the appearance that it’s reducing atmospheric haze.

This is a great tool for just about any landscape photo, especially if if your image contains sky, water or faraway hills.

5. Golden Hour

The Golden Hour filter can be an extremely useful solution for helping add life to dull photos. It adds a degree of warmth that is reminiscent of the kind golden, indirect light you get when the sun is low on the horizon.

If you have subjects in your photo that area already lit by direct sunlight, this tool will accentuate your sunsets even more, as you can see in this example below. For everything else, you’ll simply raise the color temperature of the image slightly, just enough to give it a more pleasing look.

The reality is that simply warming the color temperature can help many shots look better. Not only does it add a degree vibrance and dimension, it helps commutate the “larger than life” memory of your scene, which I discuss here, in my previous post. 

Can you overdo it with the Golden Hour slider? That’s up to you. Depending on the scene and what kind of look you’re going for, adding a lot of warmth might just be what your shot needs.

You’ll find that it works best with scenes that are already shot at or near the natural “golden hour.” Go too far with photo shot at midday and you’ll just end up making them orange.

This is only a tiny sample of the useful and creative tools and effects you have at your disposal in Luminar. You’ll find that the tools are all very easy to use, and each one has a short description that tells you exactly what it will do, so I encourage you to dig in and play around. Visit this page to see a complete list and description of all the tools contained in Luminar 2018.

If you have’t tried Luminar yet, visit this link to check out the program and download the demo. If you decide to purchase Luminar 2018 or upgrade from a previous version, use coupon code DANBAILEY and you’ll save $10 on your order.

Using the Parchment Texture Presets in Luminar

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Attention “serious photographers,” you should probably look away. You’re not going to like this, as it’s little off the rails from what you’re used to doing, but I make no apologies, I’m posting it anyway. The other day, I decided … Continue reading →

Using Luminar – Saving vs. Exporting Your Processed Images

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We were woken up by an earthquake last night at 12:30am. The house was shaking and the pots and pans were banging around in the kitchen for about 30 seconds during the Magnitude 7.9 event that occurred off the coast of … Continue reading →

FUJIFILM Introduces Free X RAW STUDIO Software

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This month, Fujifilm introduced a brand new free RAW Conversion software program called FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO. Designed as an alternative to the many existing RAW converters out there, Fuji’s new app takes an entirely different approach. Instead of using the … Continue reading →

A View of Slioch in the Scottish Highlands

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I’ve been back from Scotland for over two months now, and I realized that I’ve only share shared a few images from that trip here on the blog. That’s patly due to the fact that my posting frequency dropped quite … Continue reading →