Fujifilm Camera Settings for Shooting Portraits

*Error @2:07 I meant "ISO 4000" not "ISO 1/4000th of a second" STUPID STUPID! Forgive me.

A quick guide on how I set exposure and focus for general portraits. We discuss focus modes, exposure modes, and burritos. (gotta get you to click somehow).

Thanks for watching! Share your help in the comments

Gear Used Here:

Favorite Fuji Portrait Lens:

Favorite all around Fuji Lens:

Favorite tiny Street Photography lens:

My two favorite wide angle lenses of choice:

First time here? Hi, I'm Omar Gonzalez, a professional portrait and event photographer in the NYC/NJ area. On this channel, we talk cameras, lenses, and techniques to improve our photography.

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[staha]

No 2 minute intro followed by a 5 minute introduction to the topic followed by a 1 minute request to like and subscribe followed by more yappin'. You got straight into it right to the point and hands on. Short and sweet, thank you! Thumbs up! (already a long time subscriber).

[ImAwesomeAli]

Here is my shooting setup if anyone is interested. My approach to setting my camera settings is "set it and forget" as much as possible. I shoot with the Fujifilm X100F so I will include some notes specific to that camera. Hopefully someone finds this helpful :)

Be warned I had far too much free time on my hands today... expand at your own risk.

Aperture - Manually set to f2 for some bokeh with portraiture (wide open on the X100F) // f4 to f8 for group shots, environmental portraits, macro, landscapes etc. (to increase depth of field and sharpness) // for street photography I tend to use f8-f11 in good light along with zone focusing (expanded on below) and all the way down to f2 in low light with autofocus

SS - typically 1/125s for a subject that is not moving too much, standing still // up to 1/500s if there is movement or walking around // I tend to use the Auto ISO settings with A1 set to default to 1/125s and A3 set to default to 1/500s which means the camera will determine the SS automatically and default to the specified shutter speed (or faster) as long as there is enough light. If the camera hits the upper ISO limit set in the respective Auto ISO setting only then will it lower the SS below the specified speed. If I am shooting in challenging light conditions I may set the SS manually to guarantee that my images do not have motion blur. When shooting street I typically set the SS manually to anything from 1/500s to 1/2000s in good light and down to 1/125s in low light. Sometimes I get extra creative and slow my shutter speed way down to 1s to 1/15s for some purposefully blurry shots and move the camera around to introduce motion in the image which usually produces pretty abstract and dreamy results.

ISO - I typically leave my ISO on auto with the range set to 200 to 12800 for A1, A2, and A3 (the full native ISO range on the X100F). I personally don't mind the ISO noise produced by the Fuji X-Trans sensors and it looks somewhat like film grain to my eye. For personal and day to day photography I am comfortable shooting up to 12800 if it helps me get the shot. For client work I generally try to keep the ISO as low as possible but I'm generally comfortable with up to around 3200 (but I will go over if necessary - depends on the scenario).

Focus - My favorite focusing method is front button focus (like back button focus, just mapped to the front button) in the Manual focus mode. This allows me to set focus with a button that is separate from the shutter button meaning I can pre-focus and once I have my focus set I can snap away with the shutter button without the camera having to find focus for each shot (putting the camera into Manual focus mode is necessary for this to work because it decouples focusing from the shutter button). At closer ranges this is more effective if the subject is not changing distance with the camera. If my subject is not quite still or moving around I use face detection in either Continuous AF or Single AF modes, but I find Continuous face AF on the X100F to be a bit spotty, I'm sure it performs more reliably on the X-T3 and X-T30. If I am shooting street I use zone focusing in MF mode: I set my aperture to f8 or f11 if I have enough light and I set my focus to about 7ft for closer quarters and about 12ft for further away subjects, allowing me to point and snap quickly without having to get focus for each shot. I adjust the focus distance as necessary but generally try to shoot subjects at a consistent range so I don't need to constantly adjust the focus distance. I set the "depth of field scale" in the AF/MF settings menu to "film format" which shows a more flexible range for what is considered to be in focus on the manual focus scale, this helps me have an idea of what I can safely consider to be in focus when using zone focusing.

Exposure Compensation - Since I like to leave my SS and ISO on auto as often as possible I use the front command dial on the X100F to adjust my exposure compensation quickly without having to adjust my grip on the camera or pull it away from my eye (this can be done by setting the physical exp. comp. dial to "C").

Photometry - I use multi photometry because it tends to give me the most consistent results in dynamic lighting scenarios but when face detect is on and you are in either Cont. or Single AF mode it will automatically use the detected face to determine exposure instead of the selected photometry mode.

Manual Exposure / Auto-Exposure Lock - I use auto SS and ISO to save me the hassle of adjusting settings mid-shooting but sometimes if I find myself shooting in dynamic or challenging light (very high contrast scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows or ambient light levels changing rapidly) I may set my SS and ISO manually or use Auto-Exposure Lock (AEL) so that my exposure does not change drastically from shot to shot and I have more fine control. On the X100F you can either use the physical controls to set both SS and ISO or use the command dials. I prefer to use the physical dial for SS and the front command dial for manual ISO (can be switched between exp. comp. and ISO by clicking the command dial - note that in order for this to work "ISO Dial Setting (A)" in the button/dial settings menu needs to be set to "COMMAND"). When I do this I basically set and forget my shutter speed as long as it is appropriate for the given subject and I adjust exposure by directly adjusting the ISO with the same dial that normally controls Exp. Comp., allowing me to have virtually the same shooting experience as when I shoot with auto SS and auto ISO.

Drive Mode - For portraits I personally prefer to use Single shot and click the shutter repeatedly if I want several consecutive shots. Same for street and daily photography. If I am shooting the rare sports scene or need as many frames as possible in quick succession I may use the continuous drive modes.

White Balance - I use Auto White Balance (AWB) basically 99% of the time and I have my WB shift set to R:1 B:2 which produces a look that I personally enjoy. If you are a beginner don't worry about WB as it can usually be adjusted in post whether you are shooting JPEG or RAW with minimal penalty (of course adjusting colors / WB with RAW will give you more freedom but it can be done to JPEGs and you probably won't notice any issues with subtle adjustments). AWB on the Fujis works pretty well and pretty consistently in my experience.

Film Simulation Recipe - I personally use Classic Chrome for 99% of what I shoot with the following adjustments: Highlights +1, Shadows +0, Color +4, Sharpness -1, and Noise Reduction -4. This is completely up to personal preference and if you shoot with a Fuji I recommend you experiment and see what combination of film sim. and settings looks best to you. I love Classic Chrome because the colors look very pleasing to me and the skin tones are fantastic.

JPEG vs RAW - Ok so I used to shoot with a Sony a6500 and I exclusively shot RAW and spent ages editing my files. The results after editing were usually pretty good but the time it took to get there began to make me not enjoy digital photography and I ended up shooting a lot of film for fun and digital only when I would run out of film or needed to share the photos quickly. Ever since I got the Fuji X100F (I plan on replacing my Sony system with an X-T3 system soon) I stopped shooting film or with my Sony (which has arguably better AF and somewhat better IQ with the Sigma 30mm 1.4) and I now exclusively shoot with my Fuji because of the film simulations (and the increased enjoyment of using a Fuji ;). For this reason I have found that although I shoot in RAW + JPEG mode I almost never touch the RAW files at all because the colors and tones from the Fuji JPEGs are so beautiful and very easy to quickly edit to my liking. I still shoot RAW as a safety net and sometimes it is necessary to recover highlight and shadow details in high contrast scenes but even then I would rather use the JPEGs if I could. I hope to one day be confident enough to shoot JPEG exclusively and save space on all those RAW files. With that said the Fuji RAW files are very malleable and a lot of highlight and shadow detail can be effectively recovered, and you get all the typical benefits of RAW as you would with any other camera.

[patdavis]

Such a great, easy to understand video, like all your others. I first got my X-T20 about 6 weeks ago, and have watched a load of your videos. You're a natural teacher. And funny. Please keep the Fuji videos coming!

[dakkster]

Excellent video explaining your thinking. Honestly, probably the best I've seen on the subject. So hands on!

[alfonsomaesa]

just wanted to drop by and say thank you for all the fuji videos you've been making! It really helped me a lot when I got my first fujifilm camera which is the XT-20. :D great job man, keep it up! :D

[haroldbernard]

Another winner Omar. The basics explained in a simple, understandable way, no techno jargon. Oh, and as an aside, if the photographer thing doesn’t work out, consider hand modelling. So dexterous!

[PhotoPrince]

Ever since I followed your channel Omar, I've learned alot about my Fuji since I also use the XT20. Thank you for providing funny, entertaining and educational videos!

[JoaquimGonsalves]

Loving these setup videos with a Fuji! Very helpful and simple yet detailed explanations. Thanks a ton man! I've been shooting since a few years as a side hustle but only in a few genres and one thing I always enjoy I coming back to tutorials of the basics. It's amazing how there's always something new to learn.

[thewolfifeed]

As a recent convert to the Fujifilm system, this is golden content! thanks.

[misterlove]

Now do a video for street photography settings, please.

[cnstitan]

Thank you for the video on shooting portraits with the Fujifilm camera. This video was what I needed for shooting portraits. Your videos are always entertaining and informational. Keep up the excellent work!

[smithnjefferson]

A couple days ago I shot exactly the way you described without seeing this video when I had one chance to get the shot. Before going into the dimly lit shoe repair shop I set my aperture on my FX27 to 2.8 and ISO at 500 with zone focusing and face auto detect on in low burst shooting. I asked if I could take the portrait, stood back, composed the shot, and three shots fired at 1/59 of a second. Perfect exposures, lots of eye twinkle and a great portrait all in all. I got lucky perhaps with such a slow shutter speed but the images are very sharp and having other great Fujinon portrait lenses I have to say the xf27 is an impressive portrait lens in its own right.

I like to think what I did was just practicing common sense considering the features provided but it takes time to ask oneself the right questions and have the answers reflected in your settings before the moment happens.

That’s my story but the bottom line is, I feel validated by the information in your video, thanks.

[DrErickLopez]

great video! on my xh1, I use my front dial as my ISO and my back dial as my shutter speed. I always set my aperture first, followed by shutter speed and then fine tune the ISO using the histogram. its super fast to do once you have it all down packed. but then again, I dont use AF since all my lenses are manual for now.

[ozguraydin]

Hi Omar! This is a pretty old video and i am sure so many things are changed on the menus of Fujifilm cameras with lots of firmware updates since you made it. But the main approach is same and usually the orders of the menus are identical or very similar on different models of Fuji cameras, at least for the identical features. What i notice when i watch this video is that shutter speed is continuously shown on the LCD screen and viewfinder. I guess the camera is X-T3. But when i checked on my X-T5 still it's same, shutter speed is continuously on the screen but we lock it by half pressing the shutter. However, i need to half press the shutter on my X-T50 camera for seeing the shutter speed on the screen and viewfinder, when i stop half pressing the shutter speed disappears again. I don't know is it about at a setting in the cameras but i searched a lot and couldn't find anything for making the shutter speed appears on the screen continuously. I prefer to see the shutter speed independent than half pressing the shutter, like how it's on X-T5. Do you know is it about a setting ot is it just how it's on the X-Tx and X-Txx lines? Thanks in advance.

[AlfredoBai]

Anyone has had problems with face detection on x-t20 ? Back from a trip where my x-t20 has left me in the dust several times shooting portraits. The thing with portraits is you have to be quick because your models loose interest fast. It's not like when you are doing landscapes. But what to do quick when the camera refuses to detect faces even when the conditions weren't bad ?

Very good video Omar, as always. A fan from Spain

[-kv]

Exactly, auto-iso : never
As I already said in a previous video, the X-E3 (i don't know if same with X-T3 ) is perfect with the 2 dials in manual except for autofocus, front for iso and back for my speed, a perfect ergonomy for portraits in particular or others.
Good video Omar, well done.

[lauralockhartgenta]

Just very clear and with the exact information needed to take better pictures. Excellent!!!

[richardardern]

Omar, just wanted to say thanks for your Youtube videos in general. You are a very good communicator. Lately I have been watching your videos on Canon and Fujifim equipment. In, particular a shout out for this 2019 video on Fuji settings for shooting portraits. Short but sweet! Currently I have a Fuji XE1 and a 18-55 zoom lens and primarily focus on portrait photography. I live in Australia. My dream is to upgrade my camera to a XE3 or XT3 and try a prime lens like the 35mm F2 or the 50mm F2.

[AbhishekKumar-sjct]

Omar you are to good buddy. Giving wonderful tricks and support for photographers. Excellent buddy !!!!

[crsantin]

If you are doing a stationary, posed portrait 1/60 is nice. It softens the eyes and overall look without any blur.