10 DOCUMENTARY SETTINGS FOR YOUR FUJIFILM X BY A L E X C O G H E
10 DOCUMENTARY SETTINGS FOR YOUR FUJIFILM X
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX COGHE
This is just an electronic handbook where I am sharing one of my favourite settings when it comes to documentary photography, including of course, street photography. This book doesn’t want to present a universal recipe but a ready to go guide based on my experience with Fujifilm X Cameras. I am presenting you 10 settings that you can use with your Fujifilm X camera and living an experience very similar to a film camera, the same as I am doing. With these settings you will be ready to go and be focused on capturing the moment and telling a story. These settings recommendations apply to all current Fujifilm X series cameras. Menu positions can change a little bit depending by the model, so my suggestion is checking out the manual of your Fujifilm X series camera.
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1 MANUAL FOCUS - MF MODE
By setting the manual focus you will be able to have a quicker camera and using zone focus you will have the most accurate system when it comes to street photography and documentary. Sorry, but I don’t believe to autofocus when we need to be fast and we can not control anything documenting with our camera unstaged situations.
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2 ISO AUTO SETTINGS DEFAULT SENSITIVITY 1600 MAX SENSITIVITY 6400 (X100S) 3200 (X20) MIN SHUTTER SPEED 1/125 I am pretty sure many photographers will find extreme these settings. But when it comes to street photography I am used to work with high ISO, without fear of noise. These settings allow me to obtain sharp images because most of the time I am moving and with me people that often are my main subjects in the streets.
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3 IMAGE QUALITY - FINE JPG
Yes: I am using just JPG. Don’t worry about this: it is part of my approach and you can still choose to use RAW or RAW + JPG. But I think if I know the settings of my camera and I realize a good work at the moment to press the shutter no need to post process my photos. Moreover, it must be said that Fujifilm X series guarantee excellent quality and film simulations by Fuji are pretty cool! JPG are ready to use, ready to be sent if you work for an agency as I do and the approach is closer to film because, especially when you shoot black and white you can not back! This is challenging. I love it! 4
4 HIGHLIGHT TONE 0 STANDARD SHADOW TONE 0 STANDARD DYNAMIC RANGE 100% I prefer to leave anything more neutral and close to the gray because I am using JPG. If I want a picture more contrasty I will add contrast in post processing. The same for dynamic range that I select with 100% to avoid that fake effect when you push it or you leave in AUTO mode.
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5 FILM SIMULATIONS
Oh, I love the simulations created by Fujifilm! I tried any simulation, except Acros at the moment available just on Fuji XPro2. I used Classic Chrome when Fujifilm Mexico loaned me X30, but when in color I choose Velvia preferring this to Provia for the most vibrant and warm tones. But, most of the times, I am using my cameras in black and white (if not requested otherwise for an assignment) and my choice is Black and White + Yellow Filter simulation. In this way skin of people is more natural.
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6 NOISE REDUCTION -2 X100S 0 X20 With X20 I can not choose -2 because the image quality degrades too much. But with X100S I can select -2 and considering I am shooting and using jpg straight from the camera I can retain more details in my pictures. Shooting starting by default as set my Auto ISO from 1600 (see tip no. 2) I will obtain an image not completely clean and this is pretty good to me to get closer to film aesthetics.
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7 THE VIEWFINDER TIP
One of the main reasons I switched to Fujifilm X Series Cameras, also with the compact point & shoot X20, is the viewfinder. If you ask me my preference is the OVF (optical viewfinder) to the electronic one. It is closer to my imperfect approach to photography and to the experience with my film cameras. When using the X100S most of the time I am using the OVF of the hybrid viewfinder. It is also recommended to avoid consuming the battery quickly.
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8 BACK BUTTON FOCUSING
Oh, this is a feature I use a lot with my Fujifilm cameras! I set AE/AF Lock mode to AF: with this configuration I can use it as a AF button to back-button focus. In this way I am instructing my camera to lock focus when I press the back button in manual mode. In this way I keep taking shots over and over again without having to worry about the autofocus. It works great and I obtain great results.
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9 SHUTTER SPEED PRIORITY
Despite with other cameras I was used to go full manual I discovered that shutter priority is the way to go for my approach when it comes to street and documentary photography. I know many street photographers are using Aperture priority but, in my opinion, and based on my experience, the main goal is freezing the motion and get a correct exposure with the main subject perfectly in focus. In the super sunny Mexico sometimes I arrive to use 1/2000 sec. and usually I am shooting with 1/1000 sec. I can use also full manual but most of situations shutter speed is pretty effective. 10
10 SILENT MODE ON
Another great feature of Fujifilm X series cameras is the silent mode option. I always prefer this and I discovered you can select this feature also when the flash is working. When I am working in the streets but also on assignment as photojournalist I don’t want the potential subject being warned by the click.
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Born in Rome (Italy), currently based in Mexico City, Alex Coghe is a photojournalist, publisher, writer and street photographer, currently based in Mexico. Street Photography, Social Documentary, but also portraits, events, fashion and erotica are his specializations. Currently he is journalist at Rome Central Magazine. He has published among others on Lens Culture, Witness Journal, Il Messaggero, Doc!, Photowoa, The Phoblographer, Cuartoscuro, and Excelsior. His work so far was exhibited in several collective shows from Los Angeles to Miami, from Barcelona to Hamburg arriving to exhibit his work also in a theater in Rome. Alex Coghe is currently editor/publisher of the electronic magazines THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHER NOTEBOOK and Louÿs. Alex is also a prolific writer with several books published about photography technique and visual culture. He is also giving photography workshops and photo tours in Mexico and all over the world, thanks to the fact he speaks 3 languages: Italian, English and Spanish. Alex Coghe is Official X Photographer for Fujifilm Mexico. www.alexcoghe.com 12