Starting with the Fujifilm X100 in 2011 and Fujifilm X-Pro2 in 2012, Fujifilm has sought to provide value to its users with a continuing spirit of innovation and increasing functionalities.
And in 2016 with the release of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and X-T2 cameras where maximum mechanical shutter speeds were updated to 1/8000s, Fujifilm photographers were handed the opportunity to venture into strobe flashes with ultra-high-speed sync functionality.
Even now in 2019, Fujifilm continues to open up new creative possibilities for Fujifilm photographers with an ever-expanding line up of X-mount and Medium-Format cameras, attracting support from reputable partners such as Broncolor, Profoto, Capture One, and Godox.
And today, in this spirit of providing more creative possibilities for Fujifilm photographers, we will focus on providing a for beginners step-by-step approach to working with strobes with the Fujifilm camera system.
Equipment
For this article, we will work with a simple off-camera strobe set up as follows:
- Fujifilm X-T3 camera and the Fujinon XF23mm f1.4 lens
- A 600 watts off-strobe flash with its accompanying wireless trigger.
- A 120cm Modular Octagon Softbox
- A Neutral Density (ND) Filter (for example, the Fujinon XF56mm f1.2 APD ships with a 3 stop ND filter, the Fujifilm ND8)
Intimidated by flash?
Often we come across people intimidated by the technicality of using flashes, which is very essential in the aspect of portraiture but actually all it really takes is an open mind and lots of practice. Moreover, the WYSIWYG feature of Fujifilm’s mirrorless cameras also lends itself as an advantage in the photography process, allowing the photographer a preview of the final image output.
In the aspect of outdoor portraiture with strobes, allow me to share my process in 5 elaborated steps to help kickstart the process for all of us interested.
Step 1: Selecting The Scene
- Ask yourself: In your ideal portrait, how well-lit would you like the scene to be? Will the background be complementary to the story you wish to tell with your Fujifilm camera?
Examples of suitable backgrounds can be: - One of nice architecture with symmetrical lines
- Of nature, like flowers and trees that match the pastel-colored apparel of your subject
- Even the open sky, if you decide to compose from a lower angle.
- Look into your electronic viewfinder, check whether the scene is well, under or overexposed. Set the exposure triangle (ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture) to your preference.
ISO 160 | F1.4 | 1/250 on Fujifilm X-T3, XF23mm f1.4
Step 2: Composition
- Shooting outdoors means one is faced with shooting in an uncontrolled environment and some things to note are:
- When sharing space with other members of the public – keep a look-out for random pets or kids running around.
- An unsightly object is in the way of your ideal background – A public trash bin, a lamp post or litter on the ground.
- Weather – Your best bet is checking the weather forecast a week or day prior.
- After you have selected your scene, you should have in mind the placement of your subject over the background and how it both subject and background can complement each other.
- Selecting aperture and shutter speed – Apart from being a contributing factor to the exposure, they also play an important role in creative composition. A wider aperture produces a shallow depth of field separating the foreground and background of an image. If you face any of the above-mentioned scenes, the aperture may be useful in defocusing an unpleasant background. The shutter speed, on the other hand, freezes motion or on a slower shutter speed produces motion blur. The design of Fujinon lenses is well thought through with some of the lenses providing very wide apertures up such as the XF56mm f1.2 lens, allowing the photographer flexibility.
Step 3: Setting Up
As you refer to the above photo, both the subject and the scene are already well exposed and some photographers may feel that using a flash is unnecessary. So, why would a photographer use a flash in a situation like this? Here are a few possible scenarios why:
- The Sun’s position is not in favor of the intended shots and there is a need to overpower the Sun’s light.
- When using a 2 lights setup, using the flash/strobe as your main source and the sun as your backlight OR vice versa for a more impactful image.
- The wish to include the bright sun and sky as part of the scene, with the help of using a neutral density filter. Before we delve deeper, here are some behind the scene images of the setup:
With experience, setting this up takes you up to only 15 minutes and it is not as tedious as it may look
There are many types of softboxes and for this shoot, we have chosen to go with a 120cm octagonal softbox.
For portability, I would suggest using a modular softbox style as everything can be packed down to a trolley bag with the rods stored in the light stand carrier.
Most 120cm octagon comes with 2 sets of diffusers. It is up to the individual of how “soft” they would like their flash exposure to be. As you can see, 2 diffusers were used for the setup. Last but not least, we can see that it is also important to sync the flash trigger with the flash and Fujifilm X-T3 camera.
Photographing the model and testing the lights, Keith Wee will share another article focused on working and communicating with the model.
Step 4: Photography with Post-Editing in mind
The purpose of post-editing is to further enhance the details captured in the RAW file, and Fujifilm’s X-Trans sensors are excellent in their rendition and ability to capture excellent details.
It is important to understand the threshold of your imaging system prior to a shoot so that you have an understanding of how much detail can be recovered. The Fujifilm X-T3 camera gives a very good dynamic range, while the GFX100’s dynamic range goes up to an excellent 15 stops.
The two images below are JPEGS straight out of the camera, photographed with the intent and planning of how the final delivered output can look like.
ISO 160 | F1.4 | 1/250 | ND6 Filter on Fujifilm X-T3, XF23mm f1.4 (Straight out of camera)
ISO 160 | F4.5 | 1/250 with ND6 Filter on Fujifilm X-T3, XF23mm f1.4 (Straight out of camera)
As one can see, the exposure of the model’s face can be improved upon to provide a more balanced image and draw attention to her versus the sun itself in post-processing.
Step 5: Final Output
After obtaining the RAW images needed, post-processing starts. It is here where Fujifilm’s excellent rendering of skin tones and dynamic range performance helps immensely.
After Skin smoothening and High Pass Filter applied in Photoshop & Curves and Temperature applied in Lightroom
The raw files from Fujifilm cameras are excellent to work with, providing a lot of latitude for editing the potential to suit the needs of the photographer. If one does not have access to post-processing software, fret not, for all Fujifilm X-cameras do come with comprehensive built-in raw editing functions that allow the photographer to do post-processing without the need for additional equipment.
The final output image after Skin smoothening and High Pass Filter applied in Photoshop & Curves and Temperature adjustments applied in Lightroom
Conclusion
Even though the steps may seem tough to follow at first, I really hope this article can encourage those who want to take their first step into using strobe flashes with their Fujifilm cameras. Remember, more experience can only make you, the photographer better!
