Yes, I shoot people too...

Adely captured with Fuji X-T3 and Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R lens. Settings were ISO 200 - f/1,2 - Shutter at 1/640.

And it was actually grand fun too!

But seriously, in this post I wish to share more real life examples of my work while also showing the basic camera settings. I could ramble on for hours about how the settings interact to come together. A good exposure is one thing but the image you want to make often takes the exposure settings in a definite direction. Compensation in exposure settings is one very necesssary thing but it is always a distant second place to getting the image you wish to achieve. Knowing how to combine the two is where the magic starts.

Now I could not write this article without a few disclosures. For a start, I do not shoot people for a living. I do it for fun. I have a few personal preferences from old-school to wacky but they have served me well for many years. Rule number 1 for me is everyone must have fun.

Rule number 2? It is over when the model says it is over. It is easy to see when the model is no longer having fun and that is where the shoot stops. I reserve the right to add more rules with time...watch this space for more.

Your vision as the photographer will often be different from the preferences of the model. Be sensitive to that. No matter how pretty the girl might be, there might be something she is sensitive about. Respect that.

So break the ice, act clumsy, get a laugh, do whatever it takes to get the model to relax and then start the shoot.

Now let's look at the above opening image critically. The setting is a lovely sunny afternoon in the model's home environment. We are no strangers since I have known the family for years. There was no specific type of image planned, purely a fun shoot. I will add a few more images further down the article and include my settings for reference.

To begin with, depth of field is very shallow. I did a one-to-one crop around her eyes to illustrate the point.

Consider that the model's face is practically square to the camera lens. Focus was on her left eye. Her left eye is more or less acceptibly sharp while her right eye shows significant depth of field blur. This is what happens when a medium telephoto lens is used wide open at it's maximum open aperture setting of f/1,2. The closer the lens is to the model the more critical this becomes.

Also, rapid shooting on-the-fly, auto-focus will often miss even if the shutter speed is fast enough. Auto-focus will also miss even if your depth of field is set to f/5,6 or f/8. It doesn't matter how fancy, expensive or recent your equipment is, this can and will happen. The best way to work around this is to shoot multiple images.

Now we were shooting in a large sunny room so light was not the issue shooting at f/1,2. For that reason my first setting was ISO200 because f/1,2 allows as much light into the camera as a train tunnel would. In line with this I could use a very safe fast shutter for these conditions at 1/640 of a second.

Now here are a few things I need to elaborate on. Because the light was great and all the settings worked well I was, yet again, tricked into shooting the 56mm lens wide open at f/1,2. Shooting any lens wide open is almost never a good idea as this above cropped image of the eyes show. The longer the focal length, the more critical this becomes. Now the Fuji 56mm lens equates to around 85mm in full frame terms. Shooting a 135mm f/2 lens at f/2 would probably be even worse. By all means shoot at maximum aperture if you know the pitfalls or require that specific effect.

Nerd alert: yes, f/1,2 on a 56mm crop-body APS-C sensor still yields more depth of field than a "true" 85mm f/1,2 on a Full Frame camera would yield.

Now let's look at a few more images. Please note they are all as-is off-camera. No editing or retouching was done.

ISO400 - 56mm at f/1,2 - Shutter 1/100

Be very careful with images like these. With the model's feet in the foreground a wide lens could grossly exaggerate the size of foreground items. No girl like her feet looking like canoes. Something we sadly see all too often with wide-angle cellphone camera images.

Also, with lovely but strong and prominent backlighting flooding in through huge windows behind the model, a reflector would have made a huge difference to light her face. If you are looking for a good reflector or any other amazing quality photography gear, please support this amazing local company.

ISO400 - 56mm at f/1,2 - Shutter 1/60

A reflector would have made a huge difference here too. Huge studio lights are nice but expensive, heavy to lug and often kill the mood on location with fun shoots.

A shutter speed of 1/60 was pushing the limits. I would recommend 1/125 or so as a minimum.

ISO800 - 56mm at f/1,2 - Shutter 1/200

I believe that ISO 800 is a good safe upper limit in most recent cameras for indoor shoots with good natural light. With a wide open lens at f/1,2 it gave me a shutter speed of 1/200 which is completely safe shooting a 56mm (APS-C) / 85mm (Full Frame) lens handheld.

Again, with poses like these, be careful with feet and hands in the foreground. Use the longest lens you own or which the shooting space allows. Move back as the lens allows. If using a zoom lens, please do not go wide for convenience sake.

ISO200 - 56mm at f/1,2 - Shutter 1/640

Never be afraid to shoot with a slightly loose crop. Leaving a little more space above the model's head will make cropping more flexible in post-processing later.

OK, well, I believe that is enough for now to make the points I wanted to make. Let's go shoot often and try new things all the time. Always keep learning but remember to have fun!

Happy shooting until next time!

Anton