Obsessing Over the Wrong Things

Better Fuji Photos Episode 42: 2023 Wrap and 2024 Thoughts We made it a year! I honestly didn't think this podcast would make it a year, discouraged mainly by statistics of how many of them quickly die. But I was encouraged to continue by all of you! How did 2023 go for everyone? Were you able to pursue the year-long challenge presented in Episode 1? I hope so, and I hope it made you a better photographer. Going into 2024, this will no longer be a weekly podcast. I need to take a few things off my plate, so I'll only be able to keep this up every two or three weeks. And that leaves me with a final thought going into the following year: what does photography mean to you? This was posed in another podcast a few years ago; I answered it in an article linked below and now here in this episode, and I'd be curious to hear your answer in the article comments. Accompanying web article: ⁠https://jmpeltier.com/what-is-photography-all-about/ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠⁠⁠ Use the code "POD20" for 20% off all courses. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected].

Better Fuji Photos Episode 41: Tips for Using Fujifilm's Color Chrome Effect Fujifilm's camera manuals leave much to be desired when discussing Color Chrome Effect and Color Chrome FX Blue. What exactly do they do? When would you use them? And how? Color Chrome Effect settings (which may or may not be found on certain cameras) help you avoid oversaturating specific colors by decreasing the luminance of those colors, effectively giving you a wider range of tones in colors close to oversaturation. This can really help photographers photographing for in-camera JPEGs. They will not affect the RAW file. When using these settings: Remember that they will respond differently to each film simulation A setting that looks good for one film simulation might look like garbage in another The Color Chrome FX Blue setting works great as an "artificial polarizer" to get the same effect with skies You can preview setting effects either from the Image Quality menu or programming them to the Q Menu (ep. 31) Accompanying web article: ⁠https://jmpeltier.com/color-chrome-effect-color-chrome-fx-blue/ Perfect Fujifilm In-Camera JPGs course: ⁠https://photocourses.link/jpg⁠ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠⁠ Use the code "POD20" for 20% off all courses. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 40: Mastering Depth of Field - It's Not Just Aperture! Maybe you've been there. You're wondering why your photo created at f/22 has a sharp foreground but a blurry background, even though it was at f/22. Or why your photo made at f/1.4 doesn't have a blurry background like f/1.4 photos should. That's because, as educators, we've failed to emphasize how depth of field is equally affected by variables other than your aperture. Focal length, focus distance, and how the photo is viewed also affect your depth of field. In this episode, we'll discuss how: Wider focal lengths give you deeper depths of field Further focus distances give you deeper depths of field Smaller apertures give you deeper depths of field And how all three combine to give you a final depth of field Read the accompanying web article here: https://jmpeltier.com/what-affects-depth-of-field/ Take the Advanced Depth of Field course: https://photocourses.link/dof Explore the Fujifilm Photographer Membership options: https://photocourses.link/fujimembers Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 39: Processing with Fujifilm's In-Camera RAW Converter If you're striving for the perfect in-camera JPEGs but want to change something simple on a photograph you already captured, like the exposure or the white balance, no need to take that file to a computer to make the changes! Use your in-camera RAW converter. To do this: You must be recording the RAW file (Image Quality setting: RAW or FINE+RAW) Press the Q button while reviewing an image in Playback mode Unfortunately, you can't preview the changes as you make them. You'll need to adjust a setting, press Q to preview that change, and then press BACK to go back to the editing menu. Go through the list of image quality settings you want to change, and when you're happy with the preview, press OK to save it as a new JPEG at the end of your camera roll. Want to see a list of what's available, with some further information? Here's the full web article: https://jmpeltier.com/fujifilm-in-camera-raw-converter/ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Use the code "POD20" for 20% off. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 38: Obsessing Over the Wrong Things What do you think is the most important part of a photograph? The moment captured or the small technical details that no one but yourself will notice? This short episode is not meant to diminish the technical aspects that accompany photography - only to say that, with all of the gear being sold to us, sometimes we lose sight of what's really important. Take a moment to re-calibrate your priorities and what you value most when creating a photograph. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 37: Staying in Manual Focus All the Time Are you currently using the "traditional" back-button focus (BBF) technique where you're in autofocus modes but using the back AF button? Or have you tried BBF but didn't like how you had to permanently disable autofocus with the shutter button? This alternative may be a better solution for you. Staying in Manual Focus mode all the time but using the back AF button to get quick autofocus when you need it can give you the best of having all of the amazing manual focus tools but also instant autofocus when you need it. Flip the focus mode switch to S or C if you need to track something or go back to the "shutter button autofocus" mode without changing any other settings buried deep in the submenus. A few notes: Set the behavior of the back AF button while in MF mode in the AF/MF Setting menu > Instant AF Setting If you were using the "traditional" BBF setup but want to try this, remember to re-enable the shutter autofocus function in the Button/Dial Setting menu > Shutter AF Learn more about your specific camera in our camera tutorial courses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/cameras⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠⁠⁠. Use the code "POD20" for 20% off. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 36: Using the Histogram for Perfect Exposures Traditional "metering" is still available in today's digital cameras. But why not use an easier, better tool to get more accurate exposures? That's the histogram! This graph, which you can enable in different ways in your camera (outlined in the podcast & article), is easiest to use when broken up into three "zones": the left third representing the shadows, the mid third representing the midtones, and the right third representing the highlights. Then, you simply adjust your exposure to "place" things where they belong in the histogram, depending on how much light they should reflect - or how bright you want them to be! See this breakdown, along with a walkthrough, in the accompanying web article: https://www.jmpeltier.com/using-mirrorless-histogram/ Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 35: Fujifilm's Targeted Contrast Control Fujifilm Film Simulations have set contrast levels, all different. But what if you want to modify that contrast even further? That's what the Tone Curve (Highlight Tone & Shadow Tone) settings are for, and the topic of this podcast episode. Just remember: Shadow Tone only affects the dark tonal areas (shadows), not the highlights Highlight Tone only affects the bright tonal areas (highlights), not the shadows Positive numbers increase contrast (dark areas darker or bright areas brighter) Negative numbers decrease contrast (dark areas brighter or bright areas darker) Accompanying web article: https://www.jmpeltier.com/fujifilm-highlight-shadow-tones/ Learn more about Fujifilm's film simulations in this free film simulation course: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/filmsims⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠⁠. Use the code "POD20" for 20% off. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 34: Camera Bag Essentials There are just some things that photographers should always have with them, and I like to break this up into the "must haves," "nice to haves," and "situation-dependent." I'm also a big fan of the modular system - using organizers like those from Think Tank Photo and Shimoda to keep all related items together for quick transfer from one bag to another. You can read more about all of these things in the accompanying web article: https://www.jmpeltier.com/camera-bag-essentials/ Must Haves: Lens cleaning kit Extra battery Extra storage (SD) card Appropriate smartphone apps Nice to Haves: White balance card Lens cleaning solution Small tripod Tablet and external storage Rite In The Rain notepad & pen Portable battery charger Situation Dependent: Polarizing filters Cable release Red headlamp External flash (& kit) Rain cover Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip

Better Fuji Photos Episode 33: ACROS Color Filters ACROS is an awesome black & white film simulation. So why does it have color filters if there's no color? It's all about controlling contrast. Color filters separate colors rendered in grayscale, giving you different amounts of contrast. These color filter options are in the Film Simulation submenu for the ACROS and Monochrome film simulations. They can also be selected as different film simulations to use in the Film Simulation Bracket mode, discussed in Episode 5. The Red filter makes reds brighter and greens darker and is often used in landscape & street photography The Green filter makes greens brighter and reds darker and is somtimes used in nature & portrait photography The Yellow filter makes yellows brighter and purples darker and is a great choice to just add more contrast to regular ACROS But there are so many more nuances than that simple explanation - although that simple explanation is a great place to start! See examples in the links below: Accompanying web article: https://www.jmpeltier.com/acros-film-simulation-color-filters/ Learn more about Fujifilm's film simulations in this free film simulation course: ⁠⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/filmsims⁠⁠⁠ Fujifilm Photographer Membership: ⁠⁠https://photocourses.link/fujimembers⁠⁠. Use the code "POD20" for 20% off. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever you prefer to listen to your podcasts so we can keep this show going. If you ever have any questions that you’d like to have answered in an episode, please send me an email at [email protected]. End music: Dylan Sitts - Tahoe Trip