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Lightroom Color Grading: An Easy Way to Supercharge Your Photos

25 Nov

The post Lightroom Color Grading: An Easy Way to Supercharge Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

The October 2020 update to Lightroom Classic introduced a feature called Color Grading, which puts an advanced color-correction tool in the hands of everyone who uses Lightroom.

For newcomers who have never tried this technique, it can feel a bit overwhelming.

But with a bit of practice, you’ll get the hang of Lightroom color grading in no time at all. And you’ll be able to give your photos the Hollywood treatment you never knew you could achieve!

young man portrait — Nikon D7100 | Nikon 85mm f/1.8G | 85mm | 1/2000s | f/1.8 | ISO 200

What is color grading?

While color grading is often associated with film productions, it applies to photography just as easily.

Color grading refers to the process of changing global attributes of an image to give it a specific look or feel. It’s a subjective, stylistic process that can involve many different types of edits, but generally involves changing the appearance of the highlights, shadows, and midtones of a picture. This allows a photographer to create a mood or tone, and convey a certain emotion to the viewer.

In a strict sense, any stylistic adjustments to an image could be considered color grading. Adjusting the HSL/Color panel or tweaking the tone curve are both valid color grading techniques.

However, when most editors talk about color grading, they are referring to the way a specific tint is applied to the shadows, highlights, and midtones.

A common color grading technique in movies, for instance, involves giving shadows a teal color and making midtones more orange. This gives a more intense, cinematic feel to films and the same is true for photos.

kids walking without color grading — Nikon D750 | 200mm | f/2.8 | 1/250s | f/2.8 | ISO 220. Ungraded.

kids walking with color grading — The same image as above, but with color grading applied in Lightroom. The shadows are slightly more teal, the highlights are slightly more yellow, and the midtones are just a bit more orange.

Color grading vs split toning

The Color Grading tool replaces a tool called Split Toning, which was available as its own panel in the Develop module in earlier versions of Lightroom.

Split Toning was like a beta version of Color Grading, in that it let users adjust the tint of shadows and highlights, but not the midtones. While this was certainly useful, the omission of midtone editing was a frustrating sore spot that dramatically limited the value of the tool.

Lightroom color grading split toning — The Lightroom Split Toning panel, which let users adjust the hue and saturation of only the highlights and shadows. The Color Grading tool does everything that Split Toning did and much more.

Color Grading contains all the functionality of Split Toning – and much more. In fact, any photos that were edited using Split Toning will have their adjustments completely intact thanks to the Color Grading tool.

In addition to midtone editing, the Color Grading tool introduces the vastly more useful color wheels in place of linear sliders:

The Lightroom Color Grading tool: a step by step guide

While the color grading tool has incredible depth, accessing it and getting started could hardly be easier.

Open Lightroom and click on the Develop module.

Then open the Color Grading panel on the right side, and you’re all set.

The Lightroom Color Grading panel consists of three color wheels in the middle, a line of icons at the top, and two sliders at the bottom. Each of the color wheels lets you change the tint of its respective range: midtones, shadows, and highlights.

Click and drag anywhere on one of the color wheels and you will immediately see the edit applied to your image. As you drag the slider, note that the distance from the center adjusts the saturation of the color grade, while the position of the slider around the circle adjusts its hue.

You can also click and drag the inner circle to adjust only the saturation and use the outer circle to adjust the hue. The slider at the bottom can be used to change the overall luminance of the midtones, shadows, or highlights, depending on which color wheel you are using.

Click and hold the eye icon just below and to the right of a color wheel to temporarily remove the tint adjustment, and then release the mouse button to re-engage the adjustment. Double-click anywhere inside a color wheel to reset the tint if you want to start over.

The Blending slider at the bottom of the Color Grading panel lets you adjust how much the midtones, shadows, and highlights blend together.

The Balance slider lets you customize the overall balance of highlights and shadows; values greater than 0 make the highlight edits more pronounced, while values less than 0 increase the presence of the shadow edits.

Lightroom Color Grading blending balance — Move Blending to the left to keep your shadows, midtones, and highlights separate from each other. Move Blending to the right to make your edits blend in with one another. Slide Balance to the left to make your edits to the shadows apply to more of the image. Slide it to the right to make your highlight edits more prominent. Or just leave these sliders alone and you’ll probably be just fine.

Look closely at the top of the Color Grading panel and you will see a strange-looking row of circular icons. The first appears to be some kind of alien hieroglyph, while the rest look like circles with different shading patterns. These switch between the different modes within the Color Grading panel.

The first icon, with three small circles, shows all three editing options at once: Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows. The others let you adjust a single parameter at a time. The final icon is a global Hue/Saturation/Luminance adjustment.

If you want more fine-tuned adjustments, you can click on one of the icons that show a much larger version of any of the three adjustment parameters. This can help you select your adjustments with pinpoint accuracy and give you greater control over precisely how your edits are implemented.

How to use the Color Grading tool for great results

As you make adjustments, keep in mind that there is no one correct way to use the Color Grading panel. It’s merely another tool in your arsenal to help you get your images looking the way you want.

That being said, if you want to get your feet wet but aren’t sure how to start, let’s walk through a color grading edit so you can see firsthand how it can be used to give your pictures an extra bit of punch and visual impact.

kids running in an alley with no color grading — Nikon D7100 | Nikon 50mm f/1.8G | 50mm | 1/180s | f/4.0 | ISO 1250. Original photo without any color grading applied.

For a scene like the one above, with a lot of tonal variety, I like to start by editing the shadows first. Rather than using the all-in-one adjustment option with all three circles showing, I prefer to use the larger circles to edit each parameter individually. I like the fine-grained control this gives me.

I recommend you start by adjusting the Luminance slider, which will make the darkest portions of the image even darker when pushed to the left, or brighter when pushed to the right. For this example, I’m going to make shadows punchier by decreasing the luminance.

Then click and drag on the color wheel to add a teal tint to the shadows; this will start to give the photo a more cinematic feel. Your shot might look a little weird with only the shadows adjusted, but it will come together after you customize the highlights and midtones.

kids running in an alley — Color grading applied to the shadows.

Next, click the Highlights option and adjust the Luminance slider to make the brightest portions of the photo lighter or darker. Some people prefer to adjust the Luminance before doing any color editing, but this is up to you.

Once you have the Luminance adjusted, click on the wheel to add a bit of orange. This will make the brightest portions of the image really stand out from the darkest portions of the image, since teal and orange are on opposite sides of the color wheel.

At this point, the example image is starting to come together. It has a grittier, cinematic feel compared to the original, thanks to a touch of teal in the shadows and orange in the highlights.

After the highlights and shadows are edited, head to the Midtones wheel to give your image a warmer or cooler feel overall. Instead of changing the appearance of the brightest or darkest portions of your image, the Midtones wheel affects everything between those two extremes.

Midtone adjustments are useful for giving your entire picture more of a warm or cool feeling. Adjust the Luminance slider, then click and drag the dot to orange or red to make your photo warmer, or blue to make it cooler.

At this point, the image is nearing completion, and you can see the results below. It’s a far cry from the original, which feels flat and boring by comparison.

Lightroom Color Grading kids running alley — The shadows, highlights, and midtones have been adjusted. But the image isn’t quite done yet.

After editing the shadows, highlights, and midtones, it’s time to tweak the Blending and Balance sliders.

As I explained above, blending refers to how much each of the three parameters stays within its own range. It has a default value of 50, which results in a relatively smooth color grade overall.

Sliding Blending to the left means the edits to shadows are confined almost exclusively to the darkest portions of the shot, and the edits to the highlights are confined almost exclusively to the lightest portions of the shot. A balance of 0 essentially makes each of the edits stay in its own lane and not affect the rest of the picture. And bringing the Balance slider to the right will increase how much each tonal area overlaps with one another. The result is often quite subtle, but can have a noticeable impact when applied carefully.

Now, the Balance slider determines how much of the picture is treated as shadows and how much is treated as highlights. Moving the slider to the left takes whatever adjustments you made to the shadows and applies them to more of the picture overall. The same happens to the highlight edits when you move the slider to the right.

If you have applied a certain tint to the shadows but want that tint to affect more of the picture, move the Balance slider to the left. Likewise, if you want your highlight adjustment to apply to more than just the brightest portions, adjust the Balance slider to the right.

Tips and tricks for Lightroom color grading

The key to color grading is to remember that there is no one magic solution. Don’t think of color grading as a search for the right way to adjust your image, but as a doorway to infinite possibilities that can be used however you see fit.

The best way to learn about color grading is to click around on the color wheels and experiment on your own. Lightroom is non-destructive, so you can always revert back to your earlier image. And in the meantime, you just might find a new way to edit your pictures that you never thought of before.

sunset on a lake without color grading — Fujifilm X100F | 23mm | 77 seconds | f/16 | ISO 200. Edited, but not color graded.

That being said, these tips will send you on your way to improving your color grading skills:

Edit your image to have an even exposure prior to using the Lightroom Color Grading tool. Use the Basic panel for highlights/shadows adjustments.
Give your shadows a richer look by adjusting them to be teal, blue, or purple
Contrast the highlights with the shadows by making them yellow, orange, or red
Adjust the midtones a little, but not too much. The midtones should complement the highlights and shadows, not compete by standing out.
For subtle tweaks, use the Blending slider to control how your graded colors meld together
Click the eye icon next to one of the color wheels to toggle between a before and after view

Sunset on a lake with color grading — The same image as above, but color graded. The shadows are blue, the highlights are orange, and the midtones are yellow-orange.

Lightroom color grading: conclusion

You should now have enough to get started with Lightroom color grading. Just remember that the goal here is the same as it is with most editing: You want to end up with an image you like! Color grading is just another tool you can use to make that happen.

Lightroom is a non-destructive editor. That means you can always undo your changes, so experiment with color grading as much as you want. And feel free to share your before and after images in the comments below!

The post Lightroom Color Grading: An Easy Way to Supercharge Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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Solarcan Colours promises easy tinted solargrams—from a soda can

10 Nov

The maker of the Solarcan has launched a new series of solargram cameras loaded with ready-tinted photo paper that will create colored images straight out of the tin. Solarcan Colours come in a choice of three versions to offer warm, cool or duotoned traces of the sun’s passage across the sky.

Solarcan cameras are literally a drink can with a pin hole drilled into the side and a sheet of 7x5in photographic paper loaded and sealed inside. The idea is to strap the camera somewhere outside so it is facing south and then to leave it there as long as you like while it records a trace of the sun everyday while it is in place. Once you can’t wait any more you take the camera indoors, open it with a tin opener and retrieve the paper. The paper will show the image without processing, so you photograph it or scan it and then invert the image to get a positive impression of what you’ve recorded.

The longer you leave the can strapped to a tree or a pole the more sun traces you get, and the company recommends leaving it is place for six months from one solstice to the other. You can just leave it for a day though.

The Solarcan Colours kit includes (left to right) Eldorado, Atlantis and Nebula versions of the camera. These are the colors you’ll see once the recorded negative is inverted in software, or via a smartphone app

The original Solarcan uses straightforward black and white paper, but Solarcan Colours uses tinted papers that deliver a color to the images without post-processing. Many Solarcan fans add colors to their digitized negatives in software, but the new Solarcan Colours have the shades built-in. The colors are:

Atlantis: Produces a cool blue finish
Eldorado: A warm, golden appearance with solarised halos
Nebula: A striking, duotone picture of the Sun and landscape

Inventor Sam Cornwell won’t let on what’s in the paper to give it the tints, but he does tell DP Review that the Solarcan Colour is half-way on his Solarcan roadmap – and that he has something ‘big’ planned for 2022.

Solarcan Colours is being launched via a Kickstarter campaign, as was the original Solarcan, and the company aims to deliver the first consignment in January 2021. Prices start from £39 (approx. $ 51) for a kit with all three colored cans, while the original black and white Solarcan is also for sale for £15 (approx. $ 20). For more information see the Solarcan website or the Solarcan Colours Kickstarter page.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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11 Easy Creative Photography Techniques You Can Try on Any Camera

29 Oct

The post 11 Easy Creative Photography Techniques You Can Try on Any Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

A lot of photography techniques can be complex and require a steep learning curve.

But in today’s article, you’ll learn 11 easy creative photography techniques you can start using today! The techniques described below all require minimal extra equipment and don’t require additional post-processing.

Read on to get the most creativity from your camera with these easy-to-use techniques.

1. Reflection

easy creative photography techniques down low reflection — It’s worth getting down to a low angle for reflections.

This is an easy creative photography technique to learn and is popular among many photographers. The main requirement is finding a reflective surface, though this is not all there is to it. Consider the following, and you’ll be capturing amazing reflection photos in no time:

Reflective surface: Look for surfaces that reflect (and there are many). Flat water works well, as does glass, marble, or even a regular mirror.
Choose a main subject: A successful photo will match up a reflective surface with an interesting main subject. Consider going out after it’s rained, as a puddle in front of a famous monument may only be there after heavy rain.
Find the angle: To get a better reflection, choose the correct angle. This often means getting right up against the reflective surface so the angle of reflection is shallow.
Create your own: No reflective surface? No problem. Just create one! Use the surface of a smartphone, a small mirror, or perhaps a bucket that you use to spread water and create a puddle.
A filter: The best way to control your reflection is by using a circular polarizing filter.

2. Silhouettes

easy creative photography techniques silhouettes — Strong silhouettes work well against a horizon line.

The next option on this list of easy creative photography techniques is silhouettes.

Silhouettes occur when you photograph against the light. The key is to find an interesting shape, and then make sure the background is brighter than the object itself.

You’ll often need to get down to a low angle and then photograph up toward the sky; that way, you can ensure the silhouetted object stands out against the bright background.

Also, when photographing silhouettes, make sure you expose for the bright background. This will turn the subject into a dark silhouette.

3. Repetition

easy creative photography techniques lines and repetition pattern — Lines and repetition can make for a strong composition.

A great design element to add to your frame is repetition.

This is something you’ll usually need to look for, but it’s sometimes possible to create your own repetition. There are possibilities for this both in nature and in the man-made world. Repetition may take the form of a line of trees, or of many bricks in a wall. The question, then, is how you’ll use this repetition.

Here are a few ways you can work with repetition to improve your photos:

Create a texture photo: In this case, the high level of repetition forms a texture.
Break the pattern: Here everything else is the same, with one variation. This works well to highlight that variation, which will then be the photo’s main subject.
Use background repetition: Backgrounds with repetition work very well for portrait photos or still life images.
Two or three: You don’t need to have repetition to infinity; two or three repeating objects, such as wine glasses, can work well.

4. Refraction

easy creative photography techniques glasses — Wine glasses filled with water will produce refraction.

This is a form of photography that can be practiced with a camera as simple as a smartphone. You’re probably thinking of lensballs, but refraction photography can take many forms, including:

A lensball: This is a large glass ball that creates a refracted image of the background inside it.
A prism: A prism splits the light and can be used to produce a rainbow. You could either photograph the projected rainbow or photograph through the prism.
Water drops: Get out after it’s rained, and you can produce refraction in things such as water drops on a spider’s web.
A wine glass: Fill a wine glass with water, and you will see the refraction effect!

5. Contrast

Contrast is a great concept to use in your photography.

The most obvious way to use contrast is by emphasizing dark and light areas of your photo through things such as silhouettes and shadows. But this is not the only way contrast can be used in your photography; anything that has an opposite can be used. You might choose to contrast something old with something new, for example.

6. Framing

easy creative photography techniques cave entrance frame — Natural frames such as cave entrances are good frames.

The world is full of frames, from pictures on the wall to window frames. These frames can be used in photography, which is another easy creative photography technique.

You can achieve a great framed photo with any kind of camera. Good options for this include doorways and windows. You can even become more creative and make your own frame using objects that contextualize the scene behind it.

7. Panning

easy creative photography techniques panning — Bikes are the easiest moving object to try panning with.

Panning is a form of intentional camera movement. The technique involves following the motion of a moving object and using a slower shutter speed to blur the background behind it.

As long as your camera allows you to use a slow shutter speed, this is a technique you can try. Those using a smartphone should download an app that allows you to use a slower shutter speed to take a photo.

8. Point of view

easy creative photography techniques buildings from below — A worm’s-eye view can look amazing. This example also shows how lines and repetition can work in a photo.

Changing your angle can give you dramatically different results, and it doesn’t matter which type of camera you use for this technique.

It’s easy to photograph from a standing position, but try some of these alternative angles:

Low angle: With this angle, you’ll get low to the ground. Things look different from down there!
Worm’s-eye view: This angle involves looking straight up. It can be even more dramatic when you get right down to the ground.
Bird’s-eye view: The easiest way these days to take a bird’s-eye view image is with a drone. However, find a high vantage point from a tall building and you can achieve a similar result.

9. Lines

easy creative photography techniques lines — This photo shows several lines converging in the left third of the frame.

Using powerful lines in your photos will almost always give you a strong composition. The trick, of course, is to utilize those lines correctly using the focal length available to you.

Here are some of the lines that can be used in your photography:

Leading lines: A leading line leads the eye to the main subject of your photo. This line might take the form of a road or a river meandering through your frame.
Horizon lines: Many photographs have horizon lines in them, which is a strong line running through the middle of your frame. Look to position it at the top or bottom third of your photo (using the rule of thirds).
Converging lines: In some photos, many lines converge at one point: the infinity point. This can be compositionally very strong. Look for lines of trees or a tunnel for this type of photo.

10. Shadows

easy creative photography techniques shadows — The shadow in this photo shows an element of repetition, as well.

Photographing shadows requires a strong light source. This can be the sun, but an external flash is another option.

The best time of the day to photograph shadows is therefore when the sun is at a low angle: an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset.

Shadows can be formed and used in different ways. You might photograph a person’s shadow, shadows formed from trees, or the way shadows emphasize the shapes of hills.

11. Minimalism

boat minimalism — This minimalist photo uses a bird’s-eye view taken from a bridge.

Keeping your composition nice and clean is the key to a good photo. This means that one of the best easy creative photography techniques is minimalism.

You can create minimalism even in the most cluttered environment as long as you frame your photo correctly. This style of photography requires that you give your subject some room to breathe. Focus on the main subject and position it in front of an uncluttered background.

Try out these easy creative photography techniques, yourself!

There are so many ways to be creative with photography. Which techniques do you like to use? Are there any simple-to-apply techniques you’ve tried that didn’t make this list? Share your thoughts in the comments!

And if you have any photos that illustrate these techniques, share them in the comments, too!

Then get photographing with these easy creative photography techniques!

The post 11 Easy Creative Photography Techniques You Can Try on Any Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

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Lime One is a compact, easy to use light meter you attach to your camera’s shoe mount

07 Oct

German mechatronics engineer Johannes Heberlein has launched a new photo accessory on Kickstarter, the Lime One compact hot shoe light meter. The meter has been designed to be very easy to use, and even updates its readings in real-time.

In 2018, Heberlein started using film cameras, and he immediately found his light meter options somewhat lacking. He started using a smartphone-based solution but became frustrated with needing to constantly take his phone out of his pocket, get an exposure value and then put his phone away. In late 2018, Heberlein started sketching out ideas for a compact, easy to use light meter. His first prototype was ready a few months later and final hardware revisions took place over the next year.

Lime One works with all cameras that have manual exposure control, including analog cameras that do not feature a built-in light meter. Heberlein hopes that Lime One, which has a funding goal just shy of $ 30,000 USD, will help photographers who have been frustrated by external meters and smartphone light meter applications. He designed Lime One to be compact enough that you can leave it attached to your camera indefinitely, even when packing your camera away in a bag.

Lime One promises fast operation and start-up, plus the ability to store previous settings. It has four modes: aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode, and exposure value. The control wheel has a knurled edge for grip and when holding the Lime One’s button while rotating the wheel, you can change secondary parameters.

The hot shoe light meter is constructed using anodized aluminum for both the body and wheel and attaches to a standard accessory shoe mount. The device is battery powered and uses a CR2032 battery.

The Lime One appears very simple to operate. For example, when using aperture priority, you set the desired aperture on the Lime One using the control wheel, frame your shot, and then the light meter shows you on its top display the required shutter speed. You can also use exposure compensation by holding down the button while rotating the control wheel. By double-tapping this same button, you access the menu where you can perform actions such as adjusting operational mode and ISO.

Hedeco Lime One on 6×6 folding medium format camera. Image credit: Hedeco, Kickstarter

For those who pledge €99 or more, which is roughly $ 115 USD, you will receive one Lime One in silver in April 2021. If you pledge €149 (about $ 175 USD), you have a choice of silver or black for Lime One, plus you receive an accessory pack. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can download the files to print your own accessories and instead purchase just the standard pack.

To learn more about the Lime One compact light meter, head to the Kickstarter page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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New York City map makes it easy to find historical images of NYC from 1939 to 1941

18 Aug

A newly-launched online mapping system called 1940s NYC makes it simple for anyone to find historical images of the city captured from 1939 to 1941 by the New York City Tax Department in collaboration with the Works Progress Administration. The photography initiative involved capturing images of every home, shop and other buildings in all five boroughs, the result being an incredibly detailed time capsule of the city as it existed decades ago.

These historical photographs were already available to the public, but getting them — particularly ones of specific buildings — was time-consuming. Things got a bit more simple in 2018 when the New York City Municipal Archives finished digitizing the full collection, a process that also involved tagging each image so that it could be more easily found online using the right details.

Despite that improvement, the process of browsing these images was still limited. Users must go to the NYC.gov website’s city map tool and enter the exact address for the building of the photo they want. This makes it difficult to casually browse these historical images, something the new 1940s NYC mapping tool solves.

The new and far more capable mapping tool comes from NYC-based software engineer Julian Boilen, who notes on the website that an automated process was used to place the images on the map and, therefore, there is the potential for some ‘imperfections.’

The mapping tool is exceptionally simple to use. Every black dot on the map represents a photo of that location; users can zoom in on individual streets and neighborhoods, which appear to be overlaid with historic city zoning maps. Users can also enter an address to go right to a particular building. This is quite a bit more robust than the mapping tool offered by the city itself.

Users located in New York City also have the option of clicking a location icon that will pull up their current location on the map, making it easy to see what their neighborhood looked like decades ago. As well, the map provides an ‘Outtakes’ section that is a large gallery of browseable photos. Many of these images feature black dots and NYC.gov watermarks.

In addition to serving as a portal to the 1930s – 1940s NYC images, the mapping tool also includes a link to a similar map that features the same variety of imagery, but one captured in the 1980s.

This dataset features 800,000 photos of buildings, according to the tool, as well as more than 100,000 ‘street segments.’ This mapping tool includes a ‘Stories’ feature that provides a series of images alongside the stories behind them.

These stories include things like pointers on spying interesting elements in the photos, details about whether certain buildings still stand and if they were remodeled, notable events that took place at these locations and similar information.

The website is not affiliated with the New York City Department of Records, which is the agency that owns the historical photos. Anyone can order the high-resolution digitized copies or prints of images they like from the city’s Municipal Archives, otherwise, the public is limited to the watermarked and low-resolution versions made accessible by the NYC Department of Records and Information Services.

Including these images, the NYC Municipal Archives Digital Collections website offers the public access to more than 1.6 million digital items, including photos and videos.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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MetaLog iOS App makes it easy to record metadata for your film photography

03 Aug

If you’re a film photographer with an iOS device, you might find Christopher Curzio’s new app helpful. The new app, MetaLog, is a photo and camera data logging program that makes it easy to capture metadata for your film photography.

Inspired by the desire to capture the film stock, settings and camera used to capture his film photography, Curzio decided to take matters into his own hands and develop MetaLog. You can keep track of multiple cameras and rolls of film at once, and quickly switch between them to record data for a new image.

The interface is fairly basic, but offers nearly all of the settings and variables you likely need: date, lens, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation and even location coordinates. There are even fields for adding what accessories you may have used to help capture the shot, as well as a general notes field for additional details.

You can also keep an inventory of the gear you use, so you don’t manually type in those details every time; you can even include the serial number of your cameras and lenses.

Once the data is logged in the app, you can keep it there to reference once the rolls are developed or export the data as a CSV file.

MetaLog is currently available to download in the iOS App Store for $ 1.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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15 Quick and Easy Poses for Family Photographs

04 Jul

The post 15 Quick and Easy Poses for Family Photographs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

In this article, we’re going to share 15 quick and easy poses for family photographs to try at your next family photo session to keep it moving smoothly. You will also have great poses to choose from when it comes time to deliver the images to your clients.

These poses are useful for all family sizes and types so that you have a great variety to deliver once complete.

1. Standing poses

When it comes to photographing families, a standing pose is a great choice. This way, you’ll be able to see all family members in the portrait.

You can vary the standing pose with the family close together, connecting in one way or another with hands. Having the family get close can help to create more of a connection between the family members.

Another great standing pose is where you give each person a little bit of space and take a wide shot. This works for small and large families!

2. Group squeeze

A group squeeze is another of the great poses for family photographs given that it can bring about some genuine smiles from the family, which is the real focus of the pose.

Ask your clients to get close and hug each other while still facing the camera, then ask them to squeeze tight and watch the laughter happen! Take as many photos as possible of the moment as the family will love to see these natural expressions caught on camera!

3. Sitting pose

Sitting is another great pose to try. First, ask if there is anyone who has problems sitting or getting low. If there are family members with issues, try and use a chair or a posing stool.

Otherwise, have the family sit comfortably and get variations of the family looking at the camera, looking at each other, perhaps sitting a little further apart, or try to have the children behind the parents sitting a bit taller.

If you are going to use a chair or stool, it can bring about many different levels in a photograph that will make the poses more interesting. Try people behind the person sitting on the stool, move the stool/chair to the side, and have everyone fill in around.

If you’re photographing a big family, you can even pose family members beneath the stool/chair to add to the levels.

4. Walking together

When looking for poses for family photographs, you can’t go past them walking together. It is a great pose for all families, especially if they feel a little nervous or stiff. Have them line up and walk towards you while they look at each other and laugh.

Encourage them to talk and joke amongst themselves to make the shot look a little more natural.

5. Smaller groups

This pose is for big family sessions where you’re photographing smaller groups that make up the big family. Get each smaller family alone and photograph them in two to three different poses each. Use the same poses for each family to keep the session consistent. When all the family photos are put together in a wall gallery, for example, the photos fit well together.

You don’t have to use the same pose for all, you can change it up depending on the feeling each smaller group gives you. However, when we say keep it consistent, we’re talking about the lighting, background, and focal length.

6. All mixed up

A fun way to photograph the family is to have them mix it up and then get together for a portrait. This can get the family scrambling and laughing; allowing you to get more natural smiles from the entire family.

7. Jumping

Jumping is another of the great poses for family photographs. Capturing a jumping shot is a great way to loosen up client nerves. More than actually getting the best shot, the jumping photo is to get everyone laughing and having fun.

You can photograph the jump with the family facing you or away from you. Make sure you get low so the jump looks more dynamic.

8. Just the kids

It’s good to also get a few photographs of the children without any adults in the photos. For siblings, get them playing or hugging.

For larger groups of children, like grandchildren, get them all in a group squeeze or on different levels like piggyback, sitting/standing, or all lined up so that everyone is seen in the portrait.

You can also break down the groups of children into girls, boys, older and younger, and maybe all playing together.

9. Exploring

Nothing says meltdown like telling children to hold still and pose. To avoid a potential meltdown, allowing kids to explore their surroundings helps to keep them moving and engaged in the session.

Get the parents involved in exploring the location. It could be smelling flowers, picking up sticks, and taking in the surroundings.

This works perfectly for kids who are more sensory and for younger children. It can also help older kids feel less nervous and less focused on during the session.

10. Playful

Having fun is one of the best parts of the client experience. Making sure that your clients, especially the children, have a good time is really important.

Photograph the children building sandcastles, enjoying the playground, throwing a ball, or playing a game with their parents to help keep everything light and fun. It’s not a pose exactly that you direct, but you can choose where to have them play.

Having playful photos of the family completes the story of the session and also shows a more lighthearted side to the family. It also makes the session less stiff and serious.

Even if you’re in a studio, you can blow bubbles, play songs, have a dance party, and play with sounds to make the session more playful. Toys are a wonderful idea for smaller children.

11. Just the adults

While getting photos of the whole family is important, getting one or two poses of the adults by themselves also works to add variety to the whole session.

If the adults are a couple, pose them together in the same location. Take one with them looking at the camera and one looking at each other. Then have them walk a little while as they talk to each other.

If they are able to sit, get a couple of photos of the couple sitting, either on steps, benches or on the grass/ground.

12. Holding hands

Holding hands is a good way to show a connection among the family members. Choose different poses, either sitting or standing, where the family is holding hands. You can vary it with big groups where some are holding hands and others are not.

This works for children to get them to stand in the same place together. It can also help to hold hands with younger children so that they don’t stray too far and are engaged in the session.

13. Being themselves

Allowing your clients to simply be themselves as a family can be just the thing to calm nerves and help the session flow much more naturally. Help them by choosing where you want them to sit or stand and then have them talk amongst themselves.

Perhaps tell a joke, dance or play. Allow the family to get natural expressions, which adds more variety to the final gallery.

14. Kisses

Families love each other and often show affection for each other. Kisses are natural and can show a real connection. You can choose to have the parents kiss while the kids make funny faces, have siblings kiss and hug, or have grandparents give kisses on the cheek.

This works best with young children like babies and toddlers to show affection and draw the baby’s attention to the parents. It also works with group squeezes with smaller family units.

15. From behind

Complete your session images with a final shot of the family from behind. This can be a silhouette or have the family overlooking the location where they are, like a beach, for example.

It can be a great photo to finish your client’s gallery with a nice contemplative photo of the family simply looking and being themselves.

In conclusion

It’s great to have 15 poses for family photographs that work for all families and all situations. Use these 15 poses, and you’ve already got a great start to your client’s gallery! Do you have any go-to poses that work for all family sessions? Share in the comments!

The post 15 Quick and Easy Poses for Family Photographs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

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How To Take Good Pictures of Flowers- An Easy Step by Step Guide

03 Jun

Do you want to learn how to use light in photography? Photograph a flower. A flower in and of itself is an interesting subject. Flowers have different textures, bright colors, and won’t get bored of sitting still while you adjust your settings. But a quick snap of a flower, while beautiful, can be boring. If you really want to bring Continue Reading

The post How To Take Good Pictures of Flowers- An Easy Step by Step Guide appeared first on Photodoto.

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Sony ZV-1 ‘content creator camera’ focuses on making vlogging easy

27 May

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Sony has announced the ZV-1, which it calls a content creator camera. It’s built around a 1″-type 20MP stacked CMOS sensor and a 25.5-70mm equiv. F1.8-2.8 lens similar to the on in the RX100 III, IV, V and VA, but it uses a fully articulating touchscreen and reworked ergonomics to allow for selfie-style operation. In essence, the ZV-1 gives you the hardware of an RX100 VA redesigned to make vlogging and facing-the-camera shooting easier.

The ZV-1 includes a number of features and modes intended to make vlogging easier. These build on Sony’s very dependable Eye AF capabilities, to give confidence that your footage will be in focus while you concentrate on talking to your audience. There’s also a directional three-capsule mic setup built into the top of the camera to help isolate what’s being said from ambient noise.

There’s a ‘background defocus’ mode that automatically opens up the aperture to its maximum setting, accessed from a button on the top of the camera, and an AF mode that will prioritize nearby objects if that you hold up in front of the camera, rather than continuing to focus on your face. And there’s also a front-mounted tally light, to indicate when the camera is recording.

The specs are broadly consistent with recent RX100-series models, including 4K UHD video at up to 30p, 1080 capture at up to 120p and high-speed upscaled video at up to 960p. There’s no built-in viewfinder or headphone socket, but the ZV-1 does have a ‘multi-accessory’ hot shoe on which to mount an external mic.

The ZV-1 will be available from early June with a list price of $ 799 (CAD$ 999). In the US there will be a promotion that drops the price to $ 749 if you buy before June 28th. Sony is also discounting its VCT-SGR1 Bluetooth shooting grip if you buy it with the ZV-1, until June 28th in the US and June 25th in Canada. Pricing in the UK and Europe is set at £700 and €800.

Go hands-on with the Sony XV-1Press release

Sony Electronics Introduces the Digital Camera ZV-1, A Newly Designed Camera for Video Content Creators

New Video-Forward Design and Compact Body Packed with Advanced Imaging Technology and Easy-to-Use Functionality

SAN DIEGO – May 26, 2020 –Sony Electronics Inc. today has announced the new pocket-sized digital camera ZV-1 (hereafter referred as “ZV-1”) – a lightweight, compact “all-in-one” style solution. Designed from the ground up for content creators and vloggers, the ZV-1 combines easy-to-use features with uncompromising imaging technology, making this the perfect tool for any content creator at all skill levels.

“Sony’s new ZV-1 was purpose-built to meet the needs and demands of today’s video creators,” said Neal Manowitz, deputy president of Imaging Product and Solutions Americas at Sony Electronics. “We are always listening to our customers, and this camera is the result of direct feedback from our extended community. Featuring an innovative design plus many new technologies, settings and modes, it will allow creators to make content in ways they have never been able to before.”

The ZV-1 features a 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS® CMOS image sensor with DRAM chip and 24-70mm[i] F1.8-2.8 ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* large-aperture lens creating beautiful background bokeh (background blur), allowing the subject to stand out from the background. The camera locks on to and tracks subjects with high accuracy and speed using Sony’s leading-edge autofocus system. The ZV-1 also includes the latest-generation BIONZ X™ image processor with front-end LSI delivering high resolution as well as low noise for superior image quality. It also combines this exceptional imaging technology with high-quality and versatile audio options. The ZV-1 is Sony’s first compact camera with a side-opening Vari-angle LCD screen, making it easier to compose your shots in selfie mode while connecting external audio accessories. To meet any video need, the ZV-1 contains advanced video features including 4K movie recording[ii] and in-body image stabilization.

Meeting the Needs of Today’s Content Creators

Quickly Switch Between two modes of Background Bokeh
The ZV-1 offers a simple solution to easily switch between two levels of background bokeh while recording. Using the new Background Defocus function, users can rapidly adjust the optical aperture between more and less background defocusing blur without losing focus on the subject. Located on top of the camera, this Bokeh button is easily accessible and makes selfie shooting operation a breeze.

Focus on the Subject You Want

The ZV-1 makes it easier than ever to shoot product reviews and similar video content. Gone are the days of placing a hand behind an object to prompt the camera to bring it into focus thanks to a new Product Showcase Setting, which allows for quick and smooth focus transitions between the subject’s face and the object placed in front of the lens.

Building on the leading-edge technology developed for ?™ (Alpha brand) and RX series cameras, this new compact camera includes advanced autofocus (AF) allowing it to lock on and track subjects with high accuracy and speed while recording. For maintaining focus on the intended subject or subjects in busy environments, Real-time Eye AF[iii] and Real-time Tracking AF for video allows the ZV-1 to seamlessly switch focus between multiple subjects while controlling the AF speed and tracking sensitivity.

Prioritize Your Face

Extreme changes in lighting, like walking outside on a sunny day and suddenly moving from a bright location into shade, are no problem for the ZV-1 thanks to the new Face Priority autoexposure (AE) function. It detects and prioritizes the subject’s face and adjusts the exposure to ensure the face is depicted at an ideal brightness in any environment. This AE technology also suppresses an abrupt change in exposure if the subject quickly turns away from the frame to eliminate unexpected blown-out or extremely dark shots. In addition, the camera features a new advanced color science that has been re-engineered to optimize skin tones for any subject in both still and video modes.

Crystal Clear Audio

High quality content requires clear, excellent audio quality, and the ZV-1 is well-equipped to produce just that with reliable and versatile audio options. The ZV-1’s onboard mic features Sony’s latest Directional 3-capsule Mic which was designed for forward-directional audio capture, allowing for clear capture of the subject’s voice while minimizing background noise, especially when operating in selfie mode. For added flexibility, the ZV-1 also features an industry standard mic jack (3.5mm) and Multi Interface Shoe™ (MI shoe) making it easy to connect a wide range of external microphones. The ZV-1 is also supplied with a wind screen[iv] accessory that fits on the MI shoe to minimize wind interference.

Design and Functionality Optimized for Vlogging

The ZV-1 was designed with content creators and vloggers in mind. This compact, lightweight (approx. 294g / 105.5mm x 60.0mm x 43.5mm) camera is the first Sony compact camera with a flip-out, tiltable LCD Screen, allowing creators to simplify their setup by utilizing the MI shoe for optional external mics without the need of an additional mounting bracket.

Comfortably operate the ZV-1 with one hand thanks to the easy-to-hold comfortable grip and a large movie REC button located on the top of the camera for quick access to video recording, as well as a recording lamp on the front of the camera that indicates if the camera is actively recording.

The ZV-1 also includes advances in image stabilization, ensuring steady video even when shooting hand-held while walking. When recording in HD (Active mode), optical and electronic stabilization methods are combined to reduce shaking up to 11 times[v] that of standard SteadyShot™ image stabilization. When shooting 4K video using Optical SteadyShot (Active mode), there is improvement in stabilization effect of up to 8 times[vi] that of standard SteadyShot. The ZV-1 is also compatible with the GP-VPT2BT Shooting Grip with Wireless Remote Commander, offering additional stability and comfort combined with cable-free Bluetooth® connectivity.

Class-Leading AV Features

Despite the small form factor there are a multitude of pro-level movie making capabilities, including:

4K movie recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning in high bit rate XAVC S™ codec. [vii]

Industry standard 3.5mm microphone input
Hybrid Log-Gamma (HDR) [viii] / S-Gamut3.Cine / S-Log3, S-Gamut3 / S-Log3
Interval Shooting[ix] for stunning time-lapse videos[x]
Super Slow Motion[xi] recording at up to 960fps[xii]
Compatibility with ‘Movie Edit add-on[xiii]’ from the “Imaging Edge™” mobile application for image stabilization while editing[xiv] Highlight ability to edit aspect ratios for IG etc.

Live Streaming with the ZV-1

Transform the ZV-1 into a webcam by connecting it to a PC[xv] via USB, which allows content creators to interact with their followers in real-time while also utilizing the advanced imaging technology and unique features of the ZV-1. Sony’s new PC software will be available in July 2020.

New Vlogger Accessories Kit

Sony will also be introducing a Vlogger Kit (ACCVC1), which includes a GP-VPT2BT Shooting Grip with Wireless Remote Commander and 64GB Ultra High Speed Media Card. The grip is compatible with a variety of Sony cameras[xvi].

Pair this kit with an external microphone (sold separately), such as Sony’s Stereo Microphone (ECM-XYST1M), for a convenient and simple vlogging setup.

Pricing and Availability

The Digital Camera ZV-1 will be available in June 2020 for a special introductory price of approximately $ 749 USD through June 28, 2020. After that, the price will increase to approximately $ 799 USD. The ZV-1 will be available in Canada for approximately $ 999 CAD.

The ACCVC1 Vlogger Kit will be available in June 2020 with a special introductory offer of $ 50 off when purchased together with ZV-1 (at participating retailers) through June 28, 2020 in U.S. and June 25, 2020 in Canada, and can be purchased separately for approximately $ 149 USD and $ 199 CAD.

[i]Angle of view (35mm format equivalent)

[ii] 4K (QFHD: 3840×2160) Extended continuous video recording is available when setting Auto Power OFF Temp. function to High

[iii] Real-time Eye AF for animals is not available movie shooting

[iv] Audio input itself is via the camera’s internal mic but attaching the wind screen to the mic suppresses wind noise

[v] Image stabilization angle at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. When active mode is on. Relative to angle of view with optical image stabilization on standard mode.

[vi] Image stabilization angle at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. When active mode is on. Relative to angle of view with optical image stabilization on standard mode.

[vii] A Class 10 or higher SDHC/SDXC memory card is required to record movies in the XAVC S format. UHS-I (U3) SDHC/SDXC card is required for 100Mbps

[viii] Connect this product to an HDR (HLG) compatible Sony TV via a USB cable to display HDR (HLG) movies

[ix] Wi-Fi is not operational during interval shooting

[x] Time-lapse movie creation is possible on a PC

[xi] Audio recording is not available. A Class 10 or higher SDHC/SDXC memory card is required

[xii] In NTSC mode. Menu allows switching between NTSC and PAL modes

[xiii] Please use the latest version

[xiv] Availability of video transfer and playback varies depending on smartphone in use. Membership to Imaging Edge account and app on smartphone required with connection to Wi-Fi. See Imaging Edge terms and conditions/privacy policy for details.

[xv] Windows® 10

[xvi] Compatible with RX100 VII, Alpha 6100, Alpha 6400, Alpha 6600, Alpha 7 III, Alpha 7R III, Alpha 7R IV, Alpha 9, Alpha 9 II. Firmware must be updated on camera to ensure compatibility.

Sony ZV-1 specifications

Price
MSRP	$ 800/£700/€800
Body type
Body type	Compact
Body material	Aluminum/composite
Sensor
Max resolution	5472 x 3648
Image ratio w:h	1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels	20 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors	21 megapixels
Sensor size	1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm)
Sensor type	BSI-CMOS
Processor	Bionz X
Color space	sRGB, AdobeRGB
Color filter array	Primary color filter
Image
ISO	Auto, 125-12800
Boosted ISO (minimum)	80
Boosted ISO (maximum)	25600
White balance presets	9
Custom white balance	Yes
Image stabilization	Optical
Uncompressed format	RAW
JPEG quality levels	Extra fine, fine, standard
File format	JPEG (Exif v2.3, DCF v2.0) Raw (Sony ARW v2.3)
Optics & Focus
Focal length (equiv.)	24–70 mm
Optical zoom	2.9×
Maximum aperture	F1.8–2.8
Autofocus	Contrast Detect (sensor) Phase Detect Multi-area Center Selective single-point Tracking Single Continuous Touch Face Detection Live View
Autofocus assist lamp	Yes
Digital zoom	Yes (3.8x)
Manual focus	Yes
Normal focus range	5 cm (1.97″)
Macro focus range	5 cm (1.97″)
Number of focus points	315
Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD	Fully articulated
Screen size	3″
Screen dots	921,600
Touch screen	Yes
Screen type	TFT LCD
Live view	Yes
Viewfinder type	None
Photography features
Minimum shutter speed	30 sec
Maximum shutter speed	1/2000 sec
Maximum shutter speed (electronic)	1/32000 sec
Exposure modes	Auto Program Auto Aperture Priority Shutter Priority Manual Exposure
Scene modes	Portrait Sports Action Macro Landscape Sunset Night Scene Handheld Twilight Night Portrait Anti Motion Blur Pet Mode Gourmet Fireworks High Sensitivity
Built-in flash	No
External flash	No
Flash modes	Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Rear Sync, Flash Off
Continuous drive	24.0 fps
Self-timer	Yes
Metering modes	Multi Center-weighted Highlight-weighted Average Spot
Exposure compensation	±3 (at 1/3 EV steps)
AE Bracketing	±3 (3 frames at 1/3 EV steps)
WB Bracketing	Yes
Videography features
Format	MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Modes	3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 60 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 60 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 60 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 120p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 120p / 60 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 100p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 100p / 60 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 28 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 28 Mbps, AVCHD, MTS, H.264, Dolby Digital 1920 x 1080 @ 60i / 24 Mbps, AVCHD, MTS, H.264, Dolby Digital 1920 x 1080 @ 60i / 17 Mbps, AVCHD, MTS, H.264, Dolby Digital 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 28 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 16 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 16 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 24 Mbps, AVCHD, MTS, H.264, Dolby Digital 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 17 Mbps, AVCHD, MTS, H.264, Dolby Digital 1280 x 720 @ 30p / 6 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC 1280 x 720 @ 25p / 6 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC
Microphone	Stereo
Speaker	Mono
Storage
Storage types	SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Connectivity
USB	USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB charging	Yes
HDMI	Yes (micro-HDMI)
Microphone port	Yes
Headphone port	No
Wireless	Built-In
Wireless notes	802.11ac + Bluetooth
Remote control	Yes (wired or smartphone)
Physical
Environmentally sealed	No
Battery	Battery Pack
Battery description	NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger
Battery Life (CIPA)	260
Weight (inc. batteries)	294 g (0.65 lb / 10.37 oz)
Dimensions	105 x 60 x 44 mm (4.13 x 2.36 x 1.73″)
Other features
Orientation sensor	Yes
Timelapse recording	Yes
GPS	None

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Fujifilm GF 50mm F3.5 impressions: an easy lens to love

18 Mar

Introduction

Fujifilm GF 50mm F3.5 | 1/60 sec | ISO 400 | F8

Adobe Camera Raw Settings: Adobe Color Landscape, Daylight WB, Highlights -25, Shadows +60, Vibrance -6, Sharpening 40, Luminance Noise Reduction 0, Color Noise Reduction 25

Over the past half-century, 50mm lenses, with a field of view that most closely approximates natural human vision, have reigned supreme as the classic ‘normal’ lens for 135 film and full-frame digital cameras. In the days before ubiquitous zoom lenses, 50mm primes were kitted with just about every 135 SLR on the market. If you’ve ever shot with a Canon AE-1, a Pentax K1000, or Olympus OM-1, there’s a better than 90% chance it had a 50mm lens on it.

In my nearly 30 years as a photographer, I’ve purchased a 50mm (or equivalent) prime for every camera system I’ve ever owned. Over the past 15 years of teaching photography, I’ve recommended the 50mm prime lens to literally thousands of students as the highest-quality, most-affordable, must-have upgrade for anyone getting ‘serious’ about photography.

Fujifilm GF 50mm F3.5 sample gallery

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The hard truth is, though, I’ve never truly loved shooting with any of my 50mm primes and they’ve tended to sit in the bag more often than my other lenses. For me, the ‘normal’ 50mm has always been a little boring and I find a 35mm or 40mm a little more interesting with a slightly wider-than-normal view that doesn’t really feel wide. Generally speaking, 40mm lenses also tend to be rather compact and you’ll find them on many classic fixed-lens rangefinders from the 1970’s including the legendary Canonet G-III QL17 and the Rollei 35. Canon’s current 40mm F2.8 ‘pancake’ lens is a lovely performer as well.

Speaking of 40mm (equivalent) lenses, I have to mention an old favorite of mine: the Panasonic Lumix 20mm F1.7 for Micro Four Thirds. This was one of the first MFT prime lenses, released in late 2009 alongside the wonderful Lumix GF1. Although a bit dated, the Lumix 20mm still holds up very well on my 20MP Olympus Pen-F.

Panasonic Lumix GF1 with 20mm F1.7

The Lumix 20mm also has at least one notable superpower: a close focusing limit of just 20cm, which is significantly closer than just about any non-macro-specific lens I’ve ever used. This very close focusing enables Micro Four Thirds to transcend its inherent depth-of-field limitations (or lack thereof) to produce images with extreme background blur, albeit limited to close subjects. The slightly wider-than-normal field of view also includes a bit more context, which can make ordinary junk-drawer-stuff visually interesting in a way that classic 100mm macro lenses can’t. In short, it’s just a very ‘arty’ lens that makes casual photography really fun for me. As a bonus, it happens to be very small and very sharp.

Fujifilm’s new 50mm F3.5

So when Fujifilm announced the new GF 50mm F3.5 for the GFX system, with its 40mm full-frame equivalent field of view, I got very excited. I imagined a larger version of the Lumix 20mm mated to an ultra high resolution medium format sensor. Is it a dream come true? Well, yes and no. Let me explain.

Fujifilm GF 50mm F3.5 | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec | F11
Adobe Camera Raw Settings: Adobe Color, Daylight WB, Exposure +0.5, Highlights -100, Shadows +100, Sharpening 40, Detail 10, Luminance Noise Reduction 0, Color Noise Reduction 25

I recently drove a 4500-mile loop from Seattle, WA to Santa Fe, NM and back. DPReview kindly loaned me their copy of the Fuji GF 50mm F3.5 to try out along the way, so I attached it to my own GFX 50R and hit the road. It wasn’t a photo-specific trip and I was pretty much always on the way to somewhere else so I didn’t get to shoot in ideal lighting conditions. The images from this road trip are a good example of the sort of casual shooting I might do with the lovely Olympus Pen-F and Lumix 20mm F1.7.

Here are my thoughts.

It’s still kind of big

Everyone writing about this GF 50mm has commented on how ‘tiny’ it is. Well it’s definitely smaller than Fujifilm’s other larger-than-full-frame GF lenses, but calling this a ‘tiny’ medium format lens seems a bit like describing a 16-passenger van as a ‘tiny’ bus. Yes, it’s the smallest Fujifilm GF lens to date, but it’s still larger than an old Hasselblad 80mm F2.8 or the wonderful Pentax 645 75mm F2.8, both of which have a larger aperture and were designed for even larger formats. Proportionally, the GFX 50R with 50mm F3.5 feels something like a Texas-sized version of the for-real tiny Pen-F and 20mm F1.7.

Inoffensive bokeh

In general, a lens’s maximum aperture affects its physical size and weight (and price). It’s clear that Fujifilm had compactness in mind here and I’m neither thrilled nor disappointed in the result. Honestly, I’d rather have a slightly larger F2.8 lens or a slightly smaller F4 lens. This lens’s maximum F3.5 aperture feels like a compromise nobody really asked for. Does it matter? Not much… F3.5 is fine. The half-stop either way would make very little difference in terms of light gathering or depth of field.


ISO 250 \| 1/3200 sec \| F3.5 ACR Settings: Default	ISO 250 \| 1/250 sec \| F11 ACR Settings: Default

My casual impression of the bokeh is that I generally like it. Perhaps it could be a bit smoother (more ‘beautiful’) in shots with busy foliage and smaller apertures, but there’s certainly nothing specifically negative to say about it. In all, the out of focus rendering is very nice, very clean, and very modern. Some people might even say ‘generic looking.’ It’s just not the sort of bokeh that really stands out in any particular way – but that’s not a bad thing.

It’s a darn good lens

Yes, as expected, it’s sharp. Very, very sharp. Fujifilm has claimed that all the GF lenses were designed for more than 100MP of resolution. I have no problem believing that statement. To be honest, I’d be shocked if anyone had a legitimate reason to be disappointed in the sharpness of any modern digital medium format lens. I feel obligated to note, however, that digital medium format should be held to a higher standard, particularly when you consider the physical size and weight (and cost) of such systems.

Does that mean this (and other GF lenses) are, in general, measurably sharper than all other lenses? Not necessarily. There are plenty of extremely sharp lenses for other systems. That said, even the best lenses are rarely the same sharpness across the frame at all apertures. When pixel-peeping at 100%, I was rather impressed to see essentially perfect sharpness all the way out to the extreme corners and I didn’t notice any practical difference in quality throughout the aperture range.

ISO 100 | 1/250 sec | F5.6
ACR Settings: Classic Chrome, Highlights -80, Shadows +20, WB Daylight, Sharpening 60, Detail 10

No lens corrections or transform adjustments.

ISO 100 | 1/60 sec | F11
ACR Settings: Classic Chrome, Highlights -80, Shadows +20, WB Daylight, Sharpening 60, Detail 10

No lens corrections or transform adjustments.

I don’t myself shoot charts or flat brick walls so I can’t comment scientifically on this lens’s ‘square-ness’ or lack of distortion. In my studio, I often capture flat artwork but 50mm is not a focal length I would ever use for that purpose. What I can say is that in the field, I didn’t notice any geometric distortion that would matter for a real subject.

I should also note that I couldn’t find any chromatic aberrations in any images I shot through this lens. I’d be extremely impressed if this were a smaller format lens, but again I expect nothing less from a modern medium format optical formula.

ISO 400 | 1/250 sec | F11
ACR Settings: Adobe Color, Highlights -50, Shadows +50, WB Daylight

The pine needles are impressively sharp and detailed even in the extreme corners. Note the total lack of color fringing.

ISO 100 | 1/500 sec | F8
ACR Settings: Adobe Color, Exposure +0.75, Highlights -70, Shadows +20, WB Daylight, Sharpening 60, Detail 10

No lens corrections or transform adjustments. Note the total lack of color fringing.

So is this the sharpest, cleanest lens in the world? I have no idea, and I don’t care. In my opinion, this lens (really any GF lens) is so close to practical perfection from corner to corner at almost any aperture, that discussion of inherent sharpness or distortion is virtually irrelevant. At this level, depth of field, diffraction, plane of focus, focus precision, and vibration are far more critical issues. If anyone is getting ‘soft’ rendering out of this system, it is almost certainly a result of technique, or in very rare cases, a manufacturing defect.

Fast, confident autofocus

On my GFX 50R, focusing from close to far with the 50mm seems faster than all my other GF prime lenses except the 23mm. The 45mm is just a bit slower. The 63mm feels noticeably sluggish by comparison. The most notable difference, though, is the surprisingly quiet confidence exhibited by this new 50mm. It locks on almost instantly with hardly any ‘wobble’ and a barely audible ‘zip’ sound. The 23mm is almost this good. The 110mm is slower of course, but surprisingly not far behind, considering the longer focal length and how much further the large glass elements must travel. The other primes all make significantly more noise and require a deeper in-out movement to lock on a subject.

The 50mm exhibits surprisingly quiet confidence

All in all, I’d say Fujifilm made the autofocus of this 50mm medium format lens feel a lot more like one of the better X-mount APS-C lenses than any other medium format lens I’ve used. It’s certainly faster than manual focus on Hasselblad V system lenses, faster than Pentax 645 AF lenses, and faster than Mamiya / Phase One AF lenses I’ve used in the past. It’s also faster than my Lumix 20mm on the Pen-F, though not nearly so fast as the best lenses from Canon, Nikon, or Olympus. But let’s put this into perspective… if you’re an event or sports shooter and ultra-fast autofocus is a primary concern, then medium format is NOT the droid you’re looking for. Full stop.

Close focus could be closer

The minimum focus distance of 55cm is really the only thing I find disappointing about this otherwise wonderful lens. In theory, Fujifilm’s 50mm F3.5 should have a full-frame depth-of-field equivalence of F2.8, which should blur backgrounds more than the Lumix 20mm’s full-frame depth-of-field equivalence of F3.4.

In reality, the GF 50mm just doesn’t focus close enough to win this particular contest. There were so many times when I wanted to get just a little closer than the GF 50mm would allow. If there’s enough time, attaching a Canon 500D close up filter can help you get a little closer, though I felt the +2 diopter of the Canon 500D was not quite enough to match the 20cm close focusing magic of the Lumix 20mm.


Fujifilm GFX 50R + GF50mm F3.5 ISO 800 \| 1/60 sec \| F3.5 Shot at minimum focus distance	Olympus PEN-F + Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II ISO 800 \| 1/60 sec \| F2.2 Shot at minimum focus distance

It would be easy to suggest simply cropping into the much higher resolution GFX image to match the close crop of the Pen-F. But even if you get to a similar crop with similar resolution, the physics of being closer to the subject produces a more dramatic perspective and depth of field rendering.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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