Shooting Commercial Photography with the Fuji X System:

Seminar with Paul Cowan

Session Information

• Introduction
• My History
• Examples of work
• Business Development
• My Fuji Story
• Demo Shoot
• Post Production
• Print Output
• Thanks

Introduction

Why are you here?

How far have you progressed?

How to get further?

My History

Edinburgh College of Art

Loads of rubbish jobs

A bunch of world travel

Retraining to HND Photography

8 Years of running a photography business

Part Time Lecturer Edinburgh College

Why Photography?

I am a visual person

I love dealing with people

I love technical things

I am inspired by architecture

I am inspired by Films

I am in inspired by travel

I like variation in life

Edinburgh University

Down Syndrome Scotland

Plumbline LTD

Angus & Mack Design

MTC Media

Dundee City Council

Michaela Huber Design

Cullen Kilshaw Estate Agents

Direct Flooring LTD

Hugh Parsons Design

Stomping Ground Furniture

Grand Designs Magazine

Smith Goodfellow PR

Dundas Castle

56 North Kitchens

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WHALE Arts Agency

JMl Contracts

Perth Kitchen Centre

Turner Furniture

Domus Property Solutions

Charles Taylor

Namon Gaston Design

Hanse Haus

Juggling Swords Media

Tri Fix LTD

Crossmatch Recruitment

Robert Timmons Furniture

Method Studio

Colin Parker Design

Robin J Horn Design

Braidwood Contracts

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Clients

Furniture

Interiors

Weddings

Events

Architecture

Editorial

Domus Property Solutions Ltd

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Why Fuji X?

My Fuji Story

The files

The colour profiles

The size

Continuous firmware upgrades

Connectivity

Cost of ownership

The look

The Files

The Colour Profiles

Size & Weight

Philosophy of Kaizen

Cost of Ownership

Connectivity

The Look

The Bad

Improvements

The flash system

Technical support for repairs

No tilt-shift lenses

Initial lack of support for RAW technology

Tethering client is paid

Not if the work is good

Do your clients care what you shoot on?

My Kit Timeline

FujifilmX-E1

• 16MP X-Trans CMOS sensor
• ISO 200-6400, 100 - 25600 expanded (JPEG only)
• 2.36M dot OLED electronic viewfinder
• 2.8" 460k-dot LCD
• Built-in pop-up flash
• Full HD movie recording with built-in stereo microphone
• 2.5mm stereo microphone socket

Fujifilm XT1

• 16MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor.
• EXR Processor II.
• Weather-resistant body.
• ISO 200-6400, plus 100 - 51200 expanded (JPEG only)
• 2.36M dot OLED electronic viewfinder with 0.77x (equiv.) ...
• 'Dual view' in EVF shows regular view and focus peaking/digital split image at the same time.

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Fujifilm X100T

• 16.3-megapixels
• LCD Monitor: 3.0-inch (1040K-dot)
• Lens: Fujinon 23mm f/2 (35mm full-frame equiv)
• Sensor:APS-C sized X-Trans CMOS II�100-51200
• Hybrid OVF (with electronic rangefinder) and 2,360K-dot EVF
• Interval Timer shooting

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Fujifilm XT2

• 24 Megapixels
• APS-C (23.6mm x 15.6mm)
• Viewfinder: EVF / LCD
• Auto, 200-12800 (expands to 100-51200)
• Shutter: 1/32000 - 900 sec
• Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS II compatible)
• USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)

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FUJINON LENS XF35mmF1.4 R

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FUJINON LENS XF56mmF1.2 R

SAMYANG 12mm f2.0 NCS CS

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FUJINON LENS XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR

FUJINON LENS XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

FUJINON LENS XF10-24mmF4 R OIS

Lens Road Map

Flash System

What's next for Fuji?

Business Development

Getting Started

Don't work for free!

Find an area that inspires you

Work out the market

Improve on what's out there

Offer something different

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

— Elliott Erwitt

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Demo Shoot

Interiors & Architecture Shoot

Preparation

• Check the weather report for exterior shots
• Look at Sun direction on google
• Ask for simple reference shots from smart phone before arriving
• Review space without camera talking to the client as you go
• Check for area of focus in the property/space
• Take your shoes off!

Shooting

• Review any brief regarding content
• Look for angles in each space
• Think like an architect & a homeowner
• Take your time
• Review images against brief before leaving

Lightroom

Workflow

Selection

• Import images into lightroom
• Review & Select best images
• Be ruthless
• Think about how each image tells a bit of the story of the job
• Tag images with relevant search terms and subjects
• Make final selection for editing.
• Add camera/Raw profile to all images
• Only show selection

Post Production�

• Correct verticals/distortion
• Pre sharpen from Raws
• Make basic luminosity/exposure corrections
• Adjust specific levels of contrast & luminosity with BW Adjustment layer on luminosity in Photoshop
• Sharpening Detail, Global & Local

Focus Stacked Images

Focus Stack Process

• Select photo stacked images
• Right click, edit open as layers in photoshop
• Select all layers
• Edit, Auto Align Layers (auto)
• Edit, Auto-Blend Layers (Stack)
• Wait!
• Flatten Layers

Exposure Bracketed Images

Exposure Bracketed Images

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• Select exposure bracketed images in Lightroom
• Right click, Photo Merge HDR
• Wait!
• Make adjustments in develop module or photoshop

Print Output�

Output Sharpening

• Size to final print dimensions @300dpi in Photoshop
• Open file in Nic Sharpener Pro
• Adjust Output details to specific printer/screen
• Save file with specific name for paper and printer

Thanks