Lens in the Bag

One of the most annoying questions I see (almost every day) posted in Facebook groups and the like are “what lens should I buy next”, often with very little explanation. (I am willing to accept that this is my issue and lack of tolerance).

With this question in mind, this post is a run-through of the lenses I took to Cannes along with quick explanations of how I used them along with samples.

*This is the list of lenses I used and image count of each from this years Cannes folder (taken from Lightroom)*

Tackling that list in order, I start with the workhorse; the 16-55/F2.8 Of all the lenses, this is the lens that is probably of most use in general purpose photography. From a wide angle through to a slight telephoto (full frame equivalence of approximately 24-70), it is suitable for almost everything and should (almost) be the starting point for any kit bag.

In Cannes, my main use of this lens is on the Red Carpet, mounted on a X-T3 with the V1 flash fitted for shooting the full-length fashion type images as well as half-length portraits.

At the start of the week, I experimented using the 27mm pancake lens on the Red Carpet – mostly I use it as a camera body cap and walk-around lens. The way it deals with light coming directly into the lens (flare control) means it was not really suitable on the carpet or at gigs

Both of these lenses are perfectly good and produce nice contrast images (if you set your camera up appropriately) but for me, they show up the limitation of using an APS-C sensor, there is a limitation on getting a shallow depth of field. For this reason my two really favourite lens are the 56mm/F1.2 & the 90mm/F2 . I use both of these in a similar way.

The 56 is a great portrait lens, the distances involved on the Red Carpet means I usually create 3 quarter or half-length images with it, always shooting wide open. After all there is no point using a nice fast lens and then not making use of the shallower depth-of-field.

The 90mm I use in the same way, just tighter images (normally on the X-T2 body as the focal length leads to the images rarely needing much cropping). One thing I will say is the 90mm does seem to produce richer images than the 56.

The 50-140 telephoto lens is another real workhorse lens, enabling me to get fairly tight portraits when the subjects are at a closer range or full-length group shots up on the staircase. I think (on my X-T3’s with grips) that this lens handles fantastically, the zoom ring is lovely and smooth.

Because of distances, crowds, my love of tight portraits and less posed images, my 100-400 is my second most used lens (after the 16-55). With it I can shoot the talent in the crowds at the head of the carpet, create really tight and personal looking portraits on the carpet as well as head-shots up the stairs.

Hope this post gives a little insight on how my use of lenses helps to create different images and gives me more creative options.

Next week I will write my guide to back restorative exercises needed after carrying them all around for 2 weeks. Actually I will probably write about the GFX50R which I purchased last winter during the lockdown with the prime aim of shooting more landscapes (and for use in the studio shooting portraits).

Happy Shooting. J

Godox V1f – Things I learned in Cannes

It’s seems I always have something new to understand when I go to Cannes. (Well thats a general in life – the day we stop learning/have something new to understand is the day we die).

This year it was the Godox V1f Round Head Flash .

As usual this will not be a really technical write up (there are far more techie blogs and better writers for that), what follows are a few of my thoughts and experiences.

*V1 Light pattern – from 69mm to 18mm (taken once home on the outside wall of my studio from about 2M, using a GFX50R and Laowa 17mm – so 13mm equivalent)*

The first thing to talk about and one of the real reasons for getting this flash is the quality of the light. Not only is the fall off of the light at the edges far more pleasing, the hotspot in the centre seems, well less hot and more flat. (The above images have had the white and black points expanded to hi-light the fall off pattern.)

The second thing to talk about is the quality, this flash feels solid, well made, very similar to the AD200 and a definite improvement over their other on-camera units.

The battery is chunky and comes with it’s own USB-C charger which charges quite quickly. That said, even with heavy use (on the evening of amFar) I do not think I used more than one bar.

This quality and battery add up to a unit that is quite heavy and when top mounted on an X-T3 (even one with a fully loaded grip and 16-55/F2.8) the result is very top heavy. As my main use for flash during red carpet events is to shoot full length images, I use a custom flash bracket CB Mini-RC and in this configuration it does not feel to bad at all).

*Stella Maxwell at amFar . X-T3/16-55 : 1/200 @ F5 & 320iso*

Actually using the unit took a little getting used to. Although it does support High-Speed Sync and has TTL Metering, in red carpet situations I found this combination to be a little sporadic and the additional power required for HSS meant slower recycling (and the manual states that the thermal cutout is likely to cut in earlier). In slower situations this has not proved to be a problem.

*Sharon Stone at amFar . X-T3/16-55 : 1/200 @ F5 & 320iso*

Once in manual the unit really is consistent (see the two images above). With a bit of experimentation I came to the power setting of 1/16 +0.7, which allowed the unit to keep up with my X-T3 in High Burst Mode for the short bursts I shoot (Its a technique to try and ensure no other flashes and open eyes on the subject).

With the manual power set and the shutter fixed between 1/200 & 1/250 (so not using HSS) I worked back to get a suitable iso from the selected F-Stop.

*Gemma Chan attends the Closing Ceremony Red Carpet. X-T3/16-55 : 1/250 @ F4.5 & 400iso*

As the subject distance varied on the carpet, I needed to allowed for the fixed output of the flash by opening the aperture slightly (maybe 1.2 a stop) so I think the zoom head was also helping as little in this regard.

Overall I am very happy with the unit and its a great addition to my Godox kit, adding to the two AD200’s , the TT685 and single AD600. Like the other units it can act as a slave, controlled by any of the Godox Remote Controllers. Or it can act as the Master in a multi-flash set-up (which is how I will use it for portraits with the AD200 at the up-coming Frightfest where I will be returning as the house photographer)

Wandering with an X-T3

Finally I have upgraded one of my X-T2’s to an X-T3!

The delay was down to a number of factors: Firstly I run my business in a cycle, needing to ensure each investment improves the business and pays for itself over its lifetime and my X-T2’s have been doing the job more than adequately.

Secondly, having used and loved the X-H1 I was hanging out for news on an update to that form factor using X-T3 technology. Unfortunately the X-H2 seems unlikely at the moment according to the rumours and the opportunity arose for a “cost effective” upgrade.

Christmassy selfie’s. X-T3 / 27mm / ISO2000.

This led to my Christmas wander around the west end being the first chance I had to get aquatinted with the X-T3.

Moving from the 2 to the 3 is painless, I configured the buttons and menus on the new camera within 30 minutes and the only real issues were getting used to stiffer front and rear dials plus a new way of transferring images wirelessly.

This later model is definitely more responsive than the model it replaces.

As I was walking around Covent Garden on a dark, wet evening I was using higher ISO’s, aiming to show the Christmasy atmosphere. Despite the file size being bigger there feel much cleaner than from the “2”.

It has been widely documented that the focusing is much better – I totally agree and the face recognition is way quicker working in lower light. The image below was shot through a bus window as we passed, I’m not sure the X-T2 would have focused quick enough.

The lower ISO’s are also very useful when working wide open with the faster lenses like the 56mm/F1.2.

Overall despite using the X-T3 without a battery grip (which I always to on my X-T2’s), I was very impressed by its responsiveness and the clean images. This does still leave me in a quandary though, especially with a lack of indicators coming out of Fuji on the future of the more robust professional X-H body. Fuji are brilliantly open with their lens roadmap which really helps business planning, it’s just a shame the openness is not being carried through on the camera bodies (although I do understand this as it is more competitive).

So the question remains… Do I upgrade my remanning 2 X-T2s’ or do I continue to wait?

Merry Christmas xxx

Cannes. A few of my favourites

I know it’s a few weeks ago now but I have finally managed to get round to adding this years Festival du Cannes images to my website.

Leila Conners and Leonardo DiCaprio poses at on the red carpet for Oh Mercy! on Wednesday 22 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Leila Conners , Leonardo DiCaprio. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Quentin Tarantino poses at a photocall for Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood on Wednesday 22 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Quentin Tarantino. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Quentin Tarantino and Daniela Pick poses on the red carpet for Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood Premiere on Tuesday 21 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Quentin Tarantino , Daniela Pick. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Elle Fanning poses on the red carpet for Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood Premiere on Tuesday 21 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Elle Fanning. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Winnie Harlow poses on the red carpet for Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood Premiere on Tuesday 21 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Winnie Harlow.Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Aishwarya Rai waits before walking on the red carpet for La Belle Epoque ( The good times ) on Monday 20 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Aishwarya Rai. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Leyna Bloom and Cast poses at a photocall for Port Authority on Sunday 19 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Leyna Bloom, Transgender . Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra poses on the red carpet for The Best Years of a Life on Saturday 18 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Nick Jonas , Priyanka Chopra. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas poses at a photocall for Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria ) on Saturday 18 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Penelope Cruz, Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Pedro Almodovar, Pedro Almodóvar. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Antonio Banderas and Nicole Kimpel poses on the red carpet for Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria ) on Friday 17 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Antonio Banderas, Nicole Kimpel. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Street Life – Wednesday 15 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: . \

Amber Heard poses on the red carpet for Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria ) on Friday 17 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Amber Heard. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Amber Heard poses on the red carpet for Les misérables on Wednesday 15 May 2019 at the 72nd Festival de Cannes, Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Pictured: Amber Heard. Editors Note: This image as been converted to monochrome. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.

Head over to this gallery to view a few more of my favourite monos….

FPS – FUJIFILM Professional Services

This week I had the need to return one of my X-T2’s for a repair. It has been worked hard and for some reason had developed an intermittent fault where it would not turn on.

Luckily I qualify for FPS – FUJIFILM Professional Services. Logging on to the page ( https://fujifilm-connect.com/en/fps.php ) , I selected the camera from the list of my registered bodies, entered the fault and accepted the quote. After paying online the booking was confirmed.

As the repair was not too urgent, I waited for the pre-paid packaging that Fuji send out (otherwise I could have sent in urgently myself). Fuji send a pre-paid Royal Mail Special delivery bag with custom box and packing for the item being returned which just needs dropping at the post office. 2 days later the camera was back in my hands having been delivered by courier back in the custom packaging. Nice and pristine it looked too, obviously having had a good clean as well as the main circuit replaced (according to the delivery note).

I have read varying comments on the Fuji service but I have to say my experience was very positive once I understood how it worked.

FUJIFILM Professional Services is also free for all people that register two qualifying X Series cameras and three qualifying XF lenses or free for all people that register a qualifying GFX camera body and a qualifying GF lens. It’s worth taking a look at . ( here )

GFX50S – First Touch for a digital medium format 1st timer.

Next week I have the first of a couple of large interiors architecture shoot. As I was planning the shoot I realised this would be the ideal test bed for the Fujifilm “medium format” GFX50S camera.

Until this week my only experience with medium format is my vintage Rolliflex, so I have never shot with anything other than Full-Frame or APS-C on digital. With this in mind I arranged to hire a GFX with the 23mm and the 32-64mm for a good few days before the shoot. My plan was to carry it with me instead of a little X-T to get the feel of the camera.

The first day I had it I needed to pop up to Gatwick Airport. Shot with the 23mm at F20, ISO800 (Not the ideal settings, I was rushing!!) , this JPG was shot in ACROS. I love the graduations in the greys, which given it is a JPG with it’s limited grey levels is quite an achievement.

I was struggling to find the limits of focusing, reframing and at what speeds I could hand hold the camera. It’s not really that much bigger or heavier than the full frame Nikon’s I used for years but there is a whole different feel (especially where depth of field is concerned) . This is another ISO800 JPG.

(Sorry for mixing colour and monochrome, a big no-no normally).

I’m sure every photographer has a long suffering partner that is asked to pose of “just look up” again and again and again. This RAF was shot hand-held at 1/40th on the 32-64 at 64mm. At 3200ISO and F4, using the Classic Chrome profile in lightroom mobile I love not only the colours and the graduations from light to dark, but also the way the sharpness in the eyes transition to the milky soft out of focus areas.

Its this transition in sharpness that give medium format its “almost 3D” quality.

This final picture was shot this morning, at 1/3000, F9, ISO100. The RAF edited in lightroom mobile has had the Velvia Profile applied and a couple of selective edits. This is only a small version of the image, you will have to take my word on how much detail there is in the wave.

So after a couple of days, what are my initial thoughts?

It’s not as big and as heavy as I thought it would be, its not much worse than say a D800 with a decent lens on it. Of course it is slower than its smaller Fuji cousins but I kind of like that, it reminds me to slow down and this about the shot I’m taking, I cant take 2 or 3 frames at high speed so I have to concentrate on the moment.

I was nicely surprised on how well Lightroom Mobile handled both the JPG and RAF files on my 2018 generation iPad Pro . Sure the previews took a while to build in the photos application import but copying over was fast, as was the ingesting into lightroom and editing.

The only real niggle I have at the moment is a user interface issue. The GFX50S has most of the buttons (in similar places) that the X-T range have. Why then can I not assign the front dial to ISO like on the smaller cameras. I could argue with myself that “well fast use is not what it is designed for, you are probably not going to be following action with the GFX50S up to your eye needing quick adjustments”. This is true, on a tripod or in a studio the top-plate dial is fine but why limit it? It’s only software. Why are these things not more consistent??

I had avoided this camera since its release because I was worried that I would love its image quality, I was right to worry….

More to follow….

Time Out

It’s Saturday morning and I am on the train to London. This weekend in the BAFTA’s and I will be covering the nominees party tonight before heading over to the Royal Albert Hall for the main event Sunday.

It was with this in mind that at the end of Wednesday I headed over to Eastbourne and Hastings for 2 days “off the grid” (ok, I’ll be honest I looked at my emails twice because I have an important meeting Monday and I needed to confirm the time. I also answered one phone call yesterday about today’s job). I did not look at any social media, thats no Facebook, no Twitter, no LinkedIn, no blogging and no news. For someone who’s social media is a big part of their work, this is, to be honest, quite difficult but I did manage it. (This morning’s catch up was quite intense though!).

I spent the Thursday exploring Hastings, a town I have only really passed through. My plan was to visit the Jerwood Gallery and the Old Town and then spend some time painting (how I relax – see @artyfartyedwards on instagram). To ensure I did not take a work attitude to the photography, I took an old X-T1 with a 27mm Pancake set to extreme Black and White (thats with a Yellow Filter film simulation and +2 on the lights and shadows).

With Storm Erik in full force, the waves were stunning, I guess the shape and position of Hastings explains why the waves here were more impressive than my home town of Worthing.

The aim of the photography was just to please me. I feel that we professional photographers often get so lost in the business of photography, the commercial aspects of the image, practicing techniques to use professionally that we often forget to take time and shot just to please ourselves.

The fishing boats are a very common subject for photos in the town, its easy to see why, there are pictures every which way you look.

Of course with so much fish around, you can expect gulls and here I did switch to the one other lens I brought with me, the 35/1.4. It’s been around for quite a while but it is a favourite of mine despite being slow to focus.

The storm clouds of course do not only bring “poor weather” they can also be responsible for funnelling the light, particularly at either end of the day.

I think these images show that chasing the latest technology, the latest gizmo is not the best way to get lovely emotional images. Taking time, settling into the location, taking it slow, not worrying about what is going on elsewhere and in fact focusing 100% on whats in front of you is far more important!

I have a confession to make though. I spent a while on the beach photographing the waves. I could see what I was capturing and was loving it, in my head I was visualising how a set of these images could be printed and presented and for the first time ever, I had a yearning to be shooting on the medium format GFX (yes despite all I said above!).

So as I walked back to the car in the afternoon light after a relaxing day looking at paintings and creating photos just because…. this little thought raised it’s head… “you really do need to try the GFX you know” … “nothing to do with business you understand.. just because“..

P.s. The thought did not last long… I spent the next day painting and not worrying about the business of photography.

P.p.s. I will try the GFX once I get a suitable moment… maybe on my next time out off the grid…

Fuji and Godox at an event.

Once a month I can be found at the British Film Institute (BFI) working as the official photographer at film critic Mark Kermode’s live show.

Steve Coogan, Nadine Labaki, Mark Kermode, Liv Hill, James Gardner and Cyril Nri backstage at Mark Kermode Live in 3D on Monday 28 January 2019 at BFI Southbank, London. The guests gather backstage before the show. Picture by Julie Edwards.

This entails working backstage to get a nice group shot of Mark with all of the guests as well as joining everyone for a pre-show run though to make sure I know the order as well as the host and the guests. This way I can make sure that I am always positioned in the best possible position to get good images of both Mark and the guests which are suitable for both social media and press. For the group shot I use an X-T2 with the 16-55/F2.8 coupled with a Godox TTL wireless controller and an Ad200 handheld high above me near the ceiling. This way I can be sure to get (fairly) even lighting without flash fare or reflections in any spectacles.

Steve Coogan on stage at Mark Kermode Live in 3D on Monday 28 January 2019 at BFI Southbank, London. Steve joined Mark to chat about his film Stan and Ollie which he is watching here. Picture by Julie Edwards.

During the show I work with 2 X-T2’s, usually in Astia film simulation, preset to a fixed kelvin white balance, one with the 16-55, the other with the 50-140. As well as photographing the obvious, I am always looking out for the less obvious, the images that might capture the atmosphere of the event. The image above was shot at 10000iso, 1/100th and F2.8, and as you can see, with a little bit of an edit on the RAW file, its fine for social media and press use.

Nadine Labaki on stage at Mark Kermode Live in 3D on Monday 28 January 2019 at BFI Southbank, London. Nadine joined Mark onstage to discuss her film Capernaum. Picture by Julie Edwards.

I tend to have the focus set to “s”, sometimes with Face Recognition, sometimes without. Using it makes images like the above a whole lot easier to capture.

Mark Kermode on stage at Mark Kermode Live in 3D on Monday 28 January 2019 at BFI Southbank, London. . Picture by Julie Edwards.

Within minutes of the show ending, the images are on my laptop, loaded into lightroom and I start posting to social media (facebook, twitter and instagram) to publicise the event (with fully researched hashtags and handles where appropriate). At the same time, appropriate images are syndicated to press.

Working this way I am able to help build the reputation and visibility of any event I am employed to cover…..

Steve Coogan on stage at Mark Kermode Live in 3D on Monday 28 January 2019 at BFI Southbank, London. Steve joined Mark to chat about his film Stan and Ollie. Picture by Julie Edwards.

Trumping with the Fuji’s

In July two of my assignments were covering President Donald Trump meeting our Prime Minister Theresa May and then two days later, The Queen.

It was no surprise that on such high level jobs, that most (if not all) the other photographers were using the traditional press photographer kit of “Nikcanon” with 400/500mm glass – big heavy kit…

I travel on my bike.. 2- X-T2’s a 16-55mm, 50-140mm and the trusty 100-400mm – the lens that I knew would be the workhorse for these two events… So thats 2 bodies and 24mm – 600mm equivalent..

APC_0853-hdr

Being lightweight and easy to transport though does not mean a thing if the kit does not do the job…

The 100-400mm is a stellar lens, it’s pretty quick to focus, handles well on an X-T body with a grip attached (it’s very unbalanced on bodies without the grip) and the impressive OIS means I rarely need to reach for a monopod to keep it all steady.

The event at Windsor Castle was covered by a limited number of UK photographers (plus a few of the US press corp) in strategic positions, with pictures going out worldwide. Being one of a few photographers to cover such a major event always adds a further level of stress meaning that the kit just has to work, you really have no time to worry about it…

So how did it go?

Versions of this image (by other photographers & I) are probably the most widely reproduced of these events..

The Queen meets the President of the United States of America and Mrs Trump at Windsor Castle on 13/07/2018

For a wider selection of images from both events see here…

The kit, as always just did what I asked.. Hopefully what I asked of it were the right questions….

ShutterSnitch

Due to an overwhelming number of requests, here is more detailed guide of using ShutterSnitch with Fujifilm X-Series Cameras.

This is probably my most information-laden post to date. There is a lot of information here as it details configuration of the camera and software taking the image from the camera to the client via ShutterSnitch.

I am going to ignore SD card import as when use the SD Card I tend to move the images though Lightroom Mobile before transmitting via ShutterSnitch (so joining this workflow at the point of adding the metadata and transmitting).

Previously ShutterSnitch was heavily based on Actions (a series of actions carried out on an image either upon receipt of the image or by user action). With the addition of the Image Adjustment and Metadata Editing add-ons (accessible from the options menu), my use of the software has shifted slightly.

‘Snitch can connect to the x-Series cameras to receive images exactly the same way as the Fuji app, with both Push from Camera and Browse and Download both being available via the Camera WiFi button. In addition the app can also serve as a tether server, receiving images directly from the camera as they are shot. As I have covered the standard WiFi functionality in the past here, I will step through the tether setup quickly.

In ShutterSnitch, ensure support for Fujifilm WiFi is enabled, accepting only jpgs.

Whilst in the settings, it may also be a good time to look at your jpg compression settings (for resizing & sending).

Next to set up the camera. Tethering is where the iPad really works. Enable the hotspot and connect the camera to this hotspot through the connection settings. It is not the simplest and will probably require a couple of attempts (apologies for the poor images – they were taken with the phone whilst on a train):

Note in the image above how the Resize for SmartPhone 3M is turned off. This setting has been responsible for a great many queries on “my images are small” (I’ll be honest, I have also sent smaller than planned images to Picture Desks also).

To connect to the iPad you will need to use the Manual Setup option, waiting for the Camara to find the Wireless HotSpot.

Once setup it is easy to flip between the normal mode of saving images to the card (PC Shoot Mode – Off) , or tethered to the iPad (PC Shoot Mode – Wireless Fixed). Remember, the app will only connect to a camera when in a Collection. The small LED on the camera will indicate the state of the tether:

With the app in a collection and PC Shoot Mode set, the LED should flash red, then amber as it looked for the app, finally flashing Green when ready.

Note: The camera will switch to a single shot mode when tethering – CL & CH modes are not supported.

All of the information I have seen suggest that in Tethered mode all images are sent to the host application and none remain on the card. My findings point to that being true on an X-T2 with no battery grip. However (and this is a key feature for me), with a battery grip and the camera sent to record both RAW & JPG with Save Data Setup set to RAW / JPEG (ie. RAW images to slot 1 and JPG to slot 2), the JPG images are sent to the iPAD whilst the RAW images remain on card 1. This enables me to do a quick edit and send from the JPG’s on location, with the safety of being to go back over the RAW images when I have time for a more considered edit at the office.

Finally the images are on their way to ShutterSnitch but what now?

This is where Actions may first be applied. Before you enter your collection, from the Options menu, Select Actions and decide what the app will do with every image as it receives it.

My workflow here assigns basic Metadata for the images I’m shooting. I create my basic metadata in PhotoMechanic on my Mac, saving it to a transfer folder on Dropbox. Moving to Dropbox on the iPad, select the relevant file and then the Export option picking Copy to ShutterSnitch (you may need to enable that in the sharing … More )

And create an Update Metadata Action (note can also save as a Metadata Editor Preset for later):

Title the Action, double check the Metadata and back to Tasks to save.

Moving the pointer to this task will ensure it is run on every image as recieved.

As stated above, switch to a collection and the camera (in tether mode) should find the app. If using the traditional WiFi connection, Start the WiFi on the camera and connect the iPad to the camera’s hotspot before moving to the collection – as you move you will be prompted wether to Browse and Download or Push from Camera.

Images will appear, with Jump to New Images enabled (button at the right end of the filmstrip), the latest image will show. The description may or may not be displayed depending on a setting in the main options.

Once loaded the image may be edited with the Image Adjustments add-in, accessed from the top title bar.

Most of the adjustments are obvious- one interesting aspect is the crop/zoom at the top. The usual iOS interface of using 2 fingers to zoom and pan the image work here – if in zoom mode, it is the standard zooming in and out to check the image, in crop mode, the image is being cropped as displayed. The aspect ratio may be selected from the lower right.

A useful shortcut when cropping is the 2-finger double-tap – this will rotate the image back straight (well as straight as you took it), i.e. zero rotation, leaving the zoom as it is.

The Metadata add-in is also selected from the Titlebar.

Again, this is mostly self evident. The buttons under the image enable moving from image to image as well as filtering the images and tagging the current.

The buttons under the data are:

Apply Preset (either created earlier as discussed as above or from the current data)
Choose which fields should be displayed and in which order (move the most import data to the top).
Revert to original Metadata.
Copy MetaData
Paste Metadata

If I am working on a very urgent job, I send images individually as I edit them and I have a specific action for this. Otherwise I send in a batch, using Colour Tags and filters to display my selection for sending.

Pressing the standard iOS share button on the title bar enables the selection of images for the action.

One of my favorite features here is the select all following option, I select the 1st image of my set to send, then press the select all following to select the the rest.

Pressing the actions (cog) icon on the titlebar displays the available actions. The key here is just to press the action you need, DO NOT move the pointer as this will select the action to be run upon image import!

I have a number of export actions which work in different ways depending on the recipient.

They are all similar, renaming the file using the collection name and then sending to a particular outlet.

Note the Pre-Process option under the Export Location, this enables the resizing of images to suit the use (compression settings are in the main options as mentioned above).

As well as the image delivery action for clients, you will see I have archiveactions which copy the images to a folder in dropbox for me to add to my main Lightroom catalog back in the office.

While the editing and captioning tools are not as comprehensive as say the combination of PhotoMechanic and Lightroom/Photoshop , this workflow does provide a very workable and light-weight way to process and transmit images very quickly.

As ever, I hope it makes sense. Any question, please comment below 🙂

The next posts will feature my thoughts on the 27mm Pancake lens on both the X-T1 and X-T2 and long term thoughts on the 100-400 with the 1.4 converter.

J x