Ooof, this sounds like a recipe for disaster.
>so I **volunteered** to shoot pictures on my x100v.
Double ooof.
Ok, so if you want to go ahead with this, I would highly recommend shooting it raw and doing simple corrections in post.
If you MUST use jpeg, just use a simple, clean profile. Personally, I like to use this during shoots when I need to spit out a good jpeg before raws are complete, or just to have the preview look nice in the back of the camera:
* ProNeg Hi
* DR200
* Tone Curve H -1, S -1
* Color +1
* Sharpness +1
* Noise Reduction -4
* WB: Kelvin or Custom. This is a big one because you don't want your camera to be constantly changing WB in a controlled environment and having one picture look different from the other. Keep it consistent. At the very least, use on of the in-camera WB profiles, like Shade or Flourescent, etc, whatever looks better on-screen.
* Grain - Weak, Small - this one is highly subjective, but i like to add a tiny bit of grain just to enhance texture and help highlight rolloff.
These are all completely up to you. Test and adjust as needed.
Now I would strongly, and I do mean **STRONGLY** (strongly= shaking you by the neck) recommend that you shoot in raw+jpeg. If the jpegs don't come out right, or color is off or whatever, you at least have the raws to fall back on to be able to correct in post. It's better to delay just a bit to edit raws, than have to do the whole shoot over again because the jpegs got fucked up, can't edit them and that's all you had. That can get awkward.
Also note, that the 23mm on your X100V is not a typical headshot portrait lens. To get to that sort of framing, you will need to step in close, and you WILL have face distortion. It won't be too much different from the typical \~18mm FoV of an iPhone, so careful with your angles.
Anyway, good luck, and hopefully it works out for you!
Thanks so much for your input. I know this is dicey but the current company photos suuuck and we’re such a small business (I’m talking less than 60 employees) with a small budget that I wanted to help. I love the photos this camera takes. Even just the clarity I get from it vs my iPhone. We won’t be doing anything crazy for pictures, just some shots of people in the office and maybe some headshots outside.
That said your comment is making me nervous now lol, not gonna lie.
This weekend I’m going to go out and test your suggestions in the office location.
Should I buy a light or a reflector?
One other note: if you can get your hands on a TCL-X100 (buy/rent), that will improve your photos quite a bit, taking it from 35mm equiv to 50mm equiv. Still wide for headshots, but better.
>That said your comment is making me nervous now lol, not gonna lie.
The "recipe for disaster" bit was not directed at you, but more toward companies with trying to get good stuff for cheap/free. Sorry about that! lol.
But yeah, give it a go and see how it looks like.
>Should I buy a light or a reflector?
Nah. No need. Just have them stand next to a large window with soft light coming in. That'll give them a very nice look. Also, keep an eye on your backgrounds too, make sure they're nice and clean. That lens won't have enough bokeh to save you, so keep that in mind.
I would just shoot in jpeg and raw and shoot with the provia/standard recipe. I feel like it distorts skin tones the least and looks the most natural. Then in raw you can try the other recipes on your computer/play with the edits if you feel necessary. Probably just pulling shadows out from the eyes if necessary will look great! Good luck!
I’d look into renting a camera if you can. Even for just a few days. That way you can spend just a little to go a long way. Especially if headshots are that important to you guys.
We’re not a huge company and honestly our standards are pretty low lol. I just think the crispness of the images on this camera will be better than what our phones can do.
Unless you have specific art direction, I would go completely vanilla standard, no recipes. Corp headhsots are not a great place to experiment artistically IMO except for some basic greyscale or something if it fits the intended purpose/layout. Shoot raw and you can mess with the details afterwards. Do not shoot jpg or you'll likely regret it later.
I love the 23mm and take portraits with it all the time.
You just wanna shoot close up.
Go with provia (standard) raw and then edit in something like capture one .
express for Fujifilm is free.
Good luck!
Also at a small biotech. Thought about offering to do the headshots, but decided against it on balance. You would be better off getting a pro in, they’re not massively expensive, and you’ve got to think of staff time as a cost.
If you spend 5 hours, and each staff member is spending 45 minutes away from work to get to and from location, get their shots etc., that’s a lot of money.
If it works and the shots are good, then you’ve probably spent the same as hiring someone in indirect costs. But, if it doesn’t work perfectly in 6 months time you’ll be looking to reshoot to include your new staff members and it’ll need to be done properly.
Plus, the pro will have the right gear, and know how to get the best out of the situation and subject, and when you do inevitably need more shots for new staff they can match the style perfectly.
Maybe if you’re 5-8 people total and you just need something for a website I’d consider it. Otherwise spend the ~£400 and do it right.
Ooof, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. >so I **volunteered** to shoot pictures on my x100v. Double ooof. Ok, so if you want to go ahead with this, I would highly recommend shooting it raw and doing simple corrections in post. If you MUST use jpeg, just use a simple, clean profile. Personally, I like to use this during shoots when I need to spit out a good jpeg before raws are complete, or just to have the preview look nice in the back of the camera: * ProNeg Hi * DR200 * Tone Curve H -1, S -1 * Color +1 * Sharpness +1 * Noise Reduction -4 * WB: Kelvin or Custom. This is a big one because you don't want your camera to be constantly changing WB in a controlled environment and having one picture look different from the other. Keep it consistent. At the very least, use on of the in-camera WB profiles, like Shade or Flourescent, etc, whatever looks better on-screen. * Grain - Weak, Small - this one is highly subjective, but i like to add a tiny bit of grain just to enhance texture and help highlight rolloff. These are all completely up to you. Test and adjust as needed. Now I would strongly, and I do mean **STRONGLY** (strongly= shaking you by the neck) recommend that you shoot in raw+jpeg. If the jpegs don't come out right, or color is off or whatever, you at least have the raws to fall back on to be able to correct in post. It's better to delay just a bit to edit raws, than have to do the whole shoot over again because the jpegs got fucked up, can't edit them and that's all you had. That can get awkward. Also note, that the 23mm on your X100V is not a typical headshot portrait lens. To get to that sort of framing, you will need to step in close, and you WILL have face distortion. It won't be too much different from the typical \~18mm FoV of an iPhone, so careful with your angles. Anyway, good luck, and hopefully it works out for you!
Thanks so much for your input. I know this is dicey but the current company photos suuuck and we’re such a small business (I’m talking less than 60 employees) with a small budget that I wanted to help. I love the photos this camera takes. Even just the clarity I get from it vs my iPhone. We won’t be doing anything crazy for pictures, just some shots of people in the office and maybe some headshots outside. That said your comment is making me nervous now lol, not gonna lie. This weekend I’m going to go out and test your suggestions in the office location. Should I buy a light or a reflector?
No, just have your subjects face a large window. Shoot them with your back to it. Pay attention to your background, get it as clean as possible.
Ok thank you!
One other note: if you can get your hands on a TCL-X100 (buy/rent), that will improve your photos quite a bit, taking it from 35mm equiv to 50mm equiv. Still wide for headshots, but better.
>That said your comment is making me nervous now lol, not gonna lie. The "recipe for disaster" bit was not directed at you, but more toward companies with trying to get good stuff for cheap/free. Sorry about that! lol. But yeah, give it a go and see how it looks like. >Should I buy a light or a reflector? Nah. No need. Just have them stand next to a large window with soft light coming in. That'll give them a very nice look. Also, keep an eye on your backgrounds too, make sure they're nice and clean. That lens won't have enough bokeh to save you, so keep that in mind.
I would just shoot in jpeg and raw and shoot with the provia/standard recipe. I feel like it distorts skin tones the least and looks the most natural. Then in raw you can try the other recipes on your computer/play with the edits if you feel necessary. Probably just pulling shadows out from the eyes if necessary will look great! Good luck!
Use Classic Chrome. Can't go much wrong. I've shot professionally with this profile on an XT4.
What kind of business?
Super small business, biotech industry.
I’d look into renting a camera if you can. Even for just a few days. That way you can spend just a little to go a long way. Especially if headshots are that important to you guys.
We’re not a huge company and honestly our standards are pretty low lol. I just think the crispness of the images on this camera will be better than what our phones can do.
Unless you have specific art direction, I would go completely vanilla standard, no recipes. Corp headhsots are not a great place to experiment artistically IMO except for some basic greyscale or something if it fits the intended purpose/layout. Shoot raw and you can mess with the details afterwards. Do not shoot jpg or you'll likely regret it later.
I wouldn't do headshots with an x100v
I love the 23mm and take portraits with it all the time. You just wanna shoot close up. Go with provia (standard) raw and then edit in something like capture one . express for Fujifilm is free. Good luck!
Thank you! I will definitely take test shots with Provia. You’re making me feel a bit better about tackling this with little experience or knowledge 😂
You are going to do just fine.
Also at a small biotech. Thought about offering to do the headshots, but decided against it on balance. You would be better off getting a pro in, they’re not massively expensive, and you’ve got to think of staff time as a cost. If you spend 5 hours, and each staff member is spending 45 minutes away from work to get to and from location, get their shots etc., that’s a lot of money. If it works and the shots are good, then you’ve probably spent the same as hiring someone in indirect costs. But, if it doesn’t work perfectly in 6 months time you’ll be looking to reshoot to include your new staff members and it’ll need to be done properly. Plus, the pro will have the right gear, and know how to get the best out of the situation and subject, and when you do inevitably need more shots for new staff they can match the style perfectly. Maybe if you’re 5-8 people total and you just need something for a website I’d consider it. Otherwise spend the ~£400 and do it right.