Episodes
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2023 Wrap and 2024 Thoughts
Better Fuji Photos Episode 42: 2023 Wrap and 2024 Thoughts We made it a year! I honestly didn't think this podcast would make it a year, discouraged mainly by statistics of how many of them quickly die. But I was encouraged to continue by all of you! How did 2023 go for everyone? Were you able to...
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Tips for Fujifilm's Color Chrome Effect
Better Fuji Photos Episode 41: Tips for Using Fujifilm's Color Chrome Effect Fujifilm's camera manuals leave much to be desired when discussing Color Chrome Effect and Color Chrome FX Blue. What exactly do they do? When would you use them? And how? Color Chrome Effect settings (which may or may…
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Mastering Depth of Field - It's Not Just Aperture!
Better Fuji Photos Episode 40: Mastering Depth of Field - It's Not Just Aperture! Maybe you've been there. You're wondering why your photo created at f/22 has a sharp foreground but a blurry background, even though it was at f/22. Or why your photo made at f/1.4 doesn't have a blurry background...
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Processing with Fujifilm's In-Camera RAW Converter
Better Fuji Photos Episode 39: Processing with Fujifilm's In-Camera RAW Converter If you're striving for the perfect in-camera JPEGs but want to change something simple on a photograph you already captured, like the exposure or the white balance, no need to take that file to a computer to make…
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Obsessing Over the Wrong Things
Better Fuji Photos Episode 38: Obsessing Over the Wrong Things What do you think is the most important part of a photograph? The moment captured or the small technical details that no one but yourself will notice? This short episode is not meant to diminish the technical aspects that accompany...
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An Alternative to Traditional Back-Button Focus
Better Fuji Photos Episode 37: Staying in Manual Focus All the Time Are you currently using the "traditional" back-button focus (BBF) technique where you're in autofocus modes but using the back AF button? Or have you tried BBF but didn't like how you had to permanently disable autofocus with the...
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Using the Histogram for Perfect Exposures
Better Fuji Photos Episode 36: Using the Histogram for Perfect Exposures Traditional "metering" is still available in today's digital cameras. But why not use an easier, better tool to get more accurate exposures? That's the histogram! This graph, which you can enable in different ways in your...
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Fujifilm's Targeted Contrast Control
Better Fuji Photos Episode 35: Fujifilm's Targeted Contrast Control Fujifilm Film Simulations have set contrast levels, all different. But what if you want to modify that contrast even further? That's what the Tone Curve (Highlight Tone & Shadow Tone) settings are for, and the topic of this…
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Camera Bag Essentials
Better Fuji Photos Episode 34: Camera Bag Essentials There are just some things that photographers should always have with them, and I like to break this up into the "must haves," "nice to haves," and "situation-dependent." I'm also a big fan of the modular system - using organizers like those…
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ACROS Color Filters
Better Fuji Photos Episode 33: ACROS Color Filters ACROS is an awesome black & white film simulation. So why does it have color filters if there's no color? It's all about controlling contrast. Color filters separate colors rendered in grayscale, giving you different amounts of contrast. These...
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A Photo Mechanic + Capture One Workflow
Better Fuji Photos Episode 32: A Photo Mechanic + Capture One Workflow Photo Mechanic is a great editor, but you can't process RAW photos. Capture One is a superior RAW processor, but its editing functionality is nowhere near what Photo Mechanic can do. How can you easily combine Photo Mechanic…
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Fujifilm's Q Button in Shooting Mode
Better Fuji Photos Episode 31: Fujifilm's Q Button in Shooting Mode That little Q Button on the back or top of your camera - a nuisance to many, a savior to others. This episode will discuss what the Q Button is for, how to program it, and how to use it. We'll go over why to use it, picking how...
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Editing to Improve your Photography
Better Fuji Photos Episode 30: Editing to Improve your Photography When chasing the perfect photograph, we often get bogged down in gear choices and post-processing techniques. But when was the last time you paid attention to editing - the process of selecting which photos you want to share - as…
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Fine-Tuning Colors with White Balance Bracket
Better Fuji Photos Episode 29: Fine-Tuning Colors with White Balance Bracket Continuing with our one-year Fujifilm challenge outlined in Episode 1, here we're going to discuss another tool available to us to get to that goal. And that's the White Balance Bracket drive mode, useful for when you...
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Finding Photography Success without Instagram
Better Fuji Photos Episode 28: Finding Photography Success without Instagram Go to any "Starting your photography business" checklist and you'll see "create an Instagram page" on there, with a long list of "rules" for posting to Instagram. It works, and some people really have fun with it, and…
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How to "Simplify" Your Fujifilm Camera
Better Fuji Photos Episode 27: How to "Simplify" Your Fujifilm Camera Do you ever get distracted by all of the fancy features in your camera that you get overwhelmed or, worse yet, miss an important moment? Do you ever wish you could just have a "bare bones" camera at times? Set your exposure &...
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Stuck In a Rut? Give Yourself an Assignment!
Better Fuji Photos Episode 26: Stuck In a Rut? Give Yourself an Assignment! We all experience "photographer's block" or get in a rut where we just don't have any interest or desire to get out with our camera. And that's a shame! One way to fix this is to give ourselves photography assignments. We...
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Dealing with High Contrast Scenes in Fujifilm Cameras
Better Fuji Photos Episode 25: Dealing with High-Contrast Scenes in Fujifilm Cameras When the scene you're photographing has a lot of contrast - the entire range of tones from really dark shadows to really bright highlights - there are two standard ways of dealing with it: 1) Accept it, or 2)...
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Backing Up Your Photos While Traveling
Better Fuji Photos Episode 24: Backing Up Your Photos While Traveling How do you ensure your photos are secure while you're on the road? You certainly don't want only to have them on one SD card - you'd lose everything should that SD card disappear or get damaged. You can still follow the 3-2-1...
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Changing Aperture in Fujifilm Cameras
Better Fuji Photos Episode 23: Changing Aperture in Fujifilm Cameras Nearly all Fujifilm and third-party lenses have a ring on the lens to change your aperture. However, this may not be entirely intuitive and might be completely different than what you're used to if coming from a different…
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Choosing the Right SD Card
Better Fuji Photos Episode 22: Choosing the Right SD Card How do you pick the right SD card? There are so many different letters and numbers on them that understanding their capabilities - and how that relates to your photography/videography - can be incredibly confusing. In this episode we'll...
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Troubleshooting Fujifilm Grayed-Out Menu Settings
Better Fuji Photos Episode 21: Troubleshooting Fujifilm Grayed-Out Menu Settings One of the frustrating things about Fujifilm cameras is that when you see a menu item grayed out and inaccessible, there's no indication as to why it's inaccessible. No tips on the screen, and the manual doesn't…
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Photographing People in Public: A Case Study
Better Fuji Photos Episode 20: Photographing People in Public (Case Study) If any stranger has ever been in your camera viewfinder, I'm sure these thoughts have crossed your mind at some point: Can I photograph this person? What can I do with the photograph afterward? Is it legal? Is it ethical?…
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How Accurate are Fujifilm Film Simulations?
Better Fuji Photos Episode 19: How Accurate are Fujifilm Film Simulations? Some time ago, I went down some rabbit hole on the Internet and came across an argument about the "accuracy" of Fujifilm film simulations compared to the analog equivalents. How close are PROVIA, ASTIA, VELVIA, etc to the...
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Five Apps to Improve your Landscape & Travel Photography
Better Fuji Photos Episode 18: Five Apps to Improve your Landscape & Travel Photography As much as I hate to say that I love smartphone apps to help my photography, I'm going to have to get used to it. Smartphone apps can really help with photography planning, creation, and post-production. Here...
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Focus Tips: Zone Focusing
Better Fuji Photos Episode 17: Focus Tips - Zone Focus Autofocus isn't working. You don't want to bring the camera up to your face to focus manually. You can still get sharp photos just by estimating! That's called the "Zone Focus" technique and that's what we'll cover in this episode: using the...
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A Better Way to Edit your Photos
Better Fuji Photos Episode 16: A Better Way to Edit your Photos When you're in Lightroom or Photo Mechanic or any other program that allows you to "rate" your photos, as you select which ones you want to process, are you choosing between 1-5 stars for each image, or something like that? That's…
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The Benefits of In-Camera Kelvin White Balance
Better Fuji Photos Episode 15: The Benefits of Kelvin White Balance Do your photos look "too yellow" or "too blue"? Do you want them to look yellow or blue? Is Auto White Balance not working, or giving you inconsistent colors? Here are some reasons to explore the Kelvin White Balance feature in…
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Don't Get Caught Using Auto-Review!
Better Fuji Photos Episode 14: Don't Get Caught Using Auto-Review! How do you like that auto-review feature (called Image Display in Fujifilm cameras)? You know, that feature that shows you the last image you took automatically after every photo. It's nice to be able to check your last photo,...
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All About Fujifilm's Shutter Types
Better Fuji Photos Episode 13: All About Fujifilm's Shutter Types We (myself included) often leave the camera on one shutter type and never think about it again. But that's likely not the best strategy as it can have serious implications for our photography. We'll cover the (up to six) different...
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Not Using Photoshop Makes You A Lazy Photographer...?
Better Fuji Photos Episode 12: Not Using Photoshop Makes You A Lazy Photographer...? A "photography professional" was quoted in 2019 stating that "not using post-processing such as Photoshop is not a high ground. It is a choice to sacrifice your quality because you are lazy." I bit the clickbait...
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Extending Battery Life in Fujifilm Cameras
Better Fuji Photos Episode 11: Extending Battery Life in Fujifilm Cameras Tired of your camera battery dying at the most inopportune times? Here are some tips that you can use to squeeze as much juice as possible out of your batteries. I break these tips up into four categories: Focus Displays...
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Treating Your Memory Cards Like Film
Better Fuji Photos Episode 10: Treating Your Memory Cards Like Film Film photographers know that every photo is expensive - and thus (usually) need to be deliberate about every photo they capture. Digital photography has all but eliminated that need, and it's costing us in other ways. In this...
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Controlling Contrast with Dynamic Range
Better Fuji Photos Episode 9: Controlling Contrast with Dynamic Range NOTE: The webinar is postponed until March 22nd due to a weather emergency. The Dynamic Range setting is one of the most mysterious Image Quality settings found in Fujifilm cameras. However, it's also one of the most important...
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Six Tips to Improve your Travel Photography
Better Fuji Photos Episode 8: Six Tips to Improve your Travel Photography There are some straightforward, easy things that you can consider to see remarkable improvements in your travel photography. And we're not talking about which gear to use. These are some big-picture considerations to...
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Consistent Colors with Auto White Balance Lock
Better Fuji Photos Episode 7: Consistent Colors with Auto White Balance Lock Auto White Balance is super-convenient...when it gets it right. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. Variations are especially noticeable in sequential photos when changes in composition result in pictures with...
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Getting Started in Photography
Better Fuji Photos Episode 6: Getting Started in Photography This episode comes from a listener question about pursuing a career in photography when you don't even have a camera yet. So many photography resources - mine included - assume you already have some experience. But what if you don't?...
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All About Fujifilm Film Simulation Bracketing
Better Fuji Photos Episode 5: All About Fujifilm Film Simulation Bracketing I gave you a one-year challenge in Episode 1, a challenge to pre-process your photos rather than post-processing them, which will help you become a better photographer and make the most out of your time. One tool to help...
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Should You Specialize in a Photography Genre?
Better Fuji Photos Episode 4: Should You Specialize in a Photography Genre? For photographers who create photos for any reason other than it's strictly a hobby, there's often the question of whether or not they should specialize in a genre. There are many opinions on the subject, both for and...
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AUTO ISO for Sharper Photos!
Better Fuji Photos Episode 3: AUTO ISO for Sharper Photos I was haunted by unwanted motion blur for years when I started my digital photography journey. Keeping track of an ISO that would produce noise-free photos and a shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion seemed to be beyond my grasp. But...
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The Photography Scavenger Hunt!
Better Fuji Photos Episode 2: The Photography Scavenger Hunt! Scavenger hunts aren't just games! This is something that I do with all of my photography students during photo walks. It doesn't just make it fun and give them something to do, but it challenges them and produces results. Having...
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Your One Year Fujifilm Challenge
Better Fuji Photos Episode 1: Your One-Year Fujifilm Challenge Fujifilm cameras have some very specific tools - not found in other cameras - that can help you improve your photography. It doesn’t matter where you are on your photography journey, whether you’re a novice or a published…
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Trailer
Welcome to the Better Fuji Photos Podcast! What can you expect from this podcast? Every week we’re going to alternate between Fujifilm-specific topics and broader photography topics. At the end of each short episode, you’ll have one actionable item that you can take to improve your photography...