Fuji Lightroom Mobile Workflow Revisited

June 06, 2017

As promised in my previous post I´d like to share with y´all my mobile workflow, using Fuji cameras, an iPad and Lightroom Mobile! If you wanna get freed from your desktop, speed up your processing / image sharing on web and if you´re interested in becoming a more efficient photographer, please read on!

The Messenger, seen in Sicily with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @ f5.6, 1/320", ACROS-Y, 400 ISO — The Messenger, seen in Sicily with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @ f5.6, 1/320", ACROS-Y, 400 ISO

I mentioned in my previous blog post that Fuji´s ACROS film simulation with its tonality and ISO dependent grain effect delivers JPEG´s with a film-like look that can not be achieved via traditional RAW processing. These JPEG´s are so good that they liberates you forever from having to fuss around with RAW files & RAW converters (spending hours behind a computer, trying to get image quality comparable to Fuji´s amazing JPEG´s). This in turn enables a more mobile approach to photography, so get liberated & embrace a JPEG based mobile workflow!

Required equipment:

Camera with Wifi capability (check out Fuji´s website but it can be any brand ... ;-)
Mobile device with sufficient processing power & free space for saving images
WiFi connectivity App to transfer images from your camera to your mobile device
Lightroom Mobile (and Adobe Creative Cloud subscription if you want to sync to desktop)

To get your images downloaded onto your mobile device of choice (in my case an iPad Pro 9.7"), there are 2 options (when using Fuji cameras, as I do ;-)

Fujifilm´s "Camera Remote App" (download free from iTunes or Google Play)
2nd Nature´s "ShutterSnitch" Wireless Transfer App (download for US$ 18.99 from iTunes - no Android version yet). Expensive but IMO much better as it includes all kinds of goodies: image organisation in collections, image preview using zoom, saving to various media, metadata update (I don't use this as it re-saves my JPEG´s potentially reducing image quality slightly), etc.

While Fuji´s Camera Remote App downloads your images directly to the iPad´s camera roll, ShutterSnitch requires them to be exported (I prefer this coz it keeps my images organized outside Apple´s somewhat difficult to understand & confusing filing system). See below the procedure for ShutterSnitch, the end result in both cases is that the images you want to process end up on the iPad´s camera roll

How to get your images onto Camera Roll using ShutterSnitch ...

Next step is to import the images you´d like to process into Lightroom Mobile. You can stop here but if you also have Adobe´s Creative Cloud subscription (around 12-13 US$ per month) you get a seamless synchronisation between your mobile device and desktop (images processed on mobile device are updated on your desktop device when you connect to your home network & vice-versa). Cool!

Importing your images into Lightroom Mobile ...

In Lightroom Mobile you will find the familiar develop modules from the desktop version (Basic, Tone Curve, etc.) and you can adjust the settings as required:

As mentioned before these adjustments are then synchronized with your Lightroom desktop version as soon as you connect to your home network (provided you have Adobe´s Creative Cloud installed)

Summing up. this mobile workflow allows you to already perform the main rough image post processing steps while on the move (mainly curves and some exposure / contrast improvement) In most cases the processing options offered by Lightroom Mobile are sufficient, so no further desktop processing is needed! :-)

I hope you enjoyed this post and you can use it to enhance your own photographic experience, please leave me a note in the comments section if anything´s unclear or if you have any further questions,

Many thanks & best regards, wish y´all a great start into the new week & lots of fun, best regards

Hendrik

I hope this post was helpful / interesting for you - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance!

Fuji X100F Review - 3 Reasons why "F" spells Freedom !

May 25, 2017

X100F ... ? So, what´s this "F" stand for ? Fuji says it means “the Fourth" iteration of the X100 series. Or maybe it´s to say the "Force" is with her ... (yes the X100F´s a she ;-) or it stands for Fantastic ... Hey, probably it´s a bit of all those! Well, for me the "F" on Fuji´s fourth iteration of the X100 refers to "Freedom". Freedom from the technicalities of photography, from weight, bulk, choices and complexity. Freedom to Focus on the image! Please read on to learn how the combination of the right camera, software and workflow can liberate your photography & boost your creativity:

F stands for Freedom! Me & Irene, myFuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/40 sec on ACROS-Y — F stands for Freedom! Me & *Irene*, myFuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/40 sec on ACROS-Y

Disclaimer: If youse expecting a traditional type review full of geeky tech details I gotta disappoint you (I´m sure you'll find loads of technical / feature reviews on the web). Here I´d like to focus more on how the X100F handles in everyday practical use!

I remember the day like yesterday: 2016/4/13 - the day I traded my beloved X100T for a new X-Pro2. I wanted the 24 MP resolution bump. With that and the increased processing power came ACROS - Oh boy, did I fall in love with Fuji´s ACROS Film simulation! But even though the X-Pro2 was great, I somehow could never seem to be able to come to terms with the for me too low viewfinder magnification (0,36X with 23 mm vs. 0,5X on the X100 series): looking thru that one made me feel kinda claustrophobic ... In practice I also discovered that the X-Pro2´s increase in size (vs. my X100T) was quite substantial ... How many times since then did I wish for a reincarnation of the 24 MP ACROS goodness in a smaller form factor? Well now, it´s Finally here (another "F" ;-) in form of the new Fujifilm X100F!

Mirrors on the Walls, seen with Fuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y — Mirrors on the Walls, seen with Fuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

For me the advent of the Fuji X100F has finally brought together 3 key building blocks which have liberated my digital photography, giving me a déjà-vu back to my film days! I see 3 reasons why the "F" of the X100F means Freedom:

Freed of Ballast: The X100F is a compact prime lens camera delivering exceptional image quality. Working with only one prime lens on a compact camera can be very liberating: No more lugging around a big bag of kit, juggling lenses to find the best fit to the scene while the opportunity passes. With the X100F you will instead focus more on image composition, lighting, and mood and “zoom with your feet” to find new / more interesting perspectives. Chase Jarvis once said "The best camera is the one that´s with you ..." - Ok, he was referring to iPhones, but in essence this quote invokes the "Law of Inverse Proportions": The smaller your camera/lens, the higher the probability that you will (always) take it with you, have it ready when needed and get to take pictures you didn't expect to find. This will for sure boost your creativity and improve the impact of your images!
Freed of RAW: The X100F has sufficient resolution & processing power to realize the ACROS JPEG film simulation. The resulting JPEG´s are awesome, with beautiful smooth gradations and a subtle, tonality dependent grain effect (only possible with Fuji´s 24 MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor & X-Processor Pro technology). No way you can replicate this “analogue film-like look” by RAW processing, or by applying post processing filters! For me this is a strong incentive to mainly focus my workflow on JPEG´s! Only downside of the higher resolution is an increased risk of camera shake blurring your images (approx. factor 1.5x vs. what you were used to on Fuji´s 16 MP sensor)
Freed from the Desk: Focusing mainly on JPEG´s allows me to predominantly do my post processing on my iPad Pro using Lightroom Mobile. ACROS JPEG´s are so good that I only need some minor curves tweaking and maybe some local dodging/burning. Edits done on the iPad are automatically sync´d to Lightroom on my MacBook Pro. By this I significantly reduce time spent on post processing or behind PC´s, and I can do that while travelling or during lunch. By setting file saving to JPEG-F+RAW I always have the RAW files as back-up to later either (re)develop in camera with different settings or convert them in Capture ONE in case of critical lighting conditions where more fancy post processing is needed (to be honest this rarely happens btw ;-)

Evening drinks, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/25 sec, +1EV compensation on ACROS-Y — Evening drinks, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/25 sec, +1EV compensation on ACROS-Y

I would like to point out three additional aspects of the Fuji X100F, which make its use less obtrusive and invasive:

Main photographic settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation) are visible at one glance and can be adjusted via dedicated analogue dials, without needing to look thru the viewfinder or diving into menus
Autofocus user interface, accuracy and speed are (finally :-) fulfilling my expectations. I mainly use zone AF setting with face/auto-eye detection ON when taking people images
Flexible hybrid viewfinder: I use the OVF (Optical View Finder) mainly for people images where I want to concentrate on facial expressions and background environment. For street / landscape / storytelling photography, where composition, perspective, contrast and hi-light & shadow tone are important, I prefer the EVF (Electronic View Finder) which allows me to pre-visualise the image as it will be captured (eg. in ACROS film simulation) before even pressing the shutter release. So, no need for the dreaded "chimping" after taking each image ...)

This means, especially when photographing people, that you only need to bring the camera to your eye for a short moment just to take the picture: Check framing, press shutter, done - max 2 secs. The combination of this short time in front of your face, the fact that the camera is quite small and only covers part of your face due to its rangefinder-esque design, and the X100F being totally silent means people rarely even realize that you´re taking their picture. This results in very natural, un-posed images (try that with a DSLR! ;-) ... as example the below image I took of my lovely wife while we were relaxing on our patio:

Relaxing on our Patio, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y — Relaxing on our Patio, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

On that note I´d gotten the impression that people tend to act more relaxed around the silver version of the X100 series. Maybe a black camera´s perceived as kinda sneaky, or as "wannabe PRO" (I dunno, my X100T was black ...). At the end I decided to order a silver X100F. IMO apart from that one´s more classic "retro" look it´s got so much more character! In fact so much that this is the only camera I felt needed to be given a name: "Irene" (sounds better than "X100F", coz that could be anyone´s ;-)

Summarizing:

The "F" in Fuji´s X100F really gives you Freedom, Fuji has finally fulfilled the promise of the X100 series: A small, inconspicuous camera with a widely usable medium wide-angle focal length, delivering stunning images and able to cover most photographic applications. So you can leave all your bulky gear at home! Its compact, classic rangefinder-esque design begs you to go out and enjoy capturing images of life around you, experimenting with composition, light and perspective rather than bothering with the technicalities of photography! Furthermore the quality & beauty of Fuji´s JPEG´s (especially of ACROS) allow you to avoid having to spend hours of RAW processing in Lightroom

If you´re interested I´ll cover my improved mobile workflow in a next post, please let me know in the comments section and/or leave me any comments, suggestions or questions you may have! Many thanks in advance, I´ll answer you as soon as possible

I hope you enjoyed the read - I can only advise those of youse not yet bitten by the Fuji X100 bug to try one out soonest and experience it for y´self!

Many thanks & best regards, wish y´all good light & success

Hendrik

5 Senses of the Fuji X100T, Thanks for 2015 & wish y'all Happy 2016 !

January 05, 2016

Thanks Fuji for all the amazing images & all readers / followers of my Blog for your interest and constructive comments - you've made 2015 such a great year for me ! Right now I'd like to wish y'all a fantastic, happy & successful New Year - may all your (not only photographic ;-) dreams come true ! Dreams ... ? Hey, what's that gotta do with photography and are you interested to discover the 5 "Senses" of the Fuji X100T ? Please read on ...

Shadows of transition - g'bye 2015, hello 2016 !

Dreams are made of images which often fade away when we wake up. They relate to important experiences in our lives, so sometimes we aspire to capture these images for eternity. Just like in photography, where we try to capture in our images the atmosphere, experiences and feelings of a moment in time, allowing us to enjoy and revisit them later !

Replacing all of my DSLR gear with the Fujifilm X100T a year ago (when I started this blog) has truly helped me a to improve my ability to capture such fleeting moments. The restriction to one lens / one camera has boosted my photographic vision & creativity, see below to discover why:

Fuji X100T - 5 "Senses", or Key Attributes for Success:

PORTABLE: Due to the X100T's small size & weight I can easily always take my camera with me, so I rarely miss out photographic opportunities ! The X100T has become like an extension of my hand & eye (now try that with a 4-5 lbs DSLR / 70-200 mm zoom combo !)
SIMPLE: Having just one fixed lens (35 mm FF equ.) has greatly improved my ability to pre-visualize a scene even before lifting the camera to my eye, as I'd internalized the lens's field of view (like seeing with the camera's eye). It also saves me the dilemma of deciding on which lens to use (no more time wasted changing lenses / juggling lens caps and the added bonus of not having to bother with sensor dust or cleaning)
INTUITIVE: The X100T's traditional user interface (aperture ring on lens, speed and ISO dials on top) allows me to check / modify the settings at one glance (w/o having to lift the camera to my eye or needing to look at the LCD). No time lost before / during the shoot by fumbling with menu's and buttons !
DISCRETE: I found that my X100T never had an intimidating effect on people, in fact subjects rarely even realized their picture was being taken. The absolutely silent operation of this camera also helps a lot: Try shoving a massive DSLR in between you and your subject - tends to disconnect you from your scene and the subsequent "bang" of the mirror finishes the job by destroying any remaining intimacy ...
QUALITY: The images coming out of this camera (especially the JPEG's) are simply stunning: Exposure, contrast, sharpness, definition, dynamic range, texture, depth, bokeh, etc. ... Fuji's f2/23 mm asph. / X-Trans sensor combo rocks ! The in-camera RAW converter is an additional asset for mobile post processing (see my previous blog posts on this topic) !

Sure, image QUALITY is a super important attribute but I've listed it last, because IMO if i wouldn't have had the first four attributes i'd only get perfectly exposed, sharp images of ... an empty space !

In addition to this the Fuji X100T seems to have an additional "sixth sense" (success attribute no. 6), kinda like a personality or soul:

EMOTIONAL: A quality hard to describe in words ... The X100T's rangefinder design links back to the traditions and origins of photography, focused on making images. Many modern cameras, however come across kinda more like digital computers, designed to "scan" a scene rather than capture emotions ;-)

Ok, so I realize this kinda turned out to be a review of the Fuji X100T, but I prefer to not call it that way as I've focused more on attributes (or "senses" ;-) of the camera which have been instrumental in revitalizing my photography and filling it with life ! I hope this article helps some of you to experiment and find exciting photography opportunities in 2016 - please share your experiences & views in the comments below or by sending me a message from my "about" page !

Many thanks for visiting and the very best wishes to y'all for 2016 !

Sincerely Yours,

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Gotta love The Square, improved mobile workflow

December 26, 2015

The square has a magic quality - serenely balanced, a frame in perfect symmetry, having four equal sides and four equal angles, allowing the observer's eye to focus on the essentials:

Originally this image was captured in my X100T's native rectangular aspect ratio, but I never liked the unimportant areas left and right of the main motif. Cropped to square it looks so much better! Ok now, what about this "improved workflow" and what's it gotta do with this square business? Before I go into that, here another example benefitting from the attention focusing effect of the square:

Image post processing is normally independent of how I later want to use the image. The intended final image use and size do however Influence the level of output sharpening, cropping, etc. So I modified my workflow to separate these "finishing touches" steps from the actual image post processing:

First I perform all image post processing (exposure, contrast, levels/curves, shadow/hilight treatment, etc.) in Photogene4 on the imported JPEG. This saves the non destructive image adjustments as metadata which can be rolled back / modified at any time
After finishing post processing I export the resulting image as a TIFF (by selecting the appropriate export settings in Photogene4) on my iPad and copy it to a previously created "edits" album on my iPad (open 'Photos' App, go to 'All Photos' album, select latest saved TIFF image and 'Add To' the "edits" album)
Back in Photogene4 I open the just saved TIFF from the "edits" folder and modify output size, output sharpening, cropping and adding my copyright logo, depending on the intended final image use (web, social media, blog, print, etc.). By pressing the 'original' icon I can revert to the post processed TIFF and change the output parameters. This way I can always keep a master image file (incl. post processing) in its dedicated "edits" album

Enjoying the late afternoon sun in Sardegna

Of course if you're planning to use a square output format it's wize to already apply the 1:1 aspect ratio to your camera's viewfinder so you can properly pre-visualize your image in camera!

With this closing image of tourists on the ferry looking forward to new experiences, I hope y'all enjoyed the read & found something which helps you in your photographic endeavors!

Please leave me a message below or send me an email from my "about" page if you've any questions, suggestions or ideas, many thanks for your visit here and wish y'all a great, fun and satisfying holiday season!

Best regards,

Hendrik

Going "light" - Mobile Post Processing without PC!

October 13, 2015

So, that's it. Finally I dunnit - switched my online workflow fully to mobile, meaning: Using Fuji JPEG's, RAW developed in camera & post processed only on my iPad before uploading to my blog / social media! No more PC? Well, not quite - for those of you interested, please read on ...

I always capture RAW+JPEG(F)'s. This way I have the best possible sensor output (14 bit RAW) of my Fuji X100T for later making large prints (normally up to A1), using PhotoNinja RAW conversion & Lightroom on my PC. But believe you me, the workflow for getting fine art quality prints of that size off an APS/C format sensor takes a LOT of effort, is very time consuming and very expensive to boot!

On the other hand sharing images on the web luckily don't require such stunts ... The "light", On-the-Go workflow shared here - based on using the amazing 8-bit Fuji JPEG's has proven to be more than enough for web use IMO - please take a look for yourselves:

I already previously shared "prototypes" of this mobile workflow on my blog, but needed to further refine some steps / choice of tools to make it more fluid & efficient, here the final 6-step workflow:

Capture - Fuji X100T set to RAW+JPEG(F); B(R) film sim; sharpening +1; hi-light & shadow +1; NR -1; DR, WB, ISO on auto (ISO base 200, max 1600, min SS 1/80). Configured like this the X100T acts like a "monochrome" camera with preview & review of images in contrasty B&W!
After the shoot, I check the images in camera & delete those which are unsharp / poorly exposed (washed out hi-lights) and/or have unsatisfactory content (this helps reduce the amount of "waste" on storage media & in my archive)
In camera RAW conversion of "keepers" to flat "digital color negatives", with following settings: CC film sim; color +1; hi-light & shadow -1
Download these "color negatives" to my iPad via WiFi, using Shuttersnitch App (which automatically updates IPTC metadata with copyright & usage rights, etc.)
Process on iPad into final B&W images using Photogene4 App. I did previously use Pixelmator but found the processing options in Photogene4 to be more useful (eg. hi-light & shadow recovery) and the its user interface more fluid. Only disadvantage of Photogene4 is that the healing tool can only do spot healing (instead of Pixelmator allowing me to paint over areas, but that I don't need so much anyway)
Finally I add my copyright text to the image, resize to 1500 pix web dimension, save to output folder and upload to my blog / social media - DONE!

Here another example - even in 8-hit the dynamic range of Fuji's JPEG's is impressive:

Well, I hope this was helpful for some of you? Doing PP on iPad during traveling has seriously reduced the amount of time I needed to spend staring into a PC screen at home - Now I got much more time for taking photos (or for relaxing with a glass of fine Italian prosecco ;-)

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think (comment below or send me email)!

Best regards,

Hendrik

Fuji X JPEG Only iPad Workflow - Refined !

September 22, 2015

After some research I've refined my Fuji X JPEG Only iPad Workflow for on-the-go image processing & uploading to blog, social media, etc. For all you impatient ;-) readers, here the final result after transfer to iPad & post processing with Pixelmator:

I usually set-up my Fuji X100T to use the B-R film simulation, with shadows & hi-lights set to +1. Images are saved as large JPEG + RAW - This helps me to pre-visualize the image in black & white on the LCD screen and allows me to later develop a flat color "digital negative" JPEG from the saved RAW file using the in camera raw conversion. For this I use following settings: Classic Chrome film simulation, color +1, hi-lights and shadows -1, sharpness +1 and noise red. -1 (of course I always still have the RAW file as original back-up and for creating fine art prints on my PC in Lightroom, if needed !):

"Nebula man" converted in camera to flat color "digital negative" JPEG

I then import these color JPEG's onto my iPad using the Shuttersnitch App, which has an easy WiFi connection and IPTC (copyright, usage rights) updating feature. After saving the images to the iPad's camera roll I perform some basic post processing in Pixelmator for iPad, using the simple workflow explained in some screen grabs below:

"Nebula man" flat color JPEG in Pixelmator, after opening "adjust colors" menus

After opening the color JPEG in Pixelmator I go to the "adjust colors" menu & convert to black & white by selecting "B&W":

Then adjust the sliders for levels (black & white points), brightness, and contrast to your liking. The color sliders can be used to modify shades of grey depending on their original color (eg. darken blue sky, similar like you can do in Lightroom), but their effect in Pixelmator is limited (according the App developer this will be improved in a future App update):

You can adjust shadows & hi-lights by modifying curves:

For me very important to add a copyright to my image - Pixelmator is one of the few Apps which has an extensive texting option (with many fonts, styles and renderings to choose from). See the following images as example:

... and move the text block to the desired position !

Finally resize the image for upload to blog or social media:

Resize for upload to blog or social media (1500 pixel long side):

... and save to camera roll (Save to Photos):

That's it, I hope this was useful to y'all & that you enjoyed the post ! Many thanks for reading & let me know if you have any questions or comments, I'm interested to hear what approach you might have for working On-the-Go !

Have a great day & all the best wishes, best regards,

Hendrik

Go Light: Just JPEG & iPad - is it enough ?

August 29, 2015

Hey, the JPEG's coming out of my Fuji X100T are really amazing ! So much that I looked for a "light" image processing solution for "On-the-Go" & found a great full featured photo editor for iPad called Pixelmator. See below example image of the famous Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain:

For this I developed following simple "On-the-Go" imaging workflow which I'd like to share with y'all:

Set up my Fuji X100T to take rather neutral / flat color images (kinda digital "negative" with maximum dynamic range, if you like):
- Classic Chrome
- Hi-light -1
- Shadow -1
- Color +1
- NR -1
- Sharpen +1
- JPEG+RAW (to still have a RAW backup ! ;-)
Import images to iPad using Fuji's Wifi connection App or Apple's lightning to
SD card connection kit
Use "Pixelmator" App to optimize image (exposure, contrast, levels, color, etc). If you prefer Black & White you can use the color sliders to influence the grey tones !
Upload finished images to my site

The advantage of this approach is that you can process & upload your images while travelling, just using an iPad w/o any compromise on image quality (at least for web applications) and you still have the back-up original RAW files to make fine art prints !

Hope you liked it ! Curious about your comments, many thanks in advance for looking & wish y'all a great weekend !

Best regards,

Hendrik

Fuji Lightroom Mobile Workflow Revisited

Fuji X100F Review - 3 Reasons why "F" spells Freedom !

5 Senses of the Fuji X100T, Thanks for 2015 & wish y'all Happy 2016 !

Gotta love The Square, improved mobile workflow

Going "light" - Mobile Post Processing without PC!

Fuji X JPEG Only iPad Workflow - Refined !

Go Light: Just JPEG & iPad - is it enough ?

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