Fujifilm X100S for Portrait Works

Fujfilm X100S, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/320, ISO200,1-hotshoe flash with Rogue Grid snoot and 1/2 CTO gel at camera left.

The Fujifilm X100S is not exactly the kind of camera you would use for portrait sessions.  I've always thought (and I still do) that its single-focal length 23mm f/2 imposes some creative limitations especially for portrait works.  If you do use it, the pictures will result in some weird distortions on your subjects faces that, more often than not, they will be unflattering.

Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO 100, 1-speedlite with softbox at camera right aimed thru windshield, scrim at sunroof to soften sunlight.

But on many occasions, it serve me wonderfully just fine.  I found that the 23mm (35mm full-frame equivalent) lens is just perfect for environmental portraits.  Of course it's not long and it is not really wide either.  But it allows me to step back just enough to capture more of my subject, avoiding significant and unflattering distortions.  At the same time, it allows me to include his or her surroundings to give more context to the portrait.  It is called environmental portrait.  Sure, blurred background helps to give more emphasis to your main subject but sometimes, it can also take away so much from your subject's character.  And by the way, you can do portraits with blurred backgrounds with an X100S too.  With its lens' wide maximum aperture of f/2 (even under bright sunlight, but that's a topic for another discussion).

Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/2, 1/60, 1-speedlite at 1/8 power with transluscent umbrella at camera left.

Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, f/2, 1/60, 1-speedlite at 1/16 power with transluscent umbrella at camera left.

The X100S, as validated by numerous other photographers, is a camera for the street and travel photographers.  I'm just not a street shooter and I seldom travel nowadays.  But nobody said you can't use it for other types of photography.  Memo to Fuji:  Make that 85mm+ telephoto converter . . . please.

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All rights reserved.  Photography by Alex T. Atienza © alexdpx.

Featured Models: Mhishei Cuerdo & Allaine Tinio Losentes
On location at RAW4 Tambayan, Doha, Qatar

All photos taken with a Fujifilm X100S in various lighting situations - ambient, 1-light, 2-lights.

Cheers,

alexdpx