How to take the perfect adventure self portrait
In Partnership With Fujifilm
I didn’t grow up with a camera glued to my hand and some innate need to understand the mechanics of every electronic that crossed my field of vision - often I wish I did. I first picked up a camera in high school, I took photos with my friends doing silly things on an old point and shoot that sat in automatic mode until the day that it found its final resting place in a box in my parents’ basement. When I started to hike and travel I relied on the help from friends and my trusty cellphone to capture photos. I eventually purchased my first “big girl” camera in early 2017 - it would find its self in my backpack every so often and even less often would it see the light of day. I never loved how the photos came out (they always looked blue and flat and contrasty) and I didn’t know how to change that. Earlier this year, I challenged myself to not only hike and backpack and camp and travel alone… but I wanted to be able to share all of that with my friends family (and yes, my community). So I invested my time and money in researching and purchasing the perfect camera for all of my needs - one that made me excited about taking photos. And then I learned how to use it! I buried myself in YouTube tutorials and asked dozens of questions to all of my photographer contacts with no shame - and in all honesty it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. And so I am sharing some of this knowledge I have accumulated if you are, like me, capture some of your favourite moments at home or around the world…and don’t have an instagram husband or go-to photographer by your side. Also you can check out my entire gear set up in my What’s in my Camera Bag blog.
Getting the gear:
Camera
My camera set up includes the Fujifilm X-T30 with the XF23mm f2.0, the XF50mm f2.0 and the XF50-140 mm f2.8. You can find my full camera gear blog write up including how I chose my camera, my go-to lenses (and when/how I use them) and some of my favourite camera accessories here.
Tripod
I look for something lightweight and compact. The Fujifilm X-T30 is so small that I am able to use a backpacking tripod which has been a huge weight saver - but always make sure that you trust your tripod with the weight of your camera + lenses!
extra batteries and memory cards
When I shoot landscapes I feel like my battery and memory card are seemingly endless. But when I pop myself into frame and move around for a few minutes I realize that might not be the case. Popping a backup battery and memory card into my camera bag is a nice insurance that I don’t need to.
a good attitude
Yes, I am aware that this is cheesy. But it’s going to be frustrating the first few times you head out with your tripod and you are on the receiving end of funny looks and maybe even a few snarky comments. Don’t worry about the opinions of strangers!
taking the photo:
Intervalometer
My first experience with an intervalometer was in Europe with Kelsey. I had aways known about intervalometers being used in time lapse photography but never thought about their application in taking the perfect self portrait (or couples photo, or best friend Europe trip selfie). In the middle of a busy street with the iconic waterfall of Lauterbrunnen in the background she plugged in what looked like a remote control to her camera and, like magic, the shutter clicked every second. After the first two clicks she knew it was working and she ran out to join me and captured some of my all time favourite images. We laughed and moved around and it felt really natural. When purchasing a new camera one of the reasons that the Fujifilm X-T30 stood out was because, instead of having to remember and carry around a physical intervalometer, it comes with one built in! With the click of a few buttons you choose a start delay(if you want one - if I am shooting myself far away I will give myself a minute to get out to where I need to be before it starts shooting), an interval and number of frames ( and yes, infinity is an option).
Self-timer function
I think that I would use this more if I did not have the intervalometer built into my camera. It always reminds me of childhood family photos wherein, without fail, someones eyes would be closed in every take until my parents gave up. I use this as a single frame option (to save time, battery and memory card space) when I am first composing my self portraits. I run out and make sure I know where I want to be (and that my focus is set to the right spot) before firing up the intervalometer!
smartphone App
The FUJIFILM Cam Remote app allows you to control your camera through your smartphone, see what the image will look like in live time, control the shutter and even allows you to change your settings and focal point from up to 100ft/30m away. I love to pair this with a few second delay so I can stash my phone out of sight from the camera just in time! This app also allows you to download images straight to your phone (I like do this to pop a few frames into my stories live timeline) - just a note that it does not allow for raw files to be transferred so make sure to shoot in raw+jpeg if this is something you would want to do!
This is the live shooting view of the FUJIFILM Cam Remote app on iPhone:
1. Close: Close the app.
2. Shooting display: Tap anywhere in the frame to focus.
3. Settings: Tap to change camera settings (pull the menu left to reveal more settings).
4. Photo/movie button: Switch between photo and movie modes.
5. Shutter button: Take pictures.
6. Shooting/playback button: Switch between live view photography and image download.
have a friend take the photo
Set up your photo and pass your camera off to someone you trust with your gear and be patient - remember that not everyone has the same photographic eye that you do. I recently was on a trip to Italy with my mom and, in an attempt not to insult her, I asked her to help me take a photo instead of setting up my tripod. When we got back to the hütte for the night I downloaded the photos and realized that she didn’t have a single straight horizon and most of the photos had the tops of the mountains cut offers (I wish I had known about my Fujifilm X-T30 electronic level a few months ago!). Thankfully my mom is amazing and took no offence when I re-ran up the mountain the next morning without her to make sure that I had a photo I was happy with.
set yourself up for success:
light
Shooting during golden hour (the time just after sunrise and just before sunset) create some of my favourite images. I use apps such as PhotoPills and PeakFinder (great for both knowing which mountains you are looking at and also knowing what time the sun will poke over/behind a mountain range) to map out my day and know exactly when golden hour is. As a bonus: most popular tourist destinations are less busy at these times so there will be less people watching you fumble with your tripod.
composition
Have fun with this one. Try different lenses, change the height of your tripod… shoot through some foliage for a little bit of foreground. Photography is an art, not a science - play around and find a composition that you like. Take more photos than you think you will ever want or need.
double check your settings
I have ruined a good number of photo opportunities by accidentally putting my focus mode from auto into manual and not realizing it until I was on the car ride home or importing the photos into Lightroom only to realize that every single frame is absurdly out of focus. Since my last trip I have familiarized myself with my camera’s autofocus was + tracking mode so that, barring no human error, the camera auto focuses on me as I move around the frame. I even have an eye-detection auto focus on my Fujifilm X-T30 that gives me the option to priority focus on individual eyes, or on the eye closest to the camera. My rule of thumb is to always double check my settings and triple check my test image to make sure everything is working as it should be.
have patience
I don’t think it will ever feel natural to set up a tripod at a busy lookout or on top of a mountain shared with people twice my age overtly judging me. But at the end of the day I love to be alone in the backcountry and find joy in being able to share it with my friends and family (and sometimes, when they turn out just right, on social media). Have fun with it, laugh at yourself, take a few sillier photos than you normally would - those always end up being my personal favourites.
Please note that this blog was written with the support from Fujifilm. As always, all ideas and opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
