My Nikon Z8 Setup For Wedding Photography

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Only 1 day left for the launch special! www.taylorjacksoncourses.com/adv-wedding-photography-launch-special

[@sikandaralishah6381]

❤😊

[@mazzith]

I changed WAY more settings than you did. I've shot about 170 weddings since 2015 when I started to do weddings. I had to add the histogram to viewfinder/monitor, turned off the lens command ring as bumping it changed my aperture by accident a lot. Change the color space to adobe RGB, change some custom controls to add scroll images by 10 vs 1, enabled remove focus points by orientation, auto rotation on image playback, etc. Full list below: Photo Shooting Menu File Naming: Set this to a custom name. I use AM1, AM2 and AM3 for my three different cameras. Primary Storage: Set to CF Express/XQD if you using these. Secondary Slot: Raw Primary, jpeg secondary. This pull make copies of your raw files and put them on the SD card as a backup in case there a issue with the raw file CF Express card. Raw recording: I use High Efficiency*. The files end up being around 31mp each vs 50+ and there is little difference between the two imo. White Balance: I set this to Auto2, Keep warm lighting colors. Colorspace: I set this to Adobe RGB since I use Adobe RGB monitors. Image Area : Turn DX crop alert on. This will cause DX to flash in the upper right of your viewfinders to remind you that you are using DX mode. A1 AF-C Priority set to focus. A5 Store focus points by Orientation : Set to Focus only. This is amazing as if you always rotate your camera the same direction for portraits the focus point will always remain near the top of the frame, no matter where it was prior. This can save you time from moving the focus point to the top if you are using a focus mode where you place the box near peoples heads. A8 Limit AF-area Mode Selection: I have this set to single (which you can not remove), Wide-Area AF (C2) and Auto AF. I use C2 setting for when I need to limit the Eye AF auto focus to a smaller area. This way your AF does not jump around to people in the background during receptions. A10 Focus point wrap around : Set to on. D1 Continuous Shooting speed : You can change your high speed and low speed burst here. High speed can be set from 10, 12, 15 and 20 (while shooting raw). Low speed can be set to 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 or 10. D3 Pre-Release Burst: You can turn this one if you like but the photos will end up on a your SD card if you use CF Express B for raw, and SD for jpeg. D6 Limit Selectable image Area : This allows you to turn off crop factors you would not use like 1:1 and 16:19. I only use FX and DX. I can swap between these using FN2 button which can be set in f2 Custom controls shooting. E17 and E18: Use D-pad to the right and Enable histogram. F2 Custom Controls (shooting) : Scroll down to lens control ring and set to none. I find myself bumping this ring and accidently changing my aperture by accident a lot. F3 Custom Controls (playback) : Scroll down to Sub-command dial and set frame to 10. This will allow you to skip 10 images at a time with your front command wheel. You can use the main command wheel to flip one at a time. f17 Custom Viewfinder shoot display: hit the right arrow on the dpad with the ok button and scroll down to brightness information, or better known as a histogram. Playback Menu Picture Review : Set to on. This will show you the image you just took without having to hit the play button. Auto-rotate Pictures : Set to off. This will leave the image at its max size and will not change as you rotate your camera. If you have it on and your camera is in landscape position your portrait photo will be very small with empty black space on the right and left of the image. Setup Menu Time Zone and Date : If you are using Daylight Savings, set this BEFORE your date/time. Set your date and time. Auto Rotate info display : On Sensor shield behavior : I turn this on. It will bring a shield down to cover the sensor when you need to swap lenses. You MUST turn your camera off for this to work. If you take a lens off while the camera is on, nothing will happen. Copyright Info : You can turn on and put your company / brand name here. Camera Sounds : This is where you can change the sound of your fake shutter. I use Setting 1 as its long enough for me to hear and no one else. Pitch really did not change much imo.

[@peterwmdavis]

7:12 for VR, in regular mode, the frame will jump between each shot, which really throws off your composition-depending on the lens it can be quite drastic. Always use Sport. It's not just about panning; Nikon designed regular VR mode badly.

[@random_dev]

Hi, have you have issue with the Z8 not focusing on eyes but on eyelash ?

[@yolo-cars]

Hi Taylor, thank you for these tips! Please tell me what do you think about Metering settings both for photo and video modes? By default its set to "Matrix metering" and there are other options to choose from but I'm not sure which one is best for wedding photography. Also you mentioned you're shooting in 4K@60. I wonder how you came to this decision and did you try something like 4K@24 to make it look more cinematic? And the last question - do you prefer to set picture control video setting to Neutral because it's easier to apply desired settings in the post production? Thank you.

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

I just leave it on matrix. For 4k60, I put everything in slow motion and deliver in 24p

[@yolo-cars]

@@TaylorJacksonPhoto Thank you! I didn't think about converting from 60p to 24p to make it look like a slow motion. That's great tip!

[@peterwmdavis]

5:20 if you don't like Auto WB being too cool, why do you have it set to A0 = cooler? Have you tried A1 = normal or A2 = warmer, or tweaking manually?

[@danielpalumbo8375]

Excellent video, Taylor. Thank you for this one 👍🏻

[@jettubby17]

Taylor did you have any "Hot Card" warnings on the Z8. Today I was shooting only stills for 1.5hrs and got a Hot Card warnings indoors and outdoors with a SanDisk extreme pro CFEXP-B. I think it's the card but not sure. I ordered a Delkin Black to compare.

[@JesseStarrPhoto]

There is also a setting for changing the cutoff point for overheating

[@andrzejniezgoda7060]

Jakich kart używasz do Nikona Z8? Świetny film.

[@marcelovsantos71]

I have a question, my photos is very dark when importing to my computer, what i doing wrong?

[@churchsnaturescenes7864]

If you were to shoot a wedding with a Canon R5 or R6 for metering mode would you use centered weighted or what is your preferred metering mode for a wedding or people?

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

I always shot full manual with my r6 and r5 so I’m not entirely sure. For travel stuff I think I left it on whatever was default in aperture priority mode

[@churchsnaturescenes7864]

@TaylorJacksonPhoto oh sorry think you read the question wrong or I worded it wrong haha. Anyways I'm not talking about manual/shutter/aperture priority modes. I mean your metering mode on the camera. Like spot metering, centre weighted, evaluative metering modes etc. What metering mode would be ideal for weddings? I'm looking to get the ball rolling on shooting weddings. Only shot 1 so far so just wondering what the ideal metering mode would be. I photograph wildlife mainly and I'm always using spot metering for that but I imagine that's not the case for shooting weddings.

[@funwithtalkingtom_official]

Hey I have a few questions about the video the Z8 offers. Can anyone here please help? 1. Like the Z6, does Z8 also not record audio when shooting in 100fps or more (either in 1080p or 4K) 2. Can I shoot 1080p 100fps and 4K 100fps 10bit Nlog? 3. If I’m shooting Nlog, which color profile should I be using (SD, NL, FL)? 4. Is NRAW locked at 8K? Is it possible to shoot 12-bit video at 1080p 100fps or 4K 100fps?

[@Soul_Visuals_Photography]

im told there is a setting to have the yellow eye tracking box to work faster and stickier. is that possible? Tracking still seems lacking here. but maybe just because the box is not stuck to the subject like Sony and canon its still in focus.

[@Daniel_Zalman]

Taylor, how's the autofocus in your experience with the camera? A lot of people on the interwebs complain about the eye-autofocus..and by a lot I mean people who frequent forums more than they shoot images.

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

I’ve honestly had no problems. I also don’t zoom into every picture at 100% though

[@Daniel_Zalman]

@@TaylorJacksonPhoto Yeah, some people are saying that at minimum focus distance, it'll focus on an eye-lash rather than the iris. Oh well, there's always something to complain about. Thanks for replying, btw.

[@denismaheux7916]

What size cards do you use for the z8

[@ljohnson0725]

I’m noticing when I use auto white balance 1 the camera is really cool. I’ll start to use auto white balance 2. Has any notice this?

[@MichaelSeneschal]

Thomas Heaton’s last video, he said he set up Function 1 to switch shooting modes. So with a single tap of a button he went from manual, so aperture priority, auto iso, and 3D tracking. I thought that would be amazing to have with just a single button push. With the Z6ii, it’s the U1 U2 and U3 modes on the dial.

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

That’s very nice. I’d do that if I switched full settings more often

[@lavanyastudiouddehal9717]

I have Nikon D850, which cam is better then update NikonZ8 or Sony 7R5.

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Both are good. If you already have Nikon lenses it probably makes sense to go Z8

[@ChelseaFetch]

Got the Z8 a couple weeks ago and I'm struggling with my photos looking well-exposed in-camera but when I import into Adobe LR they are DARK. Like, I have to mess with the tone curve AND increase exposure by a full stop. They look fine in Photo Mechanic. Any tips, Taylor? I've heard Adobe says there was an issue and they fixed it, but they are clearly lying lol.

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Do you have D-Lighting on? That usually makes me underexposed by a stop

[@ChelseaFetch]

@@TaylorJacksonPhoto nailed it. Turned it off! Hoping that fixes it 👍 thanks for your quick reply. You're awesome!

[@jeffpolk4800]

I always use auto white balance except for reception lol..

[@ibob93]

Taylor, could you tell me what means 35-85 please?

[@TheVitalishe]

That's a typical primes combo: one 35mm lens and one 85mm lens (often on two different bodies).

[@NaldoviegasFotografia]

por favor, pode compartilhar qual o nome desse gravador de vídeo usado para capturar a imagem do hdmi da camera?

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Atomos ninja star

[@NaldoviegasFotografia]

@@TaylorJacksonPhoto muito obrigado!

[@poikatiikeri]

Do you use zebras for video?

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

I don’t

[@TygerByte]

How many batteries do you go through on a typical 8hr wedding day if just shooting photos?

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Maybe 2. I usually have 3 with me and never get into it. I also turn my camera off when not in use pretty often though

[@crypticwealth2956]

Is your Sony A7RV no longer your main camera?

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

Different cameras are better at different things. A7RV is still a main for most of my things. Hybrid wedding days are A74.

[@johnw.3636]

I really want this camera! 😫

[@justforfun5840]

Pls the same for Sony Kameras 🤩

[@TaylorJacksonPhoto]

I did