A BETTER Way To Shoot In Aperture Priority (Street Photography)

[@emirdg1901]

Great tips all around and I really appreciate your informative videos; However, as far as I know the Center-Weighted metering mode ignores the focus point (always evaluates the center of an image, regardless of the focus point) as that is exclusive to the Spot-Metering mode, according to the manual/online info I could gather and test myself. Would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

[@snapsbyfox]

You are right. I got muddled up. Cheers for bringing it up!

[@ritterkeks]

True, there even is an additional setting for changing the latter, called „Interlock spot AE & Focus Area“ - although I think you would usually want to leave this on

[@RogiervandenBerg]

@@snapsbyfox Yes, indeed what Emir DG said, but that's why using SPOT on a Fuji is really great. And, with the latest firmware upgrades of the X100V you can even set a dedicated 'toggle' button to switch between e.g. Multi (let's say that this is your default) and spot for these special moments. I'm using the front Fn2 button for "Spot metering lock" to achieve this.

[@sjsphotog]

Depends on the camera but yes usually that is correct

[@plagueofkoalas]

Also, spot metering is only tied to the AF point when: a) interlock spot AE & Focus Area = enabled and b) you're using single point AF. really I only use multi + spot

[@normanwagner7634]

OMG - the Holy Guide to photography. Auto ISO, Apertures, Exposure Compensation, Photometry and Auto Exposure Lock CLEARLY explained. We amatures need to focus on these items to achieve a full enjoyment of the process. Don't under estimate of the value your videos have provided to us, the silent photographer!

[@RogiervandenBerg]

I use AEL very often, but have it locked (click once to turn on, again to turn off) instead of needing to hold it manually like you showed in the video. That way I can expose once lock the exposure and take multiple images having the exact same exposure, thus creating photos that are more of a series

[@garciaon]

Hi! How do you do that? When I choose "AE Lock Only" as the setting for the AEL button it still requires me to hold it until the picture is taken. Am I maybe missing something?

[@liquidsn]

@@garciaon Hey, I figured it out. you also have to go into SETUP->Button/Dial Setting->pg 2/2 AE/AF-LOCK MODE has to be set to 'on/off switch' That way when you assign a Fn Button to AE Lock Only, it does it.

[@HaiTomVlog]

@@liquidsn Dude thank you! I had been trying to find out how to do this for a while! 🤙🏼

[@RogiervandenBerg]

@@HaiTomVlog Sorry, missed your question 🙈However, my settings are indeed having the AE/AF-LOCK MODE to on/off switch. And besides that, the AELAFL button to AE LOCK ONLY and the Rear Command Dial (pressing that wheel on the back) to AF LOCK ONLY. → This way you can always lock/fixate your exposure with a press of the AEL button, or your focus with pressing the wheel, separately! 👏 And, if you appoint a button (e.g. Fn2: I'm using that little button on the front for this) to SPOT METERING LOCK, you can easily move into a different metering mode; Spot metering. This allows for very precise targeting where to calculate exposure on. Together with AE LOCK, you can then toggle this SPOT METERING to be able to "aim" where you want to lock your exposure on, based on specific things in your frame. So then, the way of working would be: 1) Enable SPOT METERING 2) Aim for where to lock the exposure on to 3) Lock with AE LOCK

[@sjsphotog]

Good idea. That also will then allow you to use Back button auto focus since you can't hold down 2 buttons at the same time with your thumb if it wasn't set to be a toggle instead of having to keep it pressed down. I think it deepens on the camera model to see if that is possible to make it a toggle or not though....

[@harlowpinson5678]

This was extreamly helpful, especially the section on metering settings. I think for the first time, I understand that. Thanks!

[@AGoodBuzz]

AE-L is HUGE shooting outdoor candids at weddings. Because everything is fast moving AND you're usually using flash, expose for the sky and lock it, then recompose the people and TTL flash. The sky will be nice and blue, clouds will show up nicely, and the people will POP!

[@innercityunit2112]

Great tip!

[@grayexperience]

I’m a big fan of aperture propriety, especially when shooting fast paced scenes like kids, dogs, and weddings. The exposure lock is going to help so much! Thank you, Roman.

[@davidbentley8848]

Thank You Roman. First channel I have seen to explain the metering modes, and more importantly, When, to consider making a change. That is my learning for today, Cheers !!

[@snapsbyfox]

Nice one! Glad I could help

[@davidbentley8848]

@@snapsbyfox Now I have to put these bits and pieces together and Practice 😎

[@don7117]

Everything summed up perfectly and easy to understand. Thanks for another terrific tutorial. I think I am finally getting my camera tweaked to where it needs to be, and understanding exactly why.

[@EmmerdalePat]

Once I finally got my Tamron 2.8, I always felt that I had to shoot portraits or single items on 2.8...but sometimes the images were too soft. I now have the confidence to shoot them on 4, and the images are lovely! Another great lesson on my photography journey! Thank you so much! From a very grateful 60+ year old lady. I have subscribed x

[@AGoodBuzz]

When you think about it, you kinda' buy a f2.8 so f4 is in optimum range, because if you bought an f4 it would be wide open and not at an optimum aperture... f8 would 5.6 or better would be.

[@MapleLeaf98115]

Great tips! Exposure comp in Fuji doesn't work when fully manual. It only works when in auto or priority a/s modes, as I've recently learned.

[@MaxR.]

Great video The only thing I don't agree on is that lenses are the sharpest between f8 and f11 or midrange through their aparture value. This is not true anymore at the high resolution sensors of today's camera as diffraction appears earlier and making the picture soft again. Sharpest nowadays should be roughly around F5.6

[@jasonbodden8816]

Glad you mentioned A(uto) E(xposure) L(ock) as it's crucial to using Aperture Priority correctly. If AEL isn't engaged when establishing focus the exposure won't be locked in so if you recompose, the camera's meter will go with the reading that it takes from wherever your camera ends up pointing before you take the shot. Aperture Priority is fantastic. I love it.

[@itsjorgieeSF]

Facts I shoot f4-f5 this creates layers and separates people occasionally I’ll open up the lens a bit more if I want to have more DOF however it makes the photo flat.

[@alisaadat4474]

I use AEL and hold on my Nikon D700, and love it, so easy.

[@chrismacdonald.6295]

Very useful tutorial thank you. I’m a street photographer with a Fuji XT5. My first outing with it, Notting Hill Carnival !) , was a cloudy day yet many of my shots were under exposed. Poor use of the exposure compensation control. My second outing, (Brick Lane), was a sunny day yet no less challenging. The custom control on this dial is very useful for on the fly adjustments. Yet I still over did it. Your comment about small adjustments was very helpful.Thanks again.

[@jeffslade1892]

If you have /good/ stabilisation you'll find you can run and gun a standard to wide lens at 1/60 and if you can hold the thing still then down to 1/30 or less. But this does not freeze subject motion blur. Birds commonly want at least 1/500, they move suddenly and fast. Shutter speed is chosen for the photo, not just to get the exposure right. I have yet to find a camera that chooses the best shutter speed in A mode out of the box, the settings need fiddling with. Due to the way the NR works, a camera's optimum ISO is probably twice its base ISO. That Extended-Low ISO throws data away. At base ISO some of the signal is 'still in the noise', it will be clean but some of the data is lost. As the gain goes up further so the signal is pulled further up out of the noise and over the 'noise threshold'. As the gain (ISO) goes up further still so the noise creeps over the threshold. They all start to see some noise above 3200 but they should all shoot ISO3200 without batting an eyelid. The NR on a camera is usually pretty conservative and too aggressive, we can usually adjust it in several places.

[@gregsimmons1709]

This was a very helpful video and it got me re-thinking my approaches. For me, the ‘Photometry’ penny dropped some time ago when I realised it was just Fujifilm’s way of saying “Photometering” aka Light Metering. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so clever and so stupid at the same time… Thanks to this video I’m going to start using that AEL button more often!

[@PikPikkabbu]

Your tutorials are unvaluable. Tks

[@josebrivera1716]

It’s more important to freeze action via shutter speed than aperture mode which might give you a slow shutter speed.

[@DenisBTV]

Thank you for the great video! At 12:46, you mention the Center Weighted setting and say something like, "the center point is where the focus is," but that's not quite accurate. According to the manual, "The camera meters the entire frame but assigns the greatest weight to the area at the center." I checked it out, and I agree with the manual-it doesn't depend on your focus point. Only in Spot mode does the camera meter exposure based on the focus point.

[@DenisBTV]

Oh, sorry. I should have checked the comments, but there are 310 of them. There is one that is relevant to the topic.

[@urrumen]

Probably the best video I've watched on the topic. Really well explained. It covers all the basics. Sample photos. Really usefull man, keep going.

[@rafasa7857]

You taught me in 18 minutes more than my math teacher, god and my grandma together in all my life. Thank you

[@TheByteBit]

There a ton of videos on YT about how one ought to use Aperture mode and the results of using the mode. But, they neglect to review the tips you went over in this video. Thanks for video - it improved my photography in tangible ways.

[@nymmit]

Best of Aperture Priority Videos I’ve seen so far. Great advice. Thx for sharing.

[@jonnottage5983]

many thanks for explaining Apeture setting so well and without being annoying like many other people!!

[@LiamGandelsman]

Phenomenal video. I’ve been shooting in Manual since my first film camera in the early 2000’s. The last year I’ve started exploring aperture priority, this video is what I needed to see about 20 years ago 😂. Understanding the exposure triangle is great, but I’ve spent so much time fumbling with my settings instead of getting the shot. Thank you.

[@robertgrant3844]

Excellent summary/review of a modern camera basic settings and menu presets - especially Fuji Film.

[@EVOLinside]

Just getting a bit more into photography and the last two settings explanation was really useful, that's what i was missing.

[@slobodansaric2843]

Absolutely fantastic, thank you sooo much!

[@229dave46]

Thank You for the great tips and your insight Roman.

[@williamdavid4823]

Thanks for the tip re Spot Metering, that works a treat for street in the winter sun. Metering Mode is a thing I've neglected over the years.

[@onrsaygi]

I will try the metering settings. Thanks man great video!

[@malcolmtice175]

Another great video Roman. So clear and easy to understand. Should be mandatory watching for all starting out with this little black box. KZbin videos by good guys like you turned me into a born again photographer. Thanks so much.

[@gojkodjurkovic]

This is literally the most helpful video that I have watched in last couple of years. Thank you so much for helping us that don't have all the knowledge yet. Keep up with great job!

[@ggwildlife]

top tips i have just sorted out my X-T5 & X-T2 bless you!

[@user-kj3ch3ke8m]

One of the best videos of its kind I've seen. That goes for many of your videos, Roman, I have to say(!), but this was outstanding. Having used a Lumix FZ2500 (bridge) camera for a couple of years, very happily, I have for several reasons acquired a Fujifilm X-T5. A big part of that decision was based on your discussion of the custom modes that you can set on the X-T5, which weren't available on the Lumix. A bit of background goss: I discovered your channel in 2022, a couple of weeks after I discovered James Popsys. I then discovered that you're mates, and have been following both of you ever since. Many thanks!

[@David-gn3vu]

Your sample photos look awesome. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@charleshodge1223]

Just found this video, not waffle at all. Super useful in fact. Especially photometry section beacuse you give example of when to use the different options. Thank you

[@roccobarone9]

Just bought my Fuji xt-30II, can't thank you enough for your advices. Keep them coming

[@Lito-gs4rb]

Crazy how much valuable content you publish on a regular basis (for free)... Nice video as always with good information Greetings from Germany 👍

[@RodrigoBalanUriartt]

Great video: teach me - and I'm a old Fuji X-pro1 user - to don't be afraid about Aperture Priority, Exposure Compensation and AEL lock... very instructive!!!

[@deeflexstudios]

I am new to photography and videography and have watched tons of videos but this by far simplified everything I been struggling with thanks a bunch

[@opa362]

thank you for that very explosive explanation of many elements on the Fuji Film camera, awesome ...

[@varsoug]

I was always avoiding using ael button, so thank you so much!

[@thetravelingtrioinjapan4297]

Really great video, as I try to navigate the Fujifilm Xs10

[@smoking707]

Auto ISO settings are spot on Roman...a great help for the day to day photography.

[@daaknait]

Thanks! The last two tips are excellent. Only thing left to do is remember to practise them while out shooting. Probably best to take some notes...

[@jmtphotographymedia]

This is a great video. Thank you for this. The auto iso setting are so clutch.

[@freekvanbuul5100]

Thank you for this video! One question. I have ‘interlock spot ae & focus area’ ON. This imo means that the metering is based on where I put the square (when using single point). This is easier than AEL but gives same result? Especially with B/W metering for whites or blacks.

[@bigbarkingdog2010]

Great recommendations on auto setting support A priority.

[@Ollierastall]

The oracle. Love your videos, Roman. You make us what to take photos and strive for better. We’re sitting on a plethora of customisation and you help us navigate these options. Without your videos, my XT cameras would be used to about 25% of their potential. Cheers man. Keep doing your stuff.

[@CarlWicker]

Personally I think you should keep your camera in Manual mode, it's not that hard to get a grip on your camera controls to achieve the same exactly the same exposure. As long as you understand your camera controls and exposure metering instintively you'll be fine and learn more in the process.

[@Ricalex67]

Agree, having to use ael to set loght, recompose and then set other things takes a lot longer than dialling in shutyer speed. Iso and aperture being already set makes shooting very quick

[@MeAMuse]

I agree with most things here - but regarding the exposure compensation - I do use it creatively. Changing the photometry settings is just not quick enough for me - especially these days when you have an EVF showing you the effect of your changes in real-time (including a histogram). For me training my brain to do different things in different metering modes just does not work. It's just a lot easier to be dynamic using exposure comp... e.g. I see someone and I decide that I want to make them a silhouette - I just roll my thumb on the exposure comp dial and they are immediately dark. Saves me going into having to think "what photometry setting do I want" and then "where shall I grab my meter my light from" and then missing the decisive moment. I guess it's my lizard brain "make thing darker"... "make thing lighter", These days I am trying to change my shooting style to shoot in Manual but with auto ISO.... I think these days because most people shoot in Aperture Priority we have got to a point where intentional movement in images is becoming rarer and therefore more interesting. I am struggling a little to train myself though.... you do have to think about how you want to achieve the exposure more.... Would love a tips video on shooting like that if you are looking for a video topic.

[@michaels8607]

That is why I bought the Pentax K1mk2 because you can tailor it, change it, and have everything right there..

[@LesleyWilkins-b7c]

Thank you for this. Gives me some motivation and tips of what I need to do. My next lesson at the camera club is aperture priority mode so thank you

[@davidthomasmartin1075]

Thank you Roman, for your clear explanation in this video. I’ll surely take better images now.

[@mrowen5055]

Best vid on the internet around these topics ❤️👊

[@alexander5trov]

Very well structured information, definitely cleared things up for me as a newbie photographer! Thanks, I followed you everywhere! Кeep up the good work Roman!

[@karlafromm2862]

All great explained. It helped me a lot to understand some features of my camera. I’ll put them into practice!

[@TheSamoura88]

Just wanna say you are awesome. Thanks for these videos I learn a lot

[@baronfrench5660]

Very good information simply and clearly explained.

[@fogtownrog]

This is the best how-to primer I have ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@peregrint6054]

Very nice explanation, thanks, helped me a lot to understand those things.

[@MisterBrightsiide]

You are a great teacher. Thank you for making this video for us.

[@avroml]

You sir are gold! Thank you for this!

[@mstuartkendall]

Thanks, I am still a bit vague on how to use the photometry and AEL functions, but I will study it. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@alaputtamchandani9676]

Fantastic tutorial video! Thank you.

[@geofftonks8960]

Mate, Love It, it's like a quick workshop on practical issue and easy, easy to understand

[@terencelaubach6565]

Thank you for the excellent primer/refresher course on using the camera to your advantage. I happen to photograph with a Fuji and have enjoyed making photographs for about the last 50 years. We learn something new everyday! Thanks again and good luck to you in your endeavors

[@snapsbyfox]

Cheers!

[@AntonyBall-h9g]

AEL is a great tip I use it a lot myself thanks for the information great tips.......

[@OldManCassius]

Great video duder! I didn't think I'd learn anything new since I'm super comfortable with aperture priority but man was I wrong. I especially liked the bits on the photometry modes and the practical use of the AEL function. I already knew what they did but having examples of *when* to use them is super helpful.

[@rutlegs]

I've learned more about fine tuning my XT4 in 18:02 than I have in the last six months on my own. Thank you Roman!

[@Mjtphoto]

Note to self: don't steal Roman's recycling bin

[@Jarooon]

Watched the whole things and learned so much from this thank you so much! ❤

[@avellimike]

I've been taking photos for 3 years now, always working with M - mode. Jayzus.... your tutorials, Sir, are awesome! Passing knowledge and skills in a brilliant manner. All the best, cheers!

[@kiv9431]

On my Sony a7 I use sunny 16 in manual mode for street photography. However, I have few custom buttons configured for other purposes, one of them to shoot in aperture mode when I hold it pressed. And this is not taking into account two additional custom modes on the dial.

[@JanneRanta]

In addition to +1 compensation at winter I very often find myself at -0,5 to -1,5 when shooting at night.

[@robertdavis1255]

Thanks for sharing.. great video & comments explaining settings for optimal results... cheers 😀

[@filmdstudios]

Tips are great!!!! Extremely informative!! I watch a ton of these and you're breakdowns are spot on!! Definitely hitting the bell!! ty

[@limakilo1331]

Roman, great video. Thank you for the information!

[@34136TS]

Excellent presentation, well done.

[@Pixelpeeps-69]

Great video 👍 I use the exposure compensation dial particularly for when I’m exposing for the sky in the background when shooting a portrait then I’ll use a flash to light up my subject in the foreground!! So I use the dial to a minus setting of around 2-3 stops of light

[@richitacos]

Dude, your photos look absolutely amazing! Great tips & very clear explanation too. Cheers.

[@regezas]

Hi, I am just getting into photography, and I love your content a lot, it just resonates with me.

[@pitiwong1]

Great precise and no bull s**t information. subscribed!!

[@krzysztofowczarek9715]

Hi Roman. Great video (like your other ones I have watched). The suggested aperture values apply to APSC or full frame cameras? Regards, Krzysztof

[@GeoffGrant2010]

Thanks Roman- one of those rare, wonderfully complete videos that is about more than just the settings in the camera, but also tips for photography, composition, lighting conditions, etc. I’ve done so much manual that I need to practice this, especially for street. Three questions, one what setting(s) is EV changing with aperture priority? ISO? Shutter? Two, I assume if you hit a scene that your parameters (min/max) for ISO and shutter just wont work, that you switch to fully manual? Correct? Three, how do you lock AEL on Fuji X cameras like Roger in the comments? Thanks for you art and your patience! Geoff

[@montagdp]

My Canon doesn't have a minimum shutter speed setting for Auto ISO. However, in low light situations where aperture priority and auto ISO would choose a shutter speed that's too low (and I still want to control the aperture setting myself), I just switch to manual mode with Auto ISO. It has the same effect and is actually easier, because you don't have to dive into menus to change the setting.

[@EdwardBushmanAnderson]

Great refresher on why to use Aperture Priority, I found it nice to revisit reasons for using it. The AEL button is (in my set-up) not easy to use as I prefer back-button focusing which I use predominantly for wildlife. Thanks for your informative videos... always a pleasure to watch and learn from!

[@kevanalbrighton5887]

Fabulous video, very clear and precise, and very informative. Well done! look forward to seeing more.

[@mominashraf2657]

Awesome tip! Love using aperture priority for street photography but struggle near sunset as all my photos come out blurry. Never knew I could set a base ISO and min shutter speed!!

[@snapsbyfox]

yeah, that's why it was blurry, change that and you should hopefully see an improvement :)

[@zenstoodi]

On Fuji cameras this is a bit tricky. Even if you set minimum to 1/200 but other settings will not allow to take good photo (in camera opinion) camera will lower shutter speed. It won’t be a problem if you set max iso to 12800 - if there will be not enough light camera will just rise iso, but if you set max iso to for ex. 1600 in low light camera will overwrite min shutter speed set in auto iso settings. The only way to keep shutter not change is use shutter dial, but this way it’s not changing even when it’s needed;) it will just under or over expose. It’s a very useful tool I’m using but you have to be careful;) I have 3 modes: Auto 1: - Normal use / moving objects / people but not too fast min s - 1/160 Max iso 3200 Auto 2: - Night photography with IBIS and mostly not moving objects. This gives in low light really long times but still sharp image on still objects. Min s: auto Max iso: 12800 Auto 3: - Fast moving objects but not sports :) this needs much faster shutter speed like 1/500-1000 or more. Min s: 1/250 Max iso: 12800 All of this depends on lens of course and if you have IBIS / OIS or not. On wide lens it's much easier to make sharp photo not moving objects. For Fuji xf 23mm it's not a big problem to handhold sharp image on 1/60. For XF 18 even 1/40 (without IBIS / OIS).

[@jasesilvey]

@@zenstoodi You are correct. Fuji even mention it in the X-T4 owners manual: 'The camera may select shutter speeds slower than MIN. SHUTTER SPEED if pictures would still be underexposed at the value selected for MAX. SENSITIVITY.' It's a shame the camera doesn't at least alert you to this.

[@tsengkc05]

Thank you for the video, explain a whole lot for a beginer like me.

[@Barberhearts]

Madness you have shots of my home town on here, deal pier!

[@Yesthankyou8]

I will try the auto exposure lock… I always use spot metering and it works really well for me

[@wilfs1196]

Great video again. My photo outings may be in a temporary decline as I have more videos to watch, but then again that could be a long winter project. Re AEL & AFL , I have them set as " on/off switches" so I do not have to keep my finger on the button, especially in a case where I may have to have a glove on. A retired senior in the Niagara Falls region of Canada.

[@archglauco]

Right, Wilf S, that's exactly what I wanted to say. I also use the button the way you do so I don't need to keep my finger on it and risk to accidentally take it off and have to do it again.

[@archglauco]

PS. Roman: Great vídeos, loving it all. Thank you so much.

[@MSigs]

The best and most informative 🎉

[@michaelweston8370]

Can’t wait to try all this out! I didn’t know what half of these things did.

[@elaldiyo]

Dude this is literally the most helpful video I've found in the past 4 years. Thank you!

[@markbarkntrunk102]

you always make so much sense, thanks

[@joalmaor]

Aperture priority enables you to get so many keepers while doing street photography.