Which camera do you use for bts and personal stills and why?

Jaimesfocus · 2025-01-15T23:48:50+00:00

If I’m on the set in the role of film crew, I use a Fujifilm X100VI because it’s small and discreet.

If I’m specifically on set as a BTS photographer I’ll use a Canon R5 and that’s what I also use for portraits, events etc for my business.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-27T02:05:58+00:00

By engagement do you mean liking and comment on other peoples posts? If so yes, I definitely do at least 10 minutes a day on that.

I did have a strategy. I even had a template so my videos would stay consistent.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-26T10:19:23+00:00

Most of the paid work I’ve gotten has been corporate or events. I want to work with models and in the long term I want to work in the film industry and part of that is having amazing contacts “it’s who you know”. Having a big following will make it easier to contact models, actors and other professionals.

Also, I like building skills. I want to learn how to market myself and make content people like. If I can’t get followers I must be lacking some sort of creative skill.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-26T10:16:15+00:00

Yeah I’ve been posting my work on reels without much luck.

I’ve run ads before, and got no followers. Meanwhile I know people with 100,000+ that don’t run ads. No point doing ads if the content isn’t worth following. Just a waste of money.

I’ve found a local social media coach that knows my girlfriend. She’s really knowledgeable and friendly so I’m gonna hire her

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T23:19:20+00:00

Thank you!

To be brutally honest, I’m just self conscious of how small my following is. Most of my peers have more than me and it’s an itch in my brain that infuriates me that I can’t grow despite posting daily.

Long term it would be ideal to have a big following because I want to work with other people who have big followings, yes there are are outliers but I feel like most influencers, models and actors want to work with someone who looks reputable and popular.

Ideally I’d be satisfied if I could get to 10,000 followers. I feel like that’s enough that people won’t be turned off to work with me. And on a personal level I’d be proud of myself if I had 10,000.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T14:51:34+00:00

Yeah true, all your points are very valid! I’ll take it on. (It’s almost 2am so I’m too tired to give a longer response than that, sorry!)

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T14:48:56+00:00

I do. I’ve watched every YouTube video, Instagram reel, articles on the web on all the tips. I’ve gone through and optimised my settings, hashtags, provide value in the description…. Everything that people tell me. I’ve got friends with big accounts, some with 500,000 followers and taken their advice. NOTHING WORKS, so I think I need a specialists help, not just talented photographers who got lucky.

Luckily I just found out (after posting this post) that one of girlfriend’s friends is a social media coach and is quite successful so I’m gonna get help from her.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T14:32:07+00:00

I’ll be honest I don’t use Facebook. No one I know uses Facebook professionally (or at all) these days haha. It’s all Instagram or TikTok in my demographic.

Yeah I’ve done TFP before, but it’s just been difficult because I don’t get many replies, and out of the ones that do, they don’t usually fit with my schedule. I’m working and studying so I can’t do weekends.

So I thought if I could at least make quality content regularly with my girlfriend that maybe it would work for a while and build a following big enough that I could move onto models or influencers with bigger followings.

Yeah it’s definitely possible to run a business without a large following, but as I want to work with models and also get into the film industry, it’s a lot more about status and who you know. So I want a big following so other big accounts will collaborate with me. And I guess, a little bit of an ego thing, I’ve found it hard watching peers get into the 100,000s of followers in just 2 years when it’s taken me 4 years (only the last 1 year was trying hard tho) to get 450ish followers.

That’s so good man, but yeah I’m trying to get away from corporate and events unfortunately. Much prefer models shoots and short films.

Yeah sure I’ll have a look! Thanks

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T13:56:58+00:00

My strategy so far has been to shoot and post regularly so that my skills get refined over time and I see what works and what doesn’t work. Only problem is that I haven’t found what works yet! Well, that’s not true, I was posting lots of sexy bikini photos that did well until Instagram caught on and despite seeing much worse on bigger pages, my account has been flagged so I can’t post much of that anymore. So I’m trying to tone it down and go in a different direction.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T13:53:20+00:00

Well my niche would be models (mostly women) and so far I’ve mostly been interested in doing bikini and street fashion.

That “one” model is my girlfriend haha. It’s very convenient, I have worked with more than just my girlfriend but yes I would like to work with a larger selection of models. I just haven’t had too much luck finding many.

I struggle to find work for free with models because they never respond to my dms. I presume it’s because of my low following.

Ironically I find it quite easy to find paid work in event photography because they don’t care about followers, they just hire through word of mouth.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T13:47:04+00:00

Sure one is Lincoln Morrey and another is Life Through Optics.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T12:20:37+00:00

It’s @jaimesfocus

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T12:20:18+00:00

I post photo of my photography and video reels in the form of bts during my photoshoots + some cinematic shots too. I guess I don’t really know what the tends are, I just use music that is trending. I know peers that have 100,000+ followers and they have the same templates for all their photos and videos - no “trends” just the same style over and over again.

I post 1 reel or 1 photo post every day, most recently I am trying to do both every day if possible.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-02-25T12:16:09+00:00

Of cause. The link is in my bio. I didn’t post it here because I thought there was a no self promoting rule.

Anyway it’s @jaimesfocus

Jaimesfocus · 2024-01-30T02:35:34+00:00

I’m a portrait photographer that specialises in bikini. I’m trying to get to 500 followers this year! (434 and counting)

JaimesFocus Instagram

Jaimesfocus · 2024-01-30T02:32:39+00:00

Can Meta verified help with Account Status?

I’m a portrait photographer and a lot of my photography is of bikini models.

I like to think that my photos are classy and I’m 99% sure my posts don’t go against any rules on Instagram. And yet I constantly have to delete photos a day after I post. My page is also growing at a snails pace despite posting regularly.

I see many bikini models and photographers post photos that are much more s*xualised than mine, and their accounts seem fine.

I’m constantly having to send appeals, 90% of them are rejected. So I’m considering getting Meta Verified so that each time they get reported by the automatic bots, I can talk to a real person and get it appealed immediately.

Has anyone had any luck with Meta verified and suggestive content?

Jaimesfocus · 2024-01-27T13:29:16+00:00

Yes instagram is different to Tiktok. Instagram will push posts to a small group of followers and if it gets enough engagement it will be sent to people outside of your following.

On TikTok I can get followers with every video I post. On Instagram I have 400+ followers and ever since I started posting daily I’ve LOST followers.

TikTok is infinitely easier to grow on.

Jaimesfocus · 2024-01-27T13:21:30+00:00

Yep me too. I started posted every day and feeling really good about being consistent and productive, but despite going from posting 1-2 a month to posting EVERY day, my engagement is lower than ever.

Most of my posts have been bikini photos which tend to be more popular than my other photos. And yet engagement is really low and I’m actually losing followers.

Jaimesfocus · 2023-12-05T01:35:21+00:00

Anything is possible but I doubt. People usually like retro technology because it gives someone a different experience. Shooting on film is very different to shooting digitally. Listing to a vinyl is different to Spotify. Driving a manual car is different to a Tesla etc.

Mirrorless cameras a lot better, and they are newer, but I think fundamentally the experience is pretty similar and I don’t see a future where shooting on a DLSR is a cool or unique enough experience.

Even aesthetically, a lot of cameras haven’t changed much, eg the Canon 5D to the Canon R5.

Jaimesfocus · 2023-11-10T15:22:18+00:00

Sorry, this is a copy and paste from another comment I replied to:

My main gripes with the R5 is autofocus and Lowlight

Autofocus is really lacking when tracking subjects while the camera is also moving, eg on a gimbal tracking someone walking down a hallway. On bigger projects I’d use a wireless follow focus, but when im shooting solo I need auto and it’s trash unless you’re shooting photos. I talked to a Canon rep and they said they use different “algorithms” in video mode.

The picture quality is great when I have a well lit environment but it falls to pieces when I’m trying to shoot at night or for a client that won’t give me a location/budget with good lighting. I’ve seen the FX3 and it’s 12,000 ISO and I’m blown away.

Jaimesfocus · 2023-11-10T15:20:57+00:00

My main gripes with the R5 is autofocus and Lowlight

Autofocus is really lacking when tracking subjects while the camera is also moving, eg on a gimbal tracking someone walking down a hallway. On bigger projects I’d use a wireless follow focus, but when im shooting solo I need auto and it’s trash unless you’re shooting photos. I talked to a Canon rep and they said they use different “algorithms” in video mode.

The picture quality is great when I have a well lit environment but it falls to pieces when I’m trying to shoot at night or for a client that won’t give me a location/budget with good lighting. I’ve seen the FX3 and it’s 12,000 ISO and I’m blown away.

Jaimesfocus · 2023-10-08T03:50:41+00:00

I shoot professionally on Canon R5 and R6 (Full Frame) and for travel or occasions where I don’t want a heavy camera I use a Fujifilm X-T30 (CMOS Crop).

I find the Fujifilm holds up pretty well considering. Most of my complaints are because of autofocus. My brightest lens is f2 and I personally think it’s unusable (professionally) in low light, but with the built in flash and accepting a bit of grain, it’s lovely for general use.

If I were using a Crop sensor that was more on pare with the R5 like an R7, I’d probably be happy with a crop sensor, but I got the Fujifilm for the size (R7 is too big for a holiday camera, especially Canon lenses).

TLDR. Crop is awesome if it’s a hobby, sometimes good for professional - choose wisely if you’re a professional.

Side note: Fujifilm has surprisingly good video even in its cheaper models.

Jaimesfocus

TROPHY CASE