Light and Movement: Performance Photography with the X-Pro2

One of the truisms about Fujifilm cameras is that they cannot be used for photographing performance. You often read people making statements like “yeah, the JPEGs are really nice but I need my DSLRs for the autofocus performance” or “mirrorless cameras are too slow in low light”. Whilst this may have been true in the past, we are way beyond this point now.

It’s worth saying that you don’t need the latest professional level DSLR to photograph dance and theatre. In fact, some of my own favourite images were taken with the older X-series cameras like the X-Pro1 and X100S.

The key to using these cameras effectively is to use manual focus and focus peaking to deal with the slower autofocus and to prime yourself to anticipate when moments are about to happen to deal with the extended shutter lag that these cameras suffered from.

After a while this becomes second nature and you are free to concentrate on the action in front of you. You absolutely could photograph performance with these cameras you just couldn’t photograph it in the same way you would with a DSLR.

I’m performing arts specialist and I photograph performance, headshots, behind the scenes and promo images for dance and theatre companies. I bought my first Fujifilm camera, an X100S, in 2013 and since then I’ve gradually used Fuji cameras for more and more of my work. Like a lot of other people I love the light weight, beautiful images and manual controls of these cameras but it took until the release of the X-Pro2 before I realised a didn’t need a DSLR anymore.

Pure autofocus speed is only one of many factors that determine how capable a camera is in photographing dance and theatre. You also need to consider:

• Reliability – when the camera says that it is in focus has it locked onto the subject?
• Predictability – when you are looking for a particular moment onstage does the camera behave how you expect it so you don’t miss the opportunity?
• Changing lighting – with complex or rapidly changing lighting will the camera be able to lock focus?
• Tracking – with dance especially, will the autofocus system hold focus on a performer moving erratically?
• Shutter lag – even if you see a moment and even if the autofocus holds it, will the camera create the image before the moment is lost?

The X-Pro2 is a world ahead of previous Fujifilm cameras on all of those measures and the first Fuji X camera it is possible to photograph performance with in the same way you use a DSLR. The autofocus system is fast, predictable and responsive and the shutter lag present in the previous generations has disappeared completely.

Here’s an image from a recent shoot from a contemporary dance piece. This is as tough a technical challenge a camera can face, right at the tele end of the XF50-140, focusing on a rapidly-moving, dark-skinned performer in dark costume in dim, moody lighting. The camera handled it perfectly, tracking his movement across the burst of images and allowing me to choose my final image on his expression.

I find the quality of the high ISOs on the camera to be excellent. In the image above there certainly is some noise present, but it is really fine and natural and not at all like digital colour noise. I developed this image with a preset based on Classic Chrome that lifts the blacks slightly and gives a stylised, de-saturated look. If I wanted to clean the image up even more I could just drop blacks back down. But personally, I’m totally happy with a little bit of noise at 12800. It adds to the quality of the image and anyway, remember when digital cameras were useless above 1600? I certainly do.

Optimising The X-Pro2 For Performance

Here is how I set up my X-Pro2 for stage work. The aim of the game is to get the fastest possible operation and ease of use.

1. PREVIEW EXP/WB IN MANUAL MODE – Exp/WB. I want to be able to monitor my exposure as I work so I set the camera to preview this.
2. PERFORMANCE – High performance. Self explanatory and I can usually photograph all but the very longest plays on a single battery.
3. DRIVE – Continuous 8fps. Shooting in bursts allows you to shoot through the moment, meaning that if you anticipate something awesome is about to happen you can fire off a short burst of images from the beginning of the moment to the end. It’s really easy to have a great image ruined by someone blinking or pulling a funny face at just the wrong time so working this way helps to maximise your chances.
4. AF-S PRIORITY SELECTION – focus / AF-C PRIORITY SELECTION – release. When I’m using single shot autofocus I want the camera to only release when the subject is in focus. Whereas in AF-C I am typically photographing faster moving subjects and I’m willing to trade focus accuracy for ensuring that I get an image.
5. EXPOSURE – I set my ISO to AUTO with a limit of 12800, the shutter speed dial to T and use the rear command to chose my shutter speed. I’ll trim my exposure with the compensation wheel and typically underexpose by about a stop depending on the scene.

Autofocus Settings

How I set up the autofocus system basically depends on how quickly the performers are moving around. For theatre where I’m concentrating on facial expressions, I’ll use AF-S and Zone Focus with a 3×3 box. For dance, where I am trying maintain the same composition with a moving figure I’ll keep the Zone box and switch to AF-C. When I have figures moving erratically across the scene I’ll use Wide/Tracking. This mode is most effective when you position the focus box over an area of high contrast on your subject before you trip your shutter.

Often I’ll change between these settings depending on what is happening in the show. It is easy to switch between AF-S and AF-C using the switch on the front of the camera and I’ve configured the bottom D-pad function button as an AF mode selector to change between Zone and Wide/Tracking as necessary.

What About The X-T2?

The X-T2 seems to be marketed more towards photographers who work with action than the X-Pro2 but the differences between them, on paper, are fairly minimal. I haven’t used an X-T2 and as I really dislike it when people recommend products that they haven’t had their hands on and experienced themselves I’ll reserve judgement on whether this is a better option if you are looking to photograph performance.

With that said, both cameras share the shame sensor, processor and autofocus system so I would expect similar performance between the two. Where the X-T2 does have some advantages such as a shorter blackout time between shots in boost mode, autofocus custom settings and a grip for easier handling of the XF50-140, I can imagine all of these things being really useful.

On the other hand, I find it incredibly useful be able to open my left eye to get an overview of the scene when using the X-Pro2 so I would definitely miss this. It’s great when you are photographing a close-up to be able to use your other eye to reorient yourself and see other points of interest on a different part of the stage. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to use an X-T2 at some point and if I do I’ll update this article with my thoughts.

Going With The Flow

I’ve talked a lot about the technical aspects of this camera to try and correct the misunderstandings that people have about what it can be used for. None of this really conveys though what a wonderful tool it is for the sort of work that I do. Once you get over the learning curve that comes with a using a rangefinder-style camera it just melts away in your hands, letting you concentrate on your images.

Performance photography is all about intuition and training yourself to see and to anticipate things before they happen. Most of the time, the first time you see the show you have to photograph is when it is happening right in front of you. Having a camera you can forget about is a joy. In a strange way, the documentary roots of this camera lend themselves perfectly to the unpredictable nature of the stage.

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