Why are Fuji’s x100 range of cameras so much fun to use? I don’t think I could sum it up in just one blog post. If I am honest I'm not really sure why I love shooting the x100s so much. I just do! That sounds like a really crappy explanation, in fact it isn't an explanation. For that reason I am going to start blogging a little about the x100s, why I love it so much & why you should maybe consider picking one up. Maybe I am just an x100s fan boy. Or maybe there really is something in it!
Fresh in my mind is a shoot for a Toni & Guy Salon here in the UK I did just recently. We were four hair styles for a competition. I had spotted one of the models Jimmy was covered in tattoos. As soon as we were done with he head shots (using the XT-1 & 56mm 1.2) I switch to the x100s & got a bit more creative. Jimmy got his top off & we shot a handful of images.
The x100s just makes me excited to shoot. I love the focal length. I love having to get in close. I love the perspective. The camera is so easy to shoot. With the full stop aperture clicks on the lens you can quickly adjust exposure.
I was shooting with a large Octabox to camera left & two Speedlights acting as ‘kickers’ in the background. I literally set this up in about 60 seconds. If I was to put more time into this I am sure I could have made better images but for me this was more about having some fun.
Anyway, here are three images form the three minutes we spent shooting for fun. They are not perfect but they are pretty sick in my opinion. Studio shooting isn't really my kind of thing, I much prefer shooting candid or street photography stuff but this was fun. Would it have been fun with a DSLR? Yeh, sure, but the x100s just has something a little special about it & the high sync speeds up to 1/4000th of a second really do help in these dramatic images where you want to kill the ambient light…
I hope you have enjoyed my rambling & most importantly the images!
Howard