Category: Photography

Enjoying photographing the children of Nicaragua who are changing their family’s lives

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2200, ƒ/4.5, 1/100

Missionary Traci Warner reads to Dominga Psalms 23, who was in her last living hours. Dominga would die later during the night.

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Dominga’s story started not too long ago with her granddaughter, age 14. She was seeking comfort and went to the local church of the missionaries.

In this culture of Nicaragua, many people are hooked on alcohol and have significant problems. In addition, many young girls 13 and 14 are married to middle-aged men. As a result, many Nicaraguans lack a moral compass for their lives. In addition, so many adults are barely functioning due to the lifestyles that they are living.

The children are often the most responsible and come to the churches.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 18000, ƒ/14, 1/100

In this photo, the family has gathered around Dominga to provide as much comfort as possible. In the last couple of weeks, Dominga asked all her seven children to come and let her talk to them. When the children came together, she told them how horrible of a life she had lived and told them, ” Don’t be like me. Turn to God and live a better life.

She had discovered her savior Jesus in her last days here on earth and wanted them to have a better life than she had. She understood that having God gave her a compass and the ability to see her choices much clearer.

It was a privilege to be there and capture what the missionaries are fulfilling in their calling to lead the people of Nicaragua to know Jesus Christ and have some guidance for living their lives here on earth.

Due to not having a relationship with God, many choose to leave their troubles through alcohol and a promiscuous lifestyle.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 800, ƒ/1.8, 1/100

Before this trip, I would have never thought that it would be the children changing Nicaragua.

Matthew 18:2-4
Jesus called a little child to stand among them. “Truly I tell you, He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.…

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 800, ƒ/1.8, 1/100

Great photos require building relationships.

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2800, ƒ/4, 1/100

We spent time in the small village of San Benito, Nicaragua, helping the students in our Storytelling workshop on how to get access to take those photos that help you show how the people in another culture live.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 1000, ƒ/1.8, 1/100

Now we did piggyback with a team that did a puppet show for the children in the village. They had already built relationships with the community. The puppet team gave us a considerable advantage because of all the good relationships that the puppet team had made; let us say while walking down the dirt streets, we were with the puppet team.

We also took photos of the meals Servants with a Heart had prepared back in Matthews, NC, with two little boys holding those meals. Again this helped us establish we are there to help them.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 110, ƒ/4, 1/100

After pulling up and walking down the street with cameras, it didn’t take long for many people to come out to see all the Gringos with cameras walking down their street.

I showed the students that I started with some small chit-chat with an interpreter, taking portraits of the people and showing them the results on the back of the screen.

I asked the lady how many people she cooks for and if she would show us her kitchen.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 7200, ƒ/4, 1/100

So to get good photos you must do it in stages. You are building a relationship. If you try and jump to the image you want right away rather than doing it in stages, you may shut down the connection. Take your time and get to know the subject.

Great people photos are about building relationships.

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/1600

Before introducing a subject using your camera to an audience, you must have introduced yourself.

Here in Managua, Nicaragua we are teaching photographers/videographers how to make your photos work. Yesterday I watched one student shooting with a Nikon 5300 and 28-300mm lens. She was zooming out, so her lens was 450mm. She was so far away from the people and often shot the sides or even the backs of people’s heads.

I pulled up the photos above and showed her what I was getting. I helped her to see the importance of being engaged with the subject.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

I also realized I needed to show her what to try and thanked her for doing the same t

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 110, ƒ/5, 1/200

I even took photos next to a pastor preaching to show the congregation and give a different perspective to help engage the audience.

I asked her to follow me and shoot the same photos. She was getting the difference very quickly.

Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/1600

Now I can tell you and even show you that there is that one subject that may get a little upset with you like here. It just shows I may have moved too quickly. As I am doing here in Nicaragua, you must smile at a subject if you don’t speak their language. If you want your audience to feel like they have been right were you are standing, you have to get close, and to do that, you have to build relationships with people.

Nikon D5 comparing ISO 800 to 66535

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 800, ƒ/11, 1/200–4 – Alienbees B1600 w/45º reflectors, PocketWizard Plus

I shot this group photo of 400 musicians, and to get the most even light, I ended up bouncing 4–Alienbees B1600 strobes with 45º reflectors bouncing off the ceiling. I also used the ExpoDisc to get a custom white balance.

Here is a pretty heavy crop of the above photo.

Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, ISO 7200, ƒ/5, 1/200

Now, this is a performance shot with available light. If you notice, the light on the orchestra at the bottom wasn’t very even, so I shot with strobes rather than using available light for the group photo.

Now to give you an idea of how good ISO 7200 looks, here is an enlargement of a similar size to the first photo.

Pretty awesome if I say so myself.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 66535, ƒ/5.6, 1/200

I was blown away by the ISO 66535 quality of the french horn player.

Nikon D5 Sports Photos @ 1:1

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 360, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

While I talked about covering the Lacrosse game, I didn’t show you the files very well. So this is a full frame from the coverage.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 360, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

The enlargement is close to a 1:1 crop of the above photograph.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 640, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Here is another photo from the game. It is also a full framed image.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 640, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Again this is a 1:1 crop as close as I could approximate.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 2000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000 [Click to see full size]
You can click on this photo and see the full-size image. Now, this is ISO 2000. 
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 2800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000 [click to see larger file]
Here is one more for you to analyze. I love now shooting at 1/4000 to help freeze the ball. 
 
Now, shooting with a camera for just a couple of weeks is still not enough for me. I have yet to shoot a video with it and can’t wait for those projects to test the 4K. Stay tuned.
 
 

PR Case Study with Musical Into the Woods

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

Great News!!

The PR effort my wife and a few other parents put into the musical Into the Woods helped to sell more tickets.

We put this poster up in front of the school, and we had a family driven by the school from Habersham County for the play. So that is almost 2 hours one way for the play.

My parents were in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and ran into people talking about the musical from just seeing the banner.

We made 8.5″ x 11″ postcards with photos on the front that businesses could display in town and the rates for buying an ad in the program on the backside.

Nikon D4, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2500, ƒ/6.3, 1/5000–HSS with Alienbees and Pocketwizard TTL system

When we shot the banner, we also did individuals we could use on social media.

We kept this in front of our students and parents all the time and then did what we could to impact the community and our social media connections worldwide.

Nikon D4, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 50, ƒ/4.5, 1/160

We did headshots of all the cast and crew, which we then put in the program and the auditorium’s lobby.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 14400, ƒ/5.6, 1/400

The production quality was going up in every way. I believe that as we brought our “A” Game, it challenged everyone to do their very best.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.3, 1/400

The reviews were great for everything. Each night the word got out that this was a great show to see. I believed if they had done it the following weekend that the word getting out would have sold even more tickets.

Our ticket sales were 123% higher than our goal. So I think the percentage jump of actual attendance over the previous year was much more than 20%.

Time to take a bow

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 4500, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

Moral of this story

Marketing works, and if it can work for this musical, it can work for your business, nonprofit, or event that you are involved in doing. Are you putting in your best effort to promote your project?

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 5000, ƒ/5.6, 1/400

Fuji X-E2 the camera system for Live Theater

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

For the last performance of Into The Woods, I shot with my Fuji X-E2. I was shooting with the electronic shutter mode, so it was utterly silent. I also learned from earlier tests that I needed to shoot below 1/100 with this stage lighting to avoid blurring the image.

The spotlight is tricky lighting, but I could tweak the image before I shot it. I was seeing the results I would be getting and in theater the lighting changes so much that this is a blessing to shoot with the mirrorless Fuji X-E2.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/4.2, 1/100

I dialed in the best white balance using the Kelvin settings. I knew from a past custom white balance that the Kelvin was around 2900º K, so I just set the camera to it.

I had confirmation because I could see the results before shooting in the viewfinder.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

Silence Your Phones & No Texting

During theater productions, texting will light up your face to everyone around you. So to avoid this problem with the camera’s LCD, I turned that off, just used the EVF, and had it set only to work when my eye was at the viewfinder.

Since I had done the latest firmware upgrade for the Fuji X-E2, I now had the electronic shutter, which allowed for to shoot in total silence.

I also put a small piece of gaffer tape over the light showing the files written on the SD card.

I wanted to not draw any attention to me shooting the performance.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

I am convinced that I can shoot this setup in any theater and also due to fully silent use this on movie sets in the future. So there is no need to use a Blimp to put your DSLR in to remain silent.

The Fuji X-E2 is my go-to camera for live theater.

Are you preserving your stories and the stories of your family?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/400

Last night I enjoyed watching my daughter playing the Witch in the musical Into the Woods at her high school.

It made me think of my high school musical Lil’ Abner thirty-four years earlier. 


Here is one of two photos I have of me from that performance. I gave my camera to a friend and asked them to take some photos. They took maybe three photos total. When shooting a film, people were careful because each time you pushed the button, it was like spending a dollar.

It is just a copy of the print from that show that I could find.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 5000, ƒ/5.6, 1/125

The main characters in the musical Into the Woods are Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and several others. Into the Woods ties all those other stories into a story of a baker and his wife. But, unfortunately, the Witch cast a spell on the couple.

It makes you think about the next generation. As I am watching this, I realize I am now watching the next generation as actors on the stage as my friends, and I did years ago. Some of my friends went on to Broadway from that cast in high school.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 7200, ƒ/4, 1/80

My daughter has our family flying in from all over the country to see her as the Witch. I hope that in thirty-four years, all these photos and videos I have been making of my daughter will help her tell her story to her children.

What I hope to do with my photos of our family is to help preserve the story of our family so that the generations to come will be able to look back and see the legacy.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-1401 2x, ISO 7200, ƒ/4, 1/400

What are you doing to help preserve your family’s story? Are you capturing some moments you can share in the future?

Today’s cameras let us capture situations that were so challenging to capture on film when I was in high school.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-1401 2x, ISO 7200, ƒ/4, 1/400

Tips

  • Take photos of live performances and events of your family
  • Share the images now through social media
  • Store images – have the pictures of at least three places. With today’s Cloud solutions, I recommend putting the photos here as one way to preserve them.
  • Create hard copies
    • Prints
    • Photo Books
  • Include Text!!!!! Take the time to write down things like who is in the picture and what is happening. Think of writing a caption as you would see in a newspaper or magazine. Could you attach it to the photo? [metadata]
  • Have a plan on how you will pass your photos to future generations for them to have and cherish.

Nikon D5 shooting Theater

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 4000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

There are specific lighting situations where the latest and most excellent camera will not make all that much difference.

Whenever the ISO is around 3200, I believe the differences are not as noticeable at first glance as when your ISO is, say at ISO 16000, for example.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 16000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

There are moments like this when the stage during the theater performance is dark, and the ISO 16000 gives me a spotless file.

If you shoot a lot of stage performances, then you know, sometimes the lighting isn’t all that great. A lighting tech forgets a lighting cue, and the light isn’t correct, but you still need a photo. Hey, the Nikon D5 will now let you get those moments.

Now, if you are shooting studio strobes like these headshots, there is minimal difference.

 
Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

The headshot here is a great film, but so was the Nikon D4 file I shot earlier.

Nikon D4, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

By the way, I shot the Nikon D5 after the actor went to the beach last week.

If you are in situations with good light, you will not necessarily see a big difference in the camera upgrade.

 
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1100, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

I shot this photo in the Flat Picture Control setting. I think the dynamic range is much better over earlier Nikon models. Shooting a dress rehearsal gave me some pretty extreme situations because I didn’t set the lighting for the witch to make her as visible to the audience as Rapunzel in the tower. So you can see that is quite a range.

Now I can say that the results using the Highlight-weighted metering mode compared to the Nikon D750 aren’t giving me the same results.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 2800, ƒ/4, 1/400

In this situation where there was a lot of black, the Nikon D5 Highlight-weighted metering mode worked great. But the exposures were way underexposed unless the frame is mainly black with a spotlight.

I think I trust the Nikon D750 Highlight-weighted metering mode more than the Nikon D5 at this moment. First, however, let me say that this is just a preliminary comment. I believe every new camera takes a little while to run through all the situations many times before I can rule out my errors using the new tool.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/400

Conclusion

Unless you need those higher ISOs, then in general, you will not benefit from the Nikon D5 say over the Nikon D4. However, as you can see for theater, you will see a noticeable difference.

If you are primarily a studio shooter, then I hadn’t seen any significant differences except when it came to a resolution. Higher resolution will let you make more oversized prints, and as we know, you can sell a giant print for a lot more money.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.3, 1/400

I included this last photo to highlight how much background can impact an image. The first night I shot the dress rehearsal, they didn’t have the woods background. I think the background made a HUGE difference and helped to visually take the level of production of the musical to a different level.

Just like in real estate LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION makes a big difference. For photography, it is often the same thing, but we say it this way: BACKGROUND, BACKGROUND, BACKGROUND.

Tested the Nikon D5 shooting event: The Citadel’s Recognition Day for the Class of 2019

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1100, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Today I was covering The Citadel’s Recognition Day for the class of 2019. I love the Nikon D5 for covering events.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 16000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

I was just blown away by the quality of higher ISOs for just simple event photography. The colors look great at ISO 16000 in this photo. And the noise is very acceptable for this type of photography.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 32000, ƒ/9, 1/100

I enjoyed shooting with ISO 32000 for people just sitting around a table.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 900, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

However, I enjoyed shooting at 1/4000 and nailing the razor-sharp photos due to eliminating the camera movement.

I was also enjoying the dynamic range of the files as well.

The files are a significant improvement over the Nikon D4. The Nikon D5 has a 20-megapixel camera, and the Nikon D4 is a 16-megapixel camera.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/800

Hopefully, these are just a taste of what the camera does. I hope to continue to understand more of its capabilities and how they can help me do things not possible before with the Nikon D4.

Why ƒ/1.4 isn’t always best or one angle the best

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 320, ƒ/4, 1/250

How often do you photograph the same subject but try and mix it up?

I find many young photographers with lenses apertures glued to the wide open to give a shallow depth of field photos.

Maybe just closing down the aperture to ƒ/14 versus ƒ/4 can give your photos a little more relevant to what is going on in the photograph.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/14, 1/250

Notice how the greater depth of field helps you know this is outside a church. Well trying to say this is a photo about Easter Sunday that needed, in my opinion, a little more depth of field.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.8, 1/140

I was photographing Tenebrae: Service of Darkness on Good Friday at my church. Now because I sat down near the front, I ended up with the microphone on the minister’s nose. Not all that flattering.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/6.4, 1/250

On Easter Sunday, I sat on the balcony and got a much better photo of the minister at the podium.

Remember to move around and find those perspectives that help keep the photo on message with little few distractions as possible.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.8, 1/250

Now no matter where you choose to shoot from and at what aperture, you still need to pay attention to the best moment.

Here I think the photo with the minister’s arms open wide is much better than the one below.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 3200, ƒ/4.4, 1/250

Seeing her hands here takes a little while, and the message isn’t as straightforward.

Tips to remember:

  • Shoot a variety of apertures–not just wide open or closed down
  • Look for different camera angles
  • Work the aperture/angle that you picked for the best moment

Fuji X-E2 4.00 Firmware Upgrade

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.7, 1/200–Electronic Shutter

As promised, I shot the same theater show as last night and my previous blog post after I updated the firmware.

Electronic Shutter

Well, one of the first things I fell in love with was the electronic shutter. So I turned the camera to this and shot a few images out my window of the backyard. Overall looked OK. Then I even turned the sound off on the shutter, and I mean, it is silent.

You can see in the top photo that the right wall should be straight. However, looking at the actor’s lips, you can see a softness that shouldn’t be there. My friend Gary Chapman warned me about this banding effect.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.6, 1/500–Electronic Shutter

Here you can see the banding effect. To compare this to one without the electronic shutter, I reset the camera quickly when I noticed this, and here is the one I shot after changing the setting.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.5, 1/300–Regular Shutter

Now I went back and read the upgrades in the PDF by Fujifilm:

High-speed electronic shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32000sec. (*) 

The FUJINON XF Lens series lineup includes a number of fast fixed focal length lenses which boast very high sharpness with the aperture wide open, producing excellent out of focus “bokeh”. However, fast apertures are difficult to use if the light is too bright, so to ensure users can create shallow depth-of-field effects, the camera is now equipped with a fully electronic shutter offering a maximum shutter speed of 1/32000sec. The mechanical shutter will not operate at all when any speed for the electronic shutter is selected, which also delivers a completely silent shooting experience; perfect for shots of sleeping children, pets, weddings, and more. In addition, it is possible to set the electronic shutter in 1/3 steps from a range of 1sec to 1/32000sec. 

Notes: Shutter Sound 

The shutter sound can be muted if desired. Use the new “SHUTTER SOUND” and “SHUTTER VOLUME” options in the setup menu to choose the type and volume of the sound made when the shutter is released. 

I believe from my tests that you can get the banding effect if you are inside and shooting at a pretty fast shutter speed. However, I think the electronic shutter is better for shooting outside in bright light where you may want to shoot at ƒ/1.2 and need the super fast shutter speeds.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.8, 1/180–Firmware 3.10

This photo is from the first night’s performance with the older firmware 3.10

 
Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.8, 1/250
The main difference in the shooting was the AF locked on faces better than before. So since the autofocus and face recognition was better, the exposures were better because once the camera recognized the face, the exposure was based on them.
 
Here are the notes about the improved AF

New AF System

(1) New AF system with Zone and Wide/Tracking modes for effortless capture of moving subjects. 

The AF System complements the fast and accurate 49-single-point autofocus system with new Zone and Wide/Tracking modes, which use 77 autofocus points across a wider area to substantially improve the camera’s ability to capture moving subjects.

(2) Improvement of AF accuracy. 

Single-point AF divides the focus area into smaller sections to more accurately determine the distance to the subject for even greater focusing accuracy. The built-in phase detection pixels have the detection range of 0.5EV, an improvement from the previous 2.5EV, delivering phase detection AF performance that enables fast focusing in low-light conditions and on low-contrast subjects.

(3) Eye Detection AF. (*) 

The firmware update provides Fujifilm’s Eye Detection AF, which automatically detects and focuses on human eyes. 

The function allows you to easily focus on the eyes even in difficult conditions, e.g. when shooting a portrait wide open to obtain a beautiful bokeh background.

My hopes of using the Electronic Shutter were dashed; the firmware upgrade significantly improved the performance of the Fuji X-E2, and I like buying a newer model camera. So thanks, Fuji!

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.6, 1/400

I had to post one photo of my daughter’s performance tonight.