lx3 : portrait shots

I've ordered the lx3.

Looking forward to see its ability to shoot portraits since I shoot portraits most of the time (90%)

Hope that u can post ur pics (both outdoor and indoor portraits) with the settings used since I'm looking for a perfect settings for portraits also.

Thanks

Some LX3 portraits (EXIF information under each image):

http://www.pbase.com/nc_bill/image/107683702

http://www.pbase.com/nc_bill/image/105903778

http://www.pbase.com/nc_bill/image/105430016

For best portrait results, keep your focal length set at the maximum 60mm.

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Bill McClung (a.k.a. 'NC BILL')
Image galleries at http://www.pbase.com/nc_bill

'Every other artist begins with a blank canvas, a piece of paper.....the photographer begins with the finished product.' --- Edward Steichen

I have a new LX3 and am pleased with the few portraits I've taken so far.



A few more are posted here along with the Exif data: http://www.pbase.com/jpmccormac/lx3

All were post processed somewhat - cropped, Gaussian blur added to backgrounds, levels adjusted, etc.

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'You either get it or you don't.' - Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Pentax dSLR (K20D/*istDL) + Panasonic P&S (LX3)

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Pentax dSLR (K20D/*istDL) + Panasonic P&S (LX3)

IMHO the LX3 is not very good at 'classical' portraits, its just too short in focal length to achieve a nice blur in the background under non studio conditions.
Bird portrait @60mm, f2.8



--
Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
http://razorsharp.smugmug.com

Thks all for ur info.

It seems that it's hard for LX3 to make the shallow depth of field effect except the bird.

@ Kevin: that's done in post process? can u tell me the hint how to achieve it

Thanks

The blur was achieved by the physical separation of the subject and the background, - the further the background is away the better the blur. In the real world people tend to take snapshots with a lot of nearby clutter especially when taken indoors.

Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
http://razorsharp.smugmug.com

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/oscar_luis/3194477851/sizes/o/

Cheers
Akebono

What if one was to use Macro mode. By this I mean Macro on the LX3 (I may be wrong here) goes from 1cm to infinity (it does take longer to focus at infinity though). I have found with other camera's this allow for a shallow DOF.

niemrieng said:

Thks all for ur info.

It seems that it's hard for LX3 to make the shallow depth of field
effect except the bird.

@ Kevin: that's done in post process? can u tell me the hint how to
achieve it

Thanks
--

Click to expand...

"Macro mode" has nothing to do with DOF. The only things that affect DOF on the LX3 (or any camera) are the lens aperture, focal length (zoom setting) and the relative distances between the camera, the subject, and the background.

It's true that you see nice blurry backgrounds with Macro shots, but that's due to the relative distance factor. When your subject is only an inch or so away from the camera, the background seems miles away, and optically speaking, it is.

But if you're using the camera for portraits, you are going to be at least a couple of feet from the subject (more likely three or four feet), in which case the relative distance of the background isn't so great. With those distances, there will be absolutely no difference if you use Macro mode or not.

e
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http://www.blork.org/blorkblog/ (blog)
http://www.blork.org/mondaymorning/ (photo blog)
http://mydp1.wordpress.com (blog about Sigma DP1)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blork/ (me on Flickr)

Hope this works. My first ever links.

On the pinnacle in Crowders Mountain State Park, NC.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H3vitqVEoc1zcbvOrxMcMw?authkey=K4G0HNkyMKk&feat=directlink

This next one was done all in the camera...nothing fancy with Post Processing.

Last Friday night, just experimenting with something I saw in a photography book.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UrANxx3KlE7VRI-oUf3_IQ?authkey=K4G0HNkyMKk&feat=directlink