For years, portrait photographers adhered to a simple three-color rule. This was in an effort to their images simple and the heroes of their images as the most important part. It prevented distractions, for sure. For example, someone might be framed in green field while they’re wearing a blue outfit. And depending on the tonality of the image, the colors might not even be an important part — especially if the blue mixes into the sky. Colors can indeed be an incredibly important part of the photograph. Luckily for us, LUMIX cameras have a command over colors in full-frame cameras that we just simply haven’t seen before.
This article is presented in partnership with LUMIX.
In the lead image of this article, the color red is very prominent and helps to provide some separation in the scene. It frames our subjects’ faces and therefore brings our attention there. Of course, it’s working with the light to do so. But if this were a black and white photo, the color red would be rendered useless partially because the other colors just aren’t all that important.
Part of what makes the colors so important in that image and the two above are the use of the Real Time LUT feature. In those images, we were able to use a low ISO and a LUT that looks like classic film from the early 2000s. It made the colors all that much more vivid.
LUMIX cameras have a control over this that several other full-frame camera options simply don’t have. Much of this can be done the the L Classic and L Monochrome options in the camera. Where the trees in a scene might look vibrant and healthy using one color mode, they’ll look totally different using another. This is an important part of story-telling that helps photographers be far more intentional when making images. It means that you then frame differently, light accordingly, etc. Most importantly, it means that you’re creating more in-camera than in post-production.
And if you were to reach for any full-frame camera to do that, the offerings from LUMIX are some of the best in the form of the S5II and S5IIx.