Leica Portraits edited with Lightroom Presets developed for Lumix G cameras
Yes you read that correctly! After developing Lightroom presets for my Panasonic Lumix GX80/85 and GX880 cameras I found they work great with my Leica RAW files too!
Leica blog.. why are we talking about Lumix?
If you’ve followed this blog since my early days it started out as anything and everything Leica. Once I discovered the wonderful world of film photography I added film camera reviews and film stock reviews.
Roll forward to 2021 and I bought a Lumix S5 as a cheap Leica SL alternative. It takes similar photos to my Leica SL camera but is less fun to use. In 2022 I then got into Lumix G cameras for a smaller setup for blogging, vlogging and the occasional photo.
Lightroom Presets for Panasonic Lumix G cameras
Once I had bought the Lumix GX80/85 and Lumix GX880 I needed to develop LR presets to edit my camera RAW files. For each digital cameras I develop a Lightroom preset pack that can edit 95% of the photos in a few clicks.
My process is to make a series of colour and black and white profiles and then see which I use the most. The top 4 get exported and I make those available for you to download here.
MrLeica Lumix G Preset Pack
My Panasonic Lumix G preset pack consists of 4 presets
- MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1
- MrLeica-LumixG-B&W2
- MrLeica-LumixG-Col1
- MrLeica-LumixG-Col2
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Lumix G PresetsProduct on sale£17.99
A story of 2 parts
Depending on your interest I have split this article into 2 parts
- Section 1: Leica SL photos + Lumix G presets applied
- Section 2: Lumix GX80/880 photos + Lumix G presets applied
For each section I will include unedited RAW files, RAW + preset (with slider display for comparison) + final Photoshop edits from some of those files. Let’s jump straight in
1. Leica SL Example Photos + Lumix G Presets
As listed above there are 4 presets in total, 2 black and white, 2 colour. I list examples with each below.
MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1 Examples
B&W1 gives a low contrast, perhaps less modern, more filmic look. It worked well with all models and all skin tones.
All the Leica photos were shot during a 3 day weekend in London when I hosted a workshop for a photographer who flew in from Mexico. I was able to paste the preset across all 3,500+ images and they were ready to export. (*I correct exposure if needed).
*(I later flipped a few to colour with another preset, see further down).
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
Final edits (MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1 + Photoshop)
This preset worked so well with my Leica SL files, this is why I decided to make this post! Here are a few final edits. (Almost all images from this weekend were edited with this one preset!)
Secret Bonus Preset! (B&W1 in Colour)
OK so this was a happy accident! If you’ve used Adobe Lightroom before you’ll know that there is a section called “Treatment” (either B&W or colour). I applied my MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1 preset but wondered how the colours looked. Rather than apply my colour preset I changes the treatment from B&W to colour. Hiding underneath were these beautiful colours! So this image is RAW + MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1 (treatment set to colour) and then finished in Photoshop.
MrLeica-LumixG-B&W2 Examples
This is a higher contrast B&W preset so although it wasn’t the look I wanted with the models it worked well for this random station shot I took at Barbican.
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
MrLeica-LumixG-Col1 Preset
This lower saturation colour preset wasn’t the look I was going for so I didn’t use it for any images from London when using the Leica SL. See it used with the Lumix G cameras in section 2.
MrLeica-LumixG-Col2 Examples
I was able to use the Col2 preset for a few models shots but for others it wasn’t quite right. I ended up making my own additional special MrLeica-LumixG-Col3 Preset to get the look I wanted. See next.
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
MrLeica-LumixG-Col3 Examples (New)
I modified my MrLeica-LumixG–Col2 preset to make Col3. This gives more shadow detail and boosts saturation.
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
This new Col3 preset formed the base for the following edits.
2. Lumix G Example Photos + Lumix G Presets
What about Lumix photos with Lumix G presets?
If you’re reading this article there is a chance you use a Lumix G camera. I used to use the Lumix G1 in the old days, then a Lumix GH5 years later and currently the GX80/85 and GX880. I love them both!
Bonus tip!
If you want more fun with a Lumix G camera consider adapting vintage lenses to them as seen here!
In reverse order to above, let’s look at colour presets first.
MrLeica-LumixG-Col1 Preset
As in section 1, the Col1 preset gives lower contrast, lower saturation.
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
These Photoshop edits were based on the RAW + Col1 preset files.
MrLeica-LumixG-Col2 Preset
My Col2 preset gives more saturation and more pop. For Lumix G files I found I used it more for non-portraits.
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
These Photoshop edits were based on RAW + Col2 preset.
MrLeica-LumixG-B&W1 Examples
Now onto black and white photos. As I found with the Leica files I used the B&W1 preset the most for portraits. (But not limited too).
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
Photoshop edits based on RAW + B&W1 preset. As you can see I use it for both models and weddings.
MrLeica-LumixG-B&W2 Examples
If you prefer a high contrast B&W look you will prefer my B&W2 preset
(Left) RAW file, (Right) RAW + Preset
Again here are some Photoshop edits based on RAW + B&W2 preset.
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Lumix G PresetsProduct on sale£17.99
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See more photos with these Lumix G presets
Photos included in the following YouTube videos were shot with the Leica SL (RAW + Lumix G preset). You might recognise the cover images!
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Great post Matt.
I too have found that they work brilliantly with the Lumix files but also on the Fuji files too. I have found generally that having a selection of presets work’s best for what the subject in my image was and just as importantly, how it was lit.
Thanks again and best wishes
Kev
Thanks Kev! Thanks for the feedback on these, I remember you saying you were enjoying them. Agreed, I enjoy having multi presets to select from as not every preset suits every photo (depending on subject, lighting, lens etc). Matt
will these work with Lightroom mobile as well?
Hello, if you search on Google you can find simple steps to convert standard desktop LR presets (like these) to use on your mobile. Matt