Beginner Help with Panasonic LUMIX TZ-90 and Portrait photos (new user)

[CharmanderB]

Hello,
I am extremely new to photography so I am looking for some help and advice please.

I recently purchased a Panasonic Lumix TZ-90 (also known as ZS-70) in order to take portrait photos and Time-lapse videos of myself doing bodypainting.

Since purchasing this camera I am coming to realise that I did not do enough research and it may not be fully suited to my needs. Unfortunately I am not able to return the camera so I am hoping to make the best of what I have.

I am a bodypainter, I paint my face/upper chest and I want to time-lapse record the process and take photos/videos at the end but I am having some difficulties.
I understand that a time-lapse video is not the best option for fast moving objects (myself) but i'm afraid I don't have the storage space at the moment to take full videos of a process that can take up to 6 hours.

My main issue is taking photos/videos at the end of the process. When taking photos 1/3 will be out of focus even if I stay still, have the same lighting, distance from camera. It seems to focus on one area of my person and the rest is then out of focus. The videos also seem to be in a lower quality setting and I am not sure which settings I should use.

At the moment I mainly use Aperture mode with f5.0, SS 1" and ISO limited to under 400. I mainly use manual focus.

I guess I am just asking for the best settings to use for portrait photos, shot inside, on a tripod, with normal room lighting and a neweer ring light, distance of around 2/3 feet from camera but I can move if necessary.
Also, any tips on creating time-lapse videos of this process taken with the same conditions as above.

I apologise that I may be doing everything incorrectly, this is completely new to me.

Hopefully the below shows that parts of the photos, especially around the eyes etc, is out of focus:

Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can get the best out of my camera!

Thank you so much

Charr!

 

[Turbo-G]

Hi Charr,
Welcome to the forum!

I''m not familiar with the specific camera - however all cameras fortunately speak the same language (shutter speed, aperture, ISO)...

By Aperture mode, I assume this is an apperture priority mode equivelent, e.g. you have manually selected f5.0, and the camera has done the rest?

The main issue here is your shutter speed - 1 second (1") for a living subject (you!) is not ideal, as you will likely get some motion blur, even if standing still. The camera has potentially selected this shutter speed, if you have limited your ISO sensitivity to 400 (which is still quite low). You could probably afford to increase your ISO, and therefore allow a faster shutter speed (e.g. 1/160 min).

However, using manual focus may also be an issue, as unless you have pre-focussed on "something" before you step in, its likely you're missing focus slightly (and hence the softness in the eyes). Have you tried your autofocus settings instead, to compare results?

Its hard to give you the best exposure settings, as there are many variables (including the camera itself), but I would say anything north of f3.2 (aperture) and 1/160 (shutter) should give you an acceptably sharp portrait. I would then just use auto ISO to get the "correct" exposure too.... (you can then use exposure compensation to lighten or darken the image accordingly).

Hope this helps. and if any of the above doesn't make sense or you have further questions please shout!

Grant

 

[weybourne]

A 1 second shutter speed would introduce blur if there is any discernible movement within that 1 second. Another issue could be depth of field - the wider the aperture (lower the "f" number), then the shallower the depth of field. I would think that f5 would give a deep enough focus. At f5 and ISO400, a 1 second shutter speed does seem long. In a domestic room with good artificial light, I would expect a shutter speed more in the region of 1/4 or 1/8 (which would still be on the slow side for eliminating motion blur). The shot doesn't look badly exposed. I'm not familiar with the camera but I understand it has a 1/2.3 sensor which should give reasonable image quality. The lens is an unknown quantity to me but I would expect it to be reasonable too - others probably have a better idea than me as to the strengths/weaknesses of the camera.

I'm finding it hard to tell but your photo does seem more blurred around the eyes/face than the chest (and the difference in distance of either from the lens is not great) so I suspect the reason is motion blur due to the long exposure time. A shorter exposure time can be achieved by a wider aperture (which would introduce a shallower depth of field), a more sensitive ISO (which could degrade image quality/increase "grain" or by providing more light.

 

[woof woof]

It's a tiny sensor compact so I'd use it with the lens wide open if possible as the depth of field will probably still be adequate. What that will mean for shutter speed and ISO I don't know but if the shutter speed is still too low more light is needed. Only the OP know the lighting conditions and if shooting with a wide open aperture will be enough... Maybe she'll let us know, if she returns.