Creating a "Soft Portrait" Preset in Lightroom 4
This guide will walk you through the process of creating a soft portrait preset in Lightroom 4. This preset aims to soften skin, enhance highlights, and create a gentle, dreamy feel. Remember that this is a starting point, and you may need to adjust it further depending on the specific image.
Here's a breakdown of the steps and settings you'll use:
1. Import and Select Your Image:
* Import a portrait image into Lightroom 4. It's best to choose an image with decent lighting and overall good quality.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* White Balance: Adjust to taste. Slightly warmer tones (e.g., move the temperature slider a bit towards the yellow) can often be flattering. Don't overdo it, though.
* Exposure: Adjust for proper overall brightness. Aim for the highlights to be bright but not clipped. You might need to lower the exposure slightly to protect highlights.
* Recovery: Slightly increase this to bring back detail in overexposed areas (highlights). Start with +10 and adjust as needed.
* Fill Light: Slightly increase this to lift shadows and even out the overall lighting. Start with +10 and adjust.
* Blacks: Adjust this to refine the contrast in the shadows. Slightly pulling the Blacks slider to the right (making them lighter) can help soften the image. Start with +5 and adjust to taste.
* Brightness: This is your primary control for overall image brightness. Adjust after other settings. Often, you'll need to increase it a bit.
3. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments:
* Point Curve: This is crucial for achieving the soft look. We'll create a slight "S-curve" but in a more subtle, softened way.
* Click on the point curve icon (the little box with a diagonal line).
* Click on the curve to create three points:
* One point in the shadows (lower-left area of the curve)
* One point in the midtones (center of the curve)
* One point in the highlights (upper-right area of the curve)
* Slightly lift the shadow point up and to the left. This lifts the shadows and reduces contrast. A small adjustment is key here - avoid a flat, washed-out look.
* Slightly pull the highlight point down and to the right. This compresses the highlights and adds a subtle highlight roll-off.
* The midtone point should stay relatively in place but you can slightly adjust it depending on how the curve affects your image.
* Key: Avoid extreme adjustments. The curve should be gentle and subtle. A harsh S-curve will increase contrast, which is the opposite of what we want.
4. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Luminance:
* Orange: Increase to brighten skin tones. Start with +10 and adjust.
* Yellow: Increase slightly if the image has a lot of yellow tones that you want to brighten.
* Red: Increase subtly if the subject has red tones in their face.
* Saturation:
* Orange: Slightly reduce to soften skin tones. Start with -5 and adjust. Overdoing this can make the skin look unnatural.
* Red: Reduce if the red tones are too overpowering.
* Hue: Generally, avoid making significant Hue adjustments. Small changes can sometimes subtly improve skin tones, but proceed with caution.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening:
* Amount: Reduce to soften the image. Start around 20-30. Lower values will create a softer effect.
* Radius: Keep this low (around 0.8 - 1.0).
* Detail: Keep this low (around 20-30).
* Masking: Increase this to protect the background from excessive softening. Start around 60-70. Hold the Alt/Option key while adjusting this to see a black and white mask; the white areas are where sharpening is applied.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Increase slightly to reduce noise and further smooth skin. Start around 10-20. Be careful not to over-smooth, as this can make the image look plastic.
* Color: Increase slightly to reduce color noise. Start around 10.
6. Effects Panel Adjustments:
* Post-Crop Vignetting: Consider adding a subtle vignette to draw attention to the subject.
* Amount: Experiment with a subtle negative value (e.g., -5 to -15).
* Midpoint: Adjust to control the size of the vignette.
7. Calibration Panel:
* This is an advanced panel, but subtle adjustments here can sometimes improve skin tones. It's best to leave this alone if you're new to Lightroom.
8. Save the Preset:
* Once you are satisfied with your adjustments, click on the "Presets" panel on the left side of Lightroom.
* Click the "+" button in the Presets panel.
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait V1").
* Crucially: Check the boxes for all the settings you adjusted:
* "White Balance"
* "Exposure"
* "Tone" (which includes Tone Curve, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Brightness, Contrast)
* "HSL/Color"
* "Detail" (Sharpening & Noise Reduction)
* "Effects" (Post-Crop Vignetting)
* ... and any other panels you adjusted.
* Click "Create".
Important Considerations and Tips:
* Image-Specific Adjustments: Every image is different. This preset is a starting point. You'll likely need to tweak the settings slightly for each individual photo. Pay particular attention to exposure, white balance, and skin tones.
* Skin Tones: Monitor skin tones carefully. Look for unnatural orange or yellow casts. Use the HSL/Color panel to correct these if necessary.
* Subtlety is Key: The goal is a soft, natural look, not an over-processed one.
* Experiment! Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings. Lightroom is non-destructive, so you can always revert to the original.
* Before/After Comparison: Use the "\" key to toggle between the original and edited versions to see the impact of your preset.
* Practice: The more you practice, the better you'll become at creating presets that suit your style and the types of images you typically edit.
By following these steps and understanding the rationale behind each adjustment, you can create a "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve a beautiful, dreamy look for your portrait photography. Remember to adapt it to each individual image for the best results. Good luck!