1. Understanding the "Soft Portrait" Look
Before diving into Lightroom, it's crucial to understand what defines a soft portrait. Key characteristics include:
* Reduced Clarity/Sharpness: Less harsh details, smoother skin.
* Slightly Lowered Contrast: Muted highlights and shadows for a gentler feel.
* Subtle Color Grading: Often warmer tones or desaturated colors.
* Gentle Light: Avoiding harsh highlights and blown-out areas.
* Smooth Skin: Reduced texture, often achieved through luminance smoothing.
2. Lightroom Develop Module Settings
Here's a step-by-step guide to the settings you'll adjust. Remember to experiment and fine-tune based on your specific image. The starting point is always a well-exposed image.
* Basic Panel:
* Temperature: Slightly warmer (e.g., +5 to +15). Adds a touch of warmth to the skin.
* Tint: Adjust as needed. Usually kept close to neutral.
* Exposure: Adjust to achieve proper brightness. Don't overexpose the highlights.
* Contrast: Lower the contrast (-10 to -25). This flattens the tonal range and creates a softer look.
* Highlights: Reduce slightly (-5 to -15) to recover detail in bright areas and further soften the image.
* Shadows: Increase slightly (+5 to +15) to open up the dark areas and reduce contrast.
* Whites: Adjust based on the image. Slightly decreasing can help avoid blown-out highlights.
* Blacks: Adjust based on the image. Slightly increasing can create a more matte feel.
* Clarity: This is KEY. Reduce significantly (-20 to -40, or even more). This softens skin and reduces texture. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can make the image look muddy.
* Vibrance: Increase slightly (+5 to +15) to boost the saturation of the less saturated colors. This is often preferable to saturation, which can make skin tones look unnatural.
* Saturation: Adjust as needed. Avoid oversaturation.
* Tone Curve Panel:
* Consider a subtle "S" curve to add a tiny bit of contrast back. A very gentle curve is key – we don't want to undo the contrast reduction from the Basic panel.
* You can also use the Channel Mixer section of the tone curve to subtly shift colours. Be cautious, this takes practice.
* HSL/Color Panel:
* Luminance: Increase the luminance of orange and yellow (+5 to +15 each). This brightens skin tones.
* Saturation: Slightly desaturate the orange and red channels (-5 to -10 each) if skin tones look too vibrant.
* Hue: Minor adjustments can be made to the hue of reds, oranges, and yellows to fine-tune skin tone.
* Detail Panel:
* Sharpening: Reduce the sharpening amount. This is important for softening the image.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (around 0.8).
* Detail: Reduce the detail setting.
* Masking: Increase the masking slider (e.g., 60-80) to prevent sharpening from affecting areas with little detail (like the sky).
* Noise Reduction (Luminance): Increase slightly (e.g., 10-30). This smooths out skin texture and reduces noise, especially important at higher ISOs. Don't overdo it, as it can make the image look plastic. Pay attention to retaining detail around the eyes and hair.
* Color Noise Reduction: Usually a small amount of colour noise reduction is needed too (e.g. 10-15)
* Effects Panel:
* Post Crop Vignetting: A subtle vignette (Amount: -10 to -20) can draw attention to the subject. Use the "Highlight Priority" style for a smoother, more natural vignette.
* Camera Calibration: (Advanced)
* Adjust the camera profile if desired, but this is generally not necessary for a soft portrait look. Experiment with profiles like "Camera Portrait" or "Camera Standard" to see if you prefer them. These are camera-specific.
3. Saving the Preset
1. Click the "+" button in the Presets panel (left-hand side of the Develop module).
2. Choose "Create Preset..."
3. Name the preset: "Soft Portrait," "Dreamy Portrait," or something similar.
4. Choose a group: Create a new group, such as "My Portrait Presets," or select an existing group.
5. Crucially, CHECK the boxes next to the settings you want to include in the preset. Generally, you'll want to include:
* Basic Tone
* Tone Curve
* HSL / Color
* Detail
* Effects
* Camera Calibration (if you adjusted it)
6. Uncheck anything you want to *exclude*. For example:
* Transform: Almost always exclude this, as it's specific to the image's perspective and crop.
* Spot Removal: Definitely exclude.
* Red Eye Correction: Definitely exclude.
* Graduated Filter/Adjustment Brush/Radial Filter: Definitely exclude.
* Process Version: You can choose to include this or not. Lightroom versions can change how images are processed.
7. Click "Create."
4. Tips and Considerations
* Start with a Good Image: The better the original image (exposure, composition, and focus), the better the results will be.
* Experiment! These settings are a starting point. Adjust them based on the specific image and your personal preferences.
* Skin Tones: Pay close attention to skin tones. Avoid making them look orange, muddy, or overly smooth.
* Details: While you're softening the image, don't completely eliminate detail. Keep some sharpness around the eyes and hair to maintain a sense of realism.
* Different Images, Different Presets: You'll likely need to tweak the preset for different images. Save variations (e.g., "Soft Portrait - Warm," "Soft Portrait - Cool") for different lighting conditions.
* Batch Processing: After applying the preset, you can use the "Sync" button to apply the same settings to multiple images. However, always review and adjust each image individually for the best results.
* Local Adjustments: Use the Adjustment Brush or Graduated Filter to further refine the effect. You might want to selectively soften the skin or dodge/burn certain areas.
* Process Version: Lightroom's processing engine has evolved over time. Older versions have different algorithms. Keeping the process version current will ensure you are using the most up-to-date algorithms for best results.
By following these steps and experimenting, you can create a beautiful "soft portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will enhance your portrait photography. Remember to practice and refine your preset over time to get the best results!