Understanding the Goal
The key to a soft portrait look is to:
* Reduce Harshness: Diminish strong contrasts and highlights.
* Soften Skin: Reduce the appearance of blemishes and wrinkles.
* Create a Gentle Glow: Add a subtle, diffused light effect.
* Preserve Detail: Avoid making the image overly blurry or flat.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Preset
1. Open an Example Portrait: Load a portrait photo into Lightroom's Develop module. Choose an image that represents the style of portraits you typically shoot. This will allow you to see the effect of your adjustments in real time.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust the exposure to achieve a proper overall brightness. Aim for a slightly brighter exposure than you might normally choose, as this will contribute to the softness. Be careful not to blow out highlights.
* Contrast: Reduce the contrast significantly. Start with a negative value (e.g., -15 to -30). This will flatten the tonal range and reduce harsh shadows.
* Highlights: Lower the highlights (e.g., -30 to -60) to recover detail in bright areas, such as the forehead and cheeks. This is crucial for softening skin.
* Shadows: Raise the shadows (e.g., +15 to +40) to brighten dark areas and reveal more detail. This also helps reduce contrast.
* Whites: Slightly increase the whites (e.g., +5 to +15) to add a subtle pop.
* Blacks: Adjust the blacks as needed, but generally avoid pushing them too far negative, as this can increase contrast. A slight reduction (e.g., -5 to -10) might be helpful.
* Clarity: *This is critical.* Reduce the Clarity slider (e.g., -15 to -30). Clarity adds mid-tone contrast, so reducing it softens the image and skin texture.
* Vibrance: Increase Vibrance (e.g., +10 to +20) to boost the saturation of less saturated colors, making the skin tones look healthier.
* Saturation: Use this sparingly. A very slight increase (e.g., +5 to +10) might be helpful, but be careful not to over-saturate.
3. Tone Curve Adjustments:
* Click the "Point Curve" icon.
* Create a gentle S-curve, but a *very* subtle one.
* Raise the Shadows: Gently lift the bottom point of the curve slightly to brighten the shadows further.
* Lower the Highlights: Gently lower the top point of the curve slightly to reduce the highlights.
* The goal is to further flatten the contrast without making the image look flat. Think *minimal* adjustment.
4. HSL/Color Adjustments:
* Luminance: Adjust the luminance of specific colors to fine-tune skin tones.
* Orange: Slightly increase the orange luminance (e.g., +5 to +15) to brighten skin tones.
* Red: You might also slightly increase the red luminance if the subject has reddish undertones.
* Saturation: Adjust the saturation of specific colors as needed.
* Orange: Slightly reduce the orange saturation (e.g., -5 to -10) if the skin tones are too orange.
* Red: Adjust the red saturation as needed.
* Hue: Make subtle adjustments to the hue of specific colors if necessary to correct any color casts. Focus primarily on orange and red hues.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening: Reduce the Sharpening Amount. Lowering this will soften the image and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Start with a low value, around 30-40.
* Radius: Adjust the sharpening radius depending on the resolution of your image. Usually, a value of 1.0 is a good starting point.
* Detail: Reduce the Detail slider slightly to soften the overall detail. (e.g., 10-20).
* Masking: Increase the Masking slider significantly (e.g., 60-80). This prevents the sharpening effect from being applied to smooth areas like skin, focusing it more on edges and details that you want to retain.
* Noise Reduction: Increase the Luminance Noise Reduction slider (e.g., 10-20) to smooth out any digital noise in the image, especially in shadows. Adjust the Color Noise Reduction if needed as well.
6. Effects Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Grain: Adding a very subtle amount of grain can enhance the film-like quality of the soft portrait look. If you add grain, keep the Amount very low (e.g., 5-10) and adjust the Size and Roughness to taste. *This is a matter of personal preference.*
* Vignetting: Consider adding a slight, subtle vignette to draw the viewer's eye to the subject. Use a negative amount (e.g., -5 to -10) and adjust the Midpoint and Roundness to achieve a pleasing effect. *Also personal preference.*
7. Calibration (Optional):
* Experiment with the Camera Calibration settings. This is a more advanced step, but you can slightly shift the Red, Green, and Blue primary hues to fine-tune the overall color look. Subtle changes here can make a difference, but be careful not to overdo it.
8. Evaluate and Refine:
* Zoom in to 100% and examine the skin closely. Adjust the clarity, sharpening, and noise reduction to achieve the desired smoothness without sacrificing too much detail.
* Compare the "before" and "after" views to see the overall effect of the preset.
* Remember that every image is different, so you'll likely need to tweak the settings slightly for each portrait.
9. Save the Preset:
* In the left panel, click the "+" icon next to "Presets."
* Name your preset (e.g., "Soft Portrait v1").
* Choose the settings you want to include in the preset. *Make sure all the settings you adjusted are checked.* A good practice is to uncheck "White Balance" and "Transform" as these are typically specific to individual photos. You probably want to include "Process Version" as this ensures that all the settings are correctly applied.
* Click "Create."
Important Considerations:
* Start Subtly: It's easier to add more effect than to take away too much. Start with small adjustments and gradually increase them until you achieve the desired look.
* Don't Overdo It: Avoid making the image overly blurry or artificial-looking. The goal is to enhance the portrait, not completely transform it.
* Skin Tone Accuracy: Pay close attention to skin tones. Make sure they look natural and healthy. Use the HSL/Color panel to fine-tune them as needed.
* Image-Specific Adjustments: Remember that presets are just starting points. You'll likely need to make further adjustments to each individual portrait to achieve the best results. Factors like lighting conditions, skin tones, and image content will influence the optimal settings.
* Experiment: Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings and find what works best for your style.
* Save Variations: Consider creating multiple "Soft Portrait" presets with slightly different settings, such as one for lighter skin tones, one for darker skin tones, and one for outdoor portraits.
Troubleshooting:
* Image Looks Too Blurry: Reduce the amount of Clarity reduction, Sharpening reduction, and Noise Reduction.
* Skin Tones Look Unnatural: Adjust the HSL/Color panel, focusing on the Orange and Red channels.
* Image Lacks Contrast: Increase the Contrast slider slightly, or adjust the Tone Curve.
* Image Looks Too Flat: Increase the Clarity slightly and make sure the Blacks slider is not too high.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create a custom "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve beautiful and flattering results. Remember to practice and refine your preset over time to suit your specific style and needs. Good luck!