Creating a "Soft Portrait" Preset in Lightroom 4
This guide outlines a step-by-step approach to creating a "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4. This preset aims to soften skin, enhance highlight details, and create a dreamy, flattering look for portraits.
Before you Start:
* Choose a Baseline Image: Select a well-exposed portrait image that you want to use as a reference. This will help you visualize the effect of your edits in real-time.
* Understand the Goal: Soft portraits aim for:
* Softened Skin: Reduced texture and blemishes.
* Enhanced Highlights: Bright, airy feel.
* Gentle Shadows: Avoid harsh contrasts.
* Warm and Pleasing Tones: Subtle color enhancements.
* Remember to Save: Regularly save your progress as you go.
Steps:
1. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Temperature: Slightly warm it up. Experiment with a value between +3 and +7. Too much will look unnatural.
* Tint: Adjust slightly towards magenta (usually between +2 and +5) to counteract any green or yellow casts in the skin.
* Exposure: Adjust according to the image's needs. A slight increase (e.g., +0.2 to +0.5) can brighten the overall look.
* Contrast: Reduce contrast significantly. Try a value between -20 and -40. This helps to soften the image.
* Highlights: Lower the highlights to recover detail and prevent clipping. A value between -20 and -40 is a good starting point.
* Shadows: Increase the shadows to brighten the darker areas and reduce contrast. Experiment with a value between +20 and +40.
* Whites: Slightly increase the whites to add a bit of brightness. A small value, like +5 to +15, is usually enough. Be careful not to clip highlights.
* Blacks: Slightly reduce the blacks to soften the image further. A value of -5 to -15 is a good starting point.
* Clarity: This is crucial for the soft look. Reduce Clarity significantly. Aim for a value between -20 and -40. This softens textures.
* Vibrance: Increase Vibrance slightly (e.g., +5 to +15) for a subtle color boost without oversaturating the image.
* Saturation: Leave saturation relatively untouched or decrease it slightly (e.g., -5 to 0) if the colors are too intense after adjusting Vibrance.
2. Tone Curve Adjustments:
* Medium Contrast: (Recommended starting point)
* Adjust the Curve:
* Highlights: Gently pull the top right point of the curve *slightly* down to further soften highlights.
* Shadows: Gently lift the bottom left point of the curve *slightly* up to soften the shadows (creating a "matte" look).
* Midtones: Add a gentle "S" curve by pulling the midtones slightly up. This adds subtle contrast and pop.
3. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Luminance:
* Orange: Increase the luminance of the orange channel (e.g., +5 to +15) to brighten skin tones.
* Yellow: Adjust Yellow luminance based on the overall warmth of the image. Often, a small increase is beneficial.
* Saturation:
* Orange: Slightly decrease the saturation of the orange channel (e.g., -5 to -10) if the skin tones are too orange.
* Hue:
* Orange: Adjust the hue of the orange channel slightly towards red or yellow, depending on the subject's skin tone, for a more pleasing result. Small adjustments are best.
4. Split Toning (Optional):
* Highlights: Add a very subtle warm color to the highlights (e.g., Hue 40-50, Saturation 5-10). This adds a subtle golden glow.
* Shadows: Add a very subtle cool color to the shadows (e.g., Hue 220-240, Saturation 5-10). This balances the warmth in the highlights.
* Balance: Adjust the Balance slider (between -100 and +100) to favor the highlight or shadow tones.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments (Important):
* Sharpening: Reduce sharpening significantly. A value of 0-20 is often appropriate.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (e.g., 0.5 - 0.8).
* Detail: Lower the Detail slider to soften the textures further. Experiment with values between 20-40.
* Masking: Use masking (hold the Alt/Option key while adjusting) to apply sharpening only to the important areas like eyes and lips.
* Noise Reduction: Increase Luminance Noise Reduction to smooth out skin tones. Start with a value of 10-20 and increase as needed. Be careful not to over-smooth the image.
6. Lens Corrections (Optional but Recommended):
* Profile Corrections: Check "Enable Profile Corrections" to automatically correct for lens distortion and vignetting. Choose your lens profile if Lightroom doesn't detect it automatically.
* Chromatic Aberration: Check "Remove Chromatic Aberration".
7. Effects (Optional):
* Vignetting: A subtle negative vignette (e.g., -10 to -20) can draw the viewer's eye to the center of the image. Adjust Amount, Midpoint, Roundness, and Feather to your liking.
8. Save Your Preset:
* In the left panel, click the "+" button next to "Presets."
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait - Light," "Soft Portrait - Dreamy").
* Choose a group to save the preset in. You can create a new group for your portrait presets.
* Crucially, carefully choose which settings to include in the preset. You don't want to include things like Exposure or White Balance, as these are specific to each image. Here's a general guideline:
* DO Include: Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Clarity, Vibrance, Tone Curve, HSL/Color, Split Toning, Detail (Sharpening, Noise Reduction), Lens Corrections (Profile Corrections, Chromatic Aberration), Effects (Vignetting).
* DON'T Include: Exposure, White Balance, Temperature, Tint, Blacks, Whites, Transform adjustments (Lens Corrections Panel).
* Click "Create."
Tips and Troubleshooting:
* Subtlety is Key: Avoid extreme adjustments. Small changes can make a big difference.
* Experiment: These settings are a starting point. Adjust them to suit your personal style and the specific characteristics of your images.
* Skin Tone Consistency: Pay close attention to skin tones and make adjustments in the HSL/Color panel to ensure they look natural and pleasing.
* Over-Smoothing: Be careful not to over-smooth the skin, which can make the subject look unnatural.
* Test on Different Images: Apply your preset to a variety of portraits to see how it performs and make adjustments as needed. You may need to create multiple variations of the preset for different lighting conditions or skin tones.
* Back Up Your Presets: Regularly back up your Lightroom presets to prevent data loss.
By following these steps, you can create a "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve a beautiful, flattering look for your portrait photography. Remember that practice and experimentation are key to mastering the art of photo editing! Good luck!