Understanding the Goal:
The key to a soft portrait preset is to:
* Soften skin: Minimize blemishes and fine lines without making the subject look plastic.
* Enhance light and shadow: Create a gentle, flattering light.
* Maintain sharpness in the eyes: Keep the subject's eyes sharp to draw the viewer's attention.
* Control color: Shift colors towards warmer, more flattering tones.
* Reduce contrast: Lowering contrast will further reduce the harshness of lines.
Steps to Create Your Soft Portrait Preset in Lightroom 4:
1. Import and Select an Image:
* Import a portrait photo into Lightroom 4.
* Choose a photo with decent lighting and skin tones that you want to enhance.
2. Basic Adjustments (Develop Module):
* Exposure: Adjust slightly to achieve a good overall brightness. A slight overexposure (around +0.10 to +0.30) can often help with the soft look.
* Contrast: Lower the contrast significantly. Start with -20 and adjust further depending on the image. This will help soften the overall look.
* Highlights: Decrease the highlights (e.g., -40 to -60). This will bring back detail in brighter areas and prevent blowing out the highlights.
* Shadows: Increase the shadows (e.g., +20 to +40). This will open up the darker areas and reduce harsh shadows.
* Whites: Adjust slightly. A small decrease (e.g., -5 to -10) can help prevent clipping.
* Blacks: Adjust slightly. A slight increase (e.g. +5 to +10) can lift the blacks and contribute to the overall soft look.
3. Tone Curve:
* Point Curve: A subtle S-curve can add a gentle boost in contrast without being harsh.
* Click on the Point Curve (the small curve icon).
* Create two points on the curve: one in the lower-left quadrant and pull it slightly upwards, and another in the upper-right quadrant and pull it slightly downwards. *Be subtle here.*
* Channel Curve: You can also experiment with slightly adjusting the individual color channels (Red, Green, Blue) for subtle color toning. For example, a tiny bump in the Red channel in the shadows can add warmth.
4. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance):
* Luminance: This is where you can really soften the skin:
* Orange: Increase the luminance of the orange tones (e.g., +10 to +20). This will brighten skin tones, making them appear smoother.
* Red: Increase the luminance of the red tones slightly (e.g., +5 to +10). This can add a healthy glow.
* Yellow: Adjust this carefully. A slight increase can brighten, but too much can look unnatural.
* Saturation:
* Orange: Decrease the saturation of the orange tones slightly (e.g., -5 to -10). This can help reduce any overly orange skin tones.
* Yellow: Decrease saturation slightly to prevent yellowness in skin.
* Hue:
* Make minor adjustments to shift the hues of Orange, Red, or Yellow slightly if needed to perfect the skin tone. Be careful not to overdo it.
5. Split Toning:
* Highlights: Add a very subtle warm tone to the highlights (e.g., Hue 40, Saturation 5).
* Shadows: Add a very subtle cool tone to the shadows (e.g., Hue 220, Saturation 5). This creates a subtle, pleasant contrast. Adjust these values to your liking, keeping the saturation very low.
6. Detail (Sharpening & Noise Reduction):
* Sharpening:
* Amount: Lower the sharpening amount to around 20-30. This reduces the overall sharpness of the image.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (around 0.5 to 0.7).
* Detail: Lower the detail slider (around 10-20) to further reduce harsh edges.
* Masking: Increase the masking slider (around 60-80). This protects smooth areas (like skin) from sharpening, focusing the sharpening on edges and details like the eyes.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Increase the luminance noise reduction slightly (e.g., 10 to 20). This will smooth out the skin further, but be careful not to overdo it, as it can make the image look artificial.
* Color: Increase the color noise reduction to around 20-30 to reduce color blotches.
7. Lens Corrections:
* Enable Profile Corrections: Check the "Enable Profile Corrections" box. This will automatically correct for lens distortions.
* Remove Chromatic Aberration: Check the "Remove Chromatic Aberration" box.
8. Effects (Optional):
* Grain: You can add a very small amount of grain (e.g., 5-10) for a film-like look, but this is optional.
* Vignette: A subtle vignette (either positive or negative) can draw the eye to the subject. Experiment with a slight negative vignette (e.g., Amount -5 to -10) or a very slight positive one (+5 to +10).
9. Create the Preset:
* In the "Presets" panel on the left side of the Develop module, click the "+" button.
* Name your preset something descriptive like "Soft Portrait - [Your Name]" or "Soft Portrait - Version 1".
* In the "Check" section, ensure all the settings you adjusted are selected. *It's best practice to select only the settings you changed to prevent unintended consequences on other photos.* This usually means unchecking things like Exposure, White Balance, and Transform. Instead, check things like Tone, Presence, Detail, Color and Effects.
* Click "Create".
Tips and Considerations:
* Subtlety is Key: The best soft portrait presets are subtle. Don't overdo the adjustments.
* Adapt to Each Image: Every image is different. Your preset will be a starting point, and you'll likely need to tweak the settings for individual photos.
* Focus on the Eyes: Ensure the eyes remain sharp and clear. You can use the Adjustment Brush to selectively sharpen the eyes after applying the preset.
* Experiment: Play around with the settings and see what works best for your style and the types of portraits you shoot.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Adjust the HSL sliders to achieve natural and flattering skin tones.
* Avoid Over-Smoothing: Be careful not to over-smooth the skin, as this can result in a plastic or unnatural appearance.
Example Settings (These are just starting points; adjust based on your image):
* Exposure: +0.20
* Contrast: -30
* Highlights: -50
* Shadows: +30
* Whites: -5
* Blacks: +5
* Orange Luminance: +15
* Orange Saturation: -5
* Luminance Noise Reduction: 15
* Sharpening Amount: 25
* Sharpening Masking: 70
By following these steps and experimenting, you can create a beautiful and effective soft portrait preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve a flattering and dreamy look for your portrait photography. Remember to always adjust the preset to suit the specific characteristics of each image you process.