1. Understanding the Goals of a Soft Portrait:
* Reduced Contrast: A softer, less harsh look with fewer deep shadows.
* Smooth Skin: Minimizing the appearance of blemishes and wrinkles.
* Gentle Hues: Muted or softened colors for a more ethereal feel.
* Subtle Focus: A hint of blur or glow can add to the dreaminess.
2. Open an Example Portrait in Lightroom 4:
* Choose a portrait photo that you want to use as a base for your preset.
3. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust slightly, usually a subtle increase (+0.10 to +0.30). This brightens the overall image. Be careful not to overexpose.
* Contrast: Lower it significantly (-15 to -30). This reduces harshness and helps create a softer feel.
* Highlights: Bring down highlights (-10 to -30). Reduces any harshness in bright areas like foreheads.
* Shadows: Increase shadows (+10 to +30). Opens up the darker areas and reveals detail.
* Whites: Adjust to fine-tune the overall brightness without blowing out highlights. Often a slight decrease (-5 to -15).
* Blacks: Adjust to control the depth of the blacks in the image. Often a slight increase (+5 to +15) can prevent the image from feeling too flat.
* Clarity: This is crucial. Reduce clarity dramatically (-20 to -50 or even lower, depending on the image). This softens the image and smooths skin. A negative clarity value is a key ingredient to the "soft" look.
* Vibrance: Increase slightly (+5 to +15). Adds subtle color pop without over-saturating skin tones.
* Saturation: Adjust to your preference. A slight decrease (around -5) can prevent over-saturation, especially with the increase in vibrance.
4. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments:
* Channel: Select the Point Curve option (as opposed to the Parametric Curve, which is less precise).
* S-Curve (Mild): Create a very subtle "S" curve to add a touch of contrast back in while maintaining the overall softness.
* Add one point in the upper-right quadrant and pull it down slightly.
* Add one point in the lower-left quadrant and pull it up slightly.
* *Be VERY subtle.* Too much and you'll ruin the soft effect.
5. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Luminance: Adjust the luminance of red, orange, and yellow to refine skin tones. Increasing these usually brightens skin and gives it a healthy glow (+5 to +15 for each, adjust to your taste and the subject's skin tone).
* Saturation: Slightly reduce the saturation of orange and yellow, if skin tones look too intense.
* Hue: Make subtle shifts to hue, again focusing on orange and yellow, to achieve the desired skin tone. Small adjustments make a big difference here.
6. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening: This is important for maintaining some definition after reducing clarity.
* Amount: Reduce the sharpening amount significantly (e.g., 20-40) from the default. You don't want to over-sharpen after softening.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (around 1.0).
* Detail: Adjust the detail slider to control how much fine detail is sharpened.
* Masking: Increase the masking to avoid sharpening the background noise. Hold ALT (Option on Mac) while dragging the masking slider to see the areas being masked.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Apply a small amount of luminance noise reduction (5-15) to further smooth skin and reduce any graininess introduced by other adjustments. *Don't overdo it, or you'll lose detail.*
* Color: A small amount of color noise reduction (5-10) can also be helpful.
7. Effects Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Grain: Adding a very small amount of grain (e.g., Amount 5-10, Size 25, Roughness 50) can sometimes enhance the film-like quality of the soft portrait. Experiment!
* Vignetting: A subtle vignette can draw attention to the subject. Use a slight negative amount (-5 to -15).
8. Camera Calibration (Often Overlooked, but Important):
* Profile: Experiment with different camera profiles to see which one best suits your image. Adobe Standard is a good starting point, but you might find Camera Neutral or Camera Portrait to be a better base.
* Red, Green, Blue Primary Sliders: These sliders allow you to fine-tune the color rendering of the image. Subtle adjustments here can improve skin tones.
9. Save the Preset:
* Once you're happy with the results, click the "+" icon in the Presets panel.
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait", "Dreamy Skin", "Vintage Portrait").
* Crucially, select *only* the settings that you adjusted. Deselect any settings you didn't touch. This is important for making your preset adaptable to different images. Specifically, consider *not* including Exposure or White Balance in your preset, as these are heavily dependent on the individual image.
* Click "Create".
Tips and Considerations:
* Iterate: This is just a starting point. You'll likely need to tweak the settings for each individual photo.
* Skin Tone is Key: Pay close attention to skin tones and adjust the HSL panel accordingly.
* Subtlety: Soft portraits are about gentle enhancements, not dramatic changes.
* Before and After: Regularly compare the "before" and "after" versions of your image to make sure you're not going too far.
* Presets are a Starting Point: Don't expect a single preset to work perfectly on every image. You'll always need to make adjustments.
* Experiment! The beauty of Lightroom is that you can experiment non-destructively. Try different settings and see what works best for you.
Troubleshooting:
* Skin Looking Muddy: Reduce the negative clarity. Also, adjust the luminance and saturation of orange and yellow in the HSL panel.
* Image Too Flat: Increase the contrast or blacks slightly. Also, adjust the tone curve to add a subtle "S" shape.
* Over-Softened: Reduce the negative clarity. Increase the sharpening amount in the Detail panel.
By following these steps, you can create a versatile soft portrait preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve beautiful and flattering results. Remember to adjust the settings to suit each individual photo and your personal style. Good luck!