1. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Start with your base exposure and adjust slightly if needed. Often, you'll want to slightly brighten the image. Experiment with adding +0.10 to +0.30 depending on the original image.
* Contrast: This is where you'll begin softening the look. Lowering the contrast is key. Try something between -20 and -40. This flattens the tones and reduces harsh edges.
* Highlights: Recovering highlights can contribute to the softness. Lower the Highlights significantly. Try -50 to -80. This brings back detail in blown-out areas and creates a more even tonal range.
* Shadows: Boosting shadows can help lift the overall mood and reduce harsh shadows. Increase Shadows slightly. Try +10 to +30. This opens up details in darker areas.
* Whites: Adjust this subtly. Slightly increase it (+5 to +15) to brighten the overall image, but be careful not to clip (overexpose) highlights.
* Blacks: Adjust this to set your black point. Generally, a very slight decrease (-5 to -15) will give your portrait a softer feel by avoiding overly harsh blacks.
* Clarity: This is crucial for a soft portrait look. Lower the Clarity drastically. Try -30 to -50. This softens details and creates a diffused effect. Be careful not to go too far, or your image will look blurry.
* Vibrance: Increase Vibrance slightly (+5 to +15) to enhance the colors without making them too saturated.
* Saturation: Adjust this depending on your subject's skin tone and the overall color palette. A slight decrease (-5 to -10) can sometimes be beneficial to avoid overly vibrant skin tones.
2. Tone Curve Adjustments:
* Point Curve (Recommended): The Point Curve offers more control.
* Create a slight "S" curve, but a very *gentle* one.
* *Lower* the upper part of the curve slightly (highlights) to soften the highlights further.
* *Lift* the lower part of the curve slightly (shadows) to lighten the shadows. This creates a "faded" look.
* Region Curve (Alternative, but less precise):
* Highlights: Lower the highlight region slightly.
* Lights: Slightly increase the light region.
* Darks: Slightly decrease the darks region.
* Shadows: Slightly increase the shadows region.
The goal of the Tone Curve is to flatten the contrast further and create a more balanced tonal range.
3. HSL/Color Adjustments (Optional, but often helpful):
* Luminance:
* Orange and Red: Increase the luminance of orange and red slightly (+5 to +15) to brighten skin tones.
* Saturation:
* Orange and Red: Slightly decrease the saturation of orange and red (-5 to -10) if skin tones are too vibrant.
* Hue:
* Orange: Adjust the orange hue slightly towards red if you want warmer skin tones, or towards yellow for cooler tones.
4. Detail Panel (Noise Reduction & Sharpening):
* Sharpening: Reduce sharpening or turn it off entirely, *especially if you're already significantly reducing clarity.* Over-sharpening will counteract the soft look. If you must sharpen, use a *very* small amount (Amount: 0-30, Radius: 0.5-0.8, Detail: 25-50, Masking: 40-70 to sharpen only edges).
* Noise Reduction (Luminance): Increase Luminance noise reduction (+10 to +30) to smooth out skin texture and reduce grain. This is especially important if you're shooting at higher ISOs. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can make the skin look plastic.
* Color Noise Reduction: Apply a small amount of color noise reduction (+5 to +15) to reduce any color blotches in the shadows.
5. Effects Panel (Optional):
* Grain: Adding a small amount of grain (Amount: 5-15) can sometimes enhance the film-like quality of a soft portrait. Use with caution, as too much will detract from the softness.
* Vignette: A subtle vignette (Amount: -10 to -20, Midpoint: 50-70) can help draw attention to the subject's face. Choose "Highlight Priority" for the style.
Saving Your Preset:
1. Once you're satisfied with your adjustments, click the "+" button in the Presets panel on the left side of Lightroom.
2. Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait," "Dreamy Portrait," "Gentle Skin").
3. Crucially: Uncheck any settings you *don't* want to be applied by the preset (e.g., Exposure, White Balance) if you prefer to adjust those individually for each image. Generally, you *do* want to save: Basic Tone, Tone Curve, HSL/Color, Detail (Sharpening and Noise Reduction), and Effects.
4. Click "Create."
Important Considerations:
* Image-Specific Adjustments: No preset works perfectly on every image. You'll likely need to tweak the settings slightly for each photograph, especially exposure, white balance, and the amount of noise reduction.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Adjust the HSL/Color panel (especially Orange and Red luminance and saturation) to ensure natural-looking skin.
* Subtlety: The key to a good "soft portrait" preset is subtlety. Avoid extreme adjustments that make the image look unnatural or overly processed.
* Experimentation: These values are starting points. Experiment with different settings to find what works best for your style and the types of portraits you take. Don't be afraid to push the boundaries and see what you can achieve.
* Local Adjustments: Consider using local adjustment brushes (Adjustment Brush tool) to target specific areas, such as softening skin on the face while sharpening the eyes. This gives you more control.
* White Balance: White balance is essential. Make sure your white balance is correct *before* applying the preset. If not, the colors will be off.
Example Preset Values (Starting Points - Adjust to Taste):
* Exposure: +0.20
* Contrast: -30
* Highlights: -60
* Shadows: +20
* Whites: +10
* Blacks: -10
* Clarity: -40
* Vibrance: +10
* Saturation: -5
* Noise Reduction (Luminance): +20
* Sharpening: (If any) Amount: 20, Radius: 0.7, Detail: 30, Masking: 60
* Tone Curve: Gentle S curve, highlights lowered slightly, shadows lifted slightly.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create a custom "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that consistently delivers beautiful and flattering results. Remember to always start with a well-exposed and properly white-balanced image for the best results.