1. Understanding the Goal:
A soft portrait aims for:
* Reduced Harshness: Diminished contrast and highlights.
* Smoothed Skin: A softer appearance with less visible texture.
* Slightly Diffused Look: A subtle glow or blurring (done carefully to avoid looking unnatural).
* Pleasant Color Palette: Warm, muted, or slightly desaturated tones.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust to achieve a good overall brightness. Don't overexpose drastically. A slight bump in exposure (+0.1 to +0.5) might be helpful, but it depends on your original image.
* Contrast: Reduce this significantly. A negative value (-15 to -40) will soften the image and reduce harsh shadows. This is a key element in achieving the soft look.
* Highlights: Lower the highlights significantly (-30 to -70). This helps recover detail in bright areas and avoids blown-out highlights, contributing to the soft aesthetic.
* Shadows: Raise the shadows slightly (+10 to +30). This brightens the darker areas and reduces overall contrast, softening the image further.
* Whites: Adjust subtly. Slightly lower them (-5 to -15) to prevent clipping, or raise them a little to add brightness. Use the histogram to guide you.
* Blacks: Lower the blacks a little (-5 to -15) to add a bit of depth, but avoid making the image appear muddy. Again, use the histogram as a guide.
* Clarity: Reduce this significantly (-15 to -40). Clarity affects mid-tone contrast, and reducing it is crucial for the soft look. Be careful not to go too far, or you'll lose too much detail.
* Vibrance: Increase slightly (+5 to +15). This adds a subtle boost to the less saturated colors, creating a more pleasing overall color palette. Alternatively, you can increase *Saturation* instead but do it with caution, as it can easily look unnatural.
3. Tone Curve Adjustments:
The Tone Curve is vital for shaping the overall tonality. A subtle "S-curve" is often used, but for a soft portrait, a more gentle adjustment is better.
* Point Curve (Recommended): Instead of using the Region tool, use the Point Curve for more control.
* Raise the bottom left point slightly: Lift the shadows just a bit. Click on the bottom left of the curve and drag it upwards a tiny amount. This softens the black tones.
* Lower the top right point slightly: Diminish the highlights a bit. Click on the top right and drag it down a tiny amount. This prevents harsh highlights.
* Add a gentle curve in the midtones: Click on the curve roughly in the middle and drag up *very slightly* to brighten the midtones. Avoid making a steep curve.
* Region Tool (Less Precise):
* Highlights: Slightly decrease.
* Lights: Slightly increase.
* Darks: Slightly increase.
* Shadows: Slightly decrease.
The goal here is to gently flatten the tone curve, making the transition between light and dark smoother.
4. HSL/Color Adjustments:
* Hue: Make subtle adjustments to skin tones if needed. For example, slightly shifting the orange or red hues can improve skin tone.
* Saturation: Reduce the saturation of orange and yellow slightly to soften skin tones (-5 to -15 for each). Avoid excessive desaturation, as it can make the image look lifeless.
* Luminance: Increase the luminance of orange and yellow slightly to brighten skin tones (+5 to +15 for each).
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening: Reduce the sharpening amount significantly (e.g., Amount: 20-40). Over-sharpening ruins the soft look. Increase the *Masking* slider (e.g. 60-80) to only sharpen edges and avoid sharpening skin too much.
* Noise Reduction: Increase Luminance Noise Reduction to smooth out skin texture. Start with a low value (5-15) and increase gradually until you achieve a desired smoothness without losing too much detail. Color noise reduction may also be helpful.
6. Lens Corrections and Effects:
* Enable Profile Corrections: Check "Enable Profile Corrections" under the Lens Corrections panel to remove lens distortions and vignetting.
* Vignetting: Consider adding a very slight *positive* vignette (Amount: +5 to +10) to gently brighten the edges and draw attention to the subject. A subtle *negative* vignette can also work (+-5 to -10). Experiment to see what looks best for your image.
* Grain: Avoid adding grain, as it goes against the soft aesthetic.
7. Saving the Preset:
1. Once you're happy with the adjustments, go to the Presets panel on the left side of Lightroom.
2. Click the + button (or the "Create New Preset" button).
3. Give your preset a descriptive name, such as "Soft Portrait."
4. In the "Check All" menu, click "Check None".
5. Carefully select only the adjustments you made. This is important for preset flexibility. Typically, you'll select:
* Basic Tone (Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks, Clarity, Vibrance/Saturation)
* Tone Curve
* HSL/Color (if you made adjustments)
* Detail (Sharpening, Noise Reduction)
* Lens Corrections (Profile Corrections)
* Effects (Vignetting)
6. Click "Create."
Important Considerations and Tips:
* Start with a good photo: The better the original image (good lighting, composition), the better the result.
* Adjust to the individual image: A preset is a starting point. You'll almost always need to tweak the settings for each individual photo based on its unique characteristics.
* Subtlety is key: Avoid overdoing any of the adjustments. The goal is a soft, natural-looking portrait, not a heavily processed one.
* Experiment! Play with different settings and find what works best for your style and the types of photos you typically take.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Make sure they look natural and healthy.
* Presets aren't magic: They won't fix a poorly lit or out-of-focus image.
* Backup your presets: Regularly back up your Lightroom catalog, including your presets, to avoid losing them.
* Batch Processing: After applying the preset and making any adjustments on a single photo, you can easily apply those same settings to multiple similar photos using Lightroom's sync feature (Sync button). This saves a lot of time when editing a batch of portraits taken in similar conditions.
* Use Adjustment Brush: To specifically work on the skin, use the adjustment brush. Soften the skin more by reducing sharpness, increase the smoothness by reducing noise.
By following these steps and practicing, you can create a beautiful "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will enhance your portrait photography. Remember to always adjust the settings to suit the specific image you're working with. Good luck!