I. Finding Inspiration and Defining Your Style
* Browse Photography Styles:
* Explore Online Platforms: Look at Instagram, Pinterest, Behance, and other photography websites. Pay attention to photographers whose portrait styles you admire.
* Analyze Key Elements: Identify the specific aspects of their images you like. Is it the warm tones, the soft focus, the dramatic contrast, or something else?
* Keep a Reference Board: Save examples of images that inspire you. You can create a physical or digital mood board.
* Identify Your Personal Style:
* Consider the Subjects You Shoot: Do you primarily photograph natural light portraits, studio portraits, lifestyle shots, or something else?
* Define Your Aesthetic: Do you prefer a light and airy look, a dark and moody feel, a vintage vibe, or something more contemporary?
* Think About the Story You Want to Tell: Your presets should enhance the story of your portraits.
* Analyze Existing Presets (Optional):
* Download Free or Purchased Presets: Experiment with different presets to understand how various settings affect your images.
* Reverse Engineer: Open the Develop settings of a preset and examine the individual adjustments. This can give you insights into how to achieve certain effects.
* Don't Just Use Presets As-Is: Use existing presets as a starting point, then customize them to fit your style and the specific image you're editing.
II. Building Your Preset in Lightroom
1. Choose a Representative Image:
* Select a Well-Exposed Image: Start with a portrait that is well-exposed and has good lighting. This will provide a solid foundation for your adjustments.
* Similar Subject Matter: Ideally, the image should be similar to the types of portraits you'll typically be using the preset on.
2. Start with Basic Adjustments (Essential):
* White Balance: Adjust the temperature and tint to achieve the desired color cast. Consider slightly warmer tones for portraits.
* Exposure: Correct the overall brightness of the image. Avoid extreme adjustments.
* Contrast: Add or reduce contrast to enhance or soften the details. A subtle contrast adjustment is often best for portraits.
* Highlights & Shadows: Use these sliders to recover details in bright areas and open up dark areas. Pay close attention to the skin tones. Often, reducing highlights and slightly increasing shadows helps create a more flattering look.
* Whites & Blacks: Set the white and black points to maximize dynamic range without clipping.
3. Refine Tones with Tone Curve (Powerful):
* S-Curve: A subtle S-curve can add contrast and vibrancy. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can easily lead to harshness.
* Linear Curve: A linear curve (flat) can create a washed-out, matte look.
* RGB Curves: Adjust the Red, Green, and Blue channels separately to fine-tune the color balance. This is where you can introduce subtle color shifts.
4. Color Adjustments (Crucial for Style):
* HSL/Color Panel: This is where you can really define your style.
* Hue: Change the shade of colors (e.g., shift reds towards orange for warmer skin tones).
* Saturation: Increase or decrease the intensity of colors. Often, desaturating skin tones slightly creates a more natural look. You can also boost the saturation of other colors in the image (e.g., greens in the background).
* Luminance: Adjust the brightness of colors (e.g., darken blues in the sky, brighten skin tones).
* Color Grading (Split Toning):
* Highlights: Add a color tint to the highlights (e.g., a warm gold tint).
* Shadows: Add a color tint to the shadows (e.g., a cool blue tint).
* Balance: Controls the balance between highlights and shadows color.
* Blending: Controls how smoothly the colors blend.
* Calibration Panel: (Often overlooked, but powerful)
* This panel allows you to adjust the overall color rendition of your camera. Experiment with the Red, Green, and Blue primary sliders to create subtle color shifts.
5. Detail Adjustments (Sharpening & Noise Reduction):
* Sharpening: Add a subtle amount of sharpening to bring out details. Use the "Masking" slider to protect smooth areas like skin from over-sharpening.
* Noise Reduction: Reduce noise in the image, especially in the shadows. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can soften the image too much.
6. Effects (Subtlety is Key):
* Grain: Add a subtle amount of grain for a film-like look.
* Vignette: Create a subtle vignette to draw attention to the subject. Be careful with vignetting; it can easily look unnatural.
* Dehaze: A slight amount of Dehaze can add contrast and clarity, or reducing it can create a softer, dreamy effect.
7. Lens Corrections (Optional, but Recommended):
* Enable Profile Corrections: Corrects distortion and vignetting caused by the lens.
* Remove Chromatic Aberration: Reduces color fringing around edges.
III. Saving Your Preset
1. Click the "+" Icon in the Presets Panel:
2. Select "Create Preset...":
3. Name Your Preset: Give it a descriptive name that reflects its style (e.g., "Warm Portrait," "Vintage Matte," "Soft Natural Light").
4. Choose a Group: Organize your presets by creating or selecting a group. This helps you keep them organized.
5. Select Which Settings to Include: This is crucial!
* Consider the "Reset" Checkbox: If a setting isn't checked, it will *not* be applied by the preset. If you want the preset to *not* affect a particular setting (e.g., White Balance), make sure that box is *unchecked*.
* Leave Exposure Unchecked (Usually): Exposure is highly dependent on the original image. It's generally best to adjust exposure manually after applying the preset.
* Lens Corrections (Use with Caution): If you shoot with a variety of lenses, it's best to leave Lens Corrections unchecked, as the profile correction will vary depending on the lens.
* Transform (Use with Caution): This setting can affect perspective and is generally best left unchecked unless you specifically want the preset to adjust it.
6. Click "Create":
IV. Testing and Refining Your Preset
* Apply the Preset to a Variety of Images: Use the preset on different portraits with varying lighting conditions, skin tones, and backgrounds.
* Make Adjustments as Needed: Don't be afraid to tweak the preset's settings for each image. Presets are a starting point, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
* Iterate: After editing a few images with the preset, go back and refine the preset itself based on your observations. Adjust the settings to make it more versatile and effective.
* Consider Skin Tone: Pay very close attention to skin tones. The goal is to create a natural and flattering look. Adjust the HSL sliders (especially Hue and Luminance of Orange and Red) to fine-tune skin tones.
V. Advanced Tips and Considerations
* Local Adjustments: Create a separate preset for local adjustments (e.g., brightening eyes, smoothing skin). This allows you to apply these adjustments selectively using adjustment brushes, radial filters, or graduated filters.
* Batch Processing: Once you have a well-tested preset, you can use it to batch process multiple images to achieve a consistent look.
* Keyword Tagging: Add relevant keywords to your presets to make them easier to find.
* Versioning: Save different versions of a preset as you refine it (e.g., "Warm Portrait v1," "Warm Portrait v2"). This allows you to easily revert to previous versions if needed.
* RAW vs. JPEG: Presets are generally designed for RAW images, which contain more data and allow for greater flexibility in editing. If you're shooting JPEGs, you may need to make more subtle adjustments to the preset.
* Camera Profiles: Experiment with different camera profiles (e.g., Adobe Standard, Camera Standard, Camera Portrait). These profiles can affect the overall color rendition of your images.
Key Takeaways:
* Subtlety is Key: Avoid extreme adjustments. Over-processed portraits rarely look good.
* Focus on Skin Tones: Natural and flattering skin tones are essential for portrait photography.
* Practice and Experiment: The more you practice, the better you'll become at creating presets that match your style.
* Don't Be Afraid to Customize: Use presets as a starting point and adjust them to fit each individual image.
* Organize and Maintain Your Presets: Keep your presets organized and regularly review them to ensure they are still effective.
* Backup Your Presets: Make sure to back up your presets so you don't lose them.
By following these steps and practicing regularly, you can create custom Lightroom Develop Presets that will significantly improve your portrait editing workflow and help you achieve a consistent and distinctive style. Good luck!