Understanding the Goal:
The key to a soft portrait is to:
* Soften skin: Reduce blemishes and imperfections.
* Diffuse highlights: Prevent harshness and create a luminous quality.
* Enhance detail subtly: Maintain sharpness without appearing overly processed.
* Create a gentle color palette: Evoke a feeling of warmth and intimacy.
Step-by-Step Adjustments:
1. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Start with your base exposure and adjust to properly expose the subject. A slightly *brighter* exposure often contributes to the "soft" feel. Be careful not to overexpose.
* Contrast: Decrease contrast. This is crucial for softening the overall image and reducing harsh shadows. Try starting around -20 to -40.
* Highlights: Decrease highlights significantly. This prevents blown-out areas and recovers detail in bright parts of the image. Start around -40 to -70, adjusting based on the original image.
* Shadows: Increase shadows slightly. This brightens the darker areas and helps to balance the light, reducing deep shadows. Try +10 to +30.
* Whites: Adjust whites for optimal exposure. Experiment with a slightly *reduced* white level to avoid clipping highlights.
* Blacks: Increase blacks slightly to lift them and prevent harsh dark tones. Start around +5 to +15. This helps create a softer, less defined look.
* Clarity: Reduce clarity significantly. This is a *key* adjustment for softening skin and creating a dreamy effect. Start around -15 to -30. *Important: Too much negative clarity can make the image look muddy. Adjust carefully.*
* Vibrance: Increase vibrance slightly to enhance the colors without over saturating the skin tones. +5 to +15 is usually a good starting point.
* Saturation: Leave saturation mostly untouched, or slightly decrease if needed. Too much saturation can look unnatural.
2. Tone Curve Adjustments:
* Use the Point Curve. A subtle "S" curve can be used to add slight contrast back into the image while maintaining a softer feel. However, for the softest look, consider a flattened curve in the highlights and shadows.
* Flattened Highlights: Drag the top right point down slightly.
* Flattened Shadows: Drag the bottom left point up slightly. *Caution: Be very gentle with this adjustment. Too much can make the image look flat.*
3. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Luminance:
* Orange: Slightly increase the luminance of orange to brighten skin tones. +5 to +15 is a good starting point.
* Yellow: Adjust yellow luminance if necessary, depending on the subject's skin tone and background.
* Saturation:
* Orange: Slightly decrease orange saturation if skin tones appear too orange. -5 to -10 might be helpful.
* Hue: Only adjust hues if necessary to correct color casts.
4. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening:
* Amount: Reduce the sharpening amount. Start with a low amount (e.g., 20-40) and increase until the image looks sharp enough but not overly sharpened. *This is very important. High sharpening will counteract the soft effect.*
* Radius: Keep the radius low (e.g., 0.5 - 0.7).
* Detail: Adjust detail based on your image and personal preference.
* Masking: Hold Alt/Option key while adjusting the Masking slider. This shows you where the sharpening is being applied. Sharpen edges and textures and *avoid* sharpening the skin directly.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Slightly increase luminance noise reduction to smooth skin further. Start with a value of 5-15. Be careful not to overdo it, as this can make the image look plastic.
* Color: You may also want to increase the color noise reduction slightly (e.g., 5-10) if there is color noise in the image.
5. Lens Corrections (Optional):
* Enable "Remove Chromatic Aberration" and "Enable Profile Corrections."
6. Effects Panel Adjustments:
* Grain: You can add a very subtle amount of grain to add texture and a film-like quality. Use sparingly (e.g., Amount 5-10). Many soft portrait presets avoid grain altogether.
* Post-Crop Vignetting: Add a *very subtle* vignette to draw the viewer's eye to the subject. Use the "Highlight Priority" style and a negative amount (e.g., -5 to -15).
7. Calibration Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* These can create subtle shifts in colors that add to the overall feeling of the image. Experiment with small adjustments to the Red, Green, and Blue Primary Hue and Saturation. However, these are very nuanced and should be done with care.
Saving the Preset:
1. In the left panel, click the "+" icon next to "Presets."
2. Name your preset (e.g., "Soft Portrait").
3. Check the boxes for the adjustments you want to include in the preset (it's best to include all of them unless you have a specific reason not to).
4. Click "Create."
Important Considerations:
* Lighting:
* Natural Light: Soft, diffused natural light (e.g., open shade) works best with this type of preset. Harsh sunlight will require more significant adjustments to highlights and shadows.
* Artificial Light: If using artificial light, make sure it's soft and diffused (e.g., using a softbox or umbrella).
* Original Image: The starting point is crucial. A well-exposed and well-composed photo will yield better results.
* Skin Tone: Skin tones vary greatly. Adjust the luminance and saturation of orange and yellow based on the subject's skin.
* Subtlety: The key to a good soft portrait preset is subtlety. Avoid overdoing any one adjustment.
* Iteration: Create several versions of the preset with slightly different settings to accommodate various lighting conditions and skin tones. Label them clearly.
* Customization: After applying the preset, *always* fine-tune the settings to match the specific image. A preset is a starting point, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Example Starting Point (Numbers will vary depending on your image):
* Exposure: +0.3
* Contrast: -30
* Highlights: -60
* Shadows: +20
* Whites: -10
* Blacks: +10
* Clarity: -20
* Vibrance: +10
* Sharpening Amount: 30
* Luminance Noise Reduction: 8
* Orange Luminance: +8
Workflow Tips:
1. Shoot in RAW: This gives you the most flexibility for editing.
2. Nail your White Balance: Get the white balance as close to correct as possible during the shoot.
3. Adjust Exposure First: Correct the exposure before making other adjustments.
4. Work in Order: Follow the adjustment panels in Lightroom in a logical order (Basic, Tone Curve, HSL/Color, Detail, etc.).
5. Zoom In: Zoom in to 100% to check for sharpness and noise levels.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create a beautiful and effective soft portrait preset in Lightroom 4 that will consistently deliver stunning results. Remember to adapt the settings to each individual image for the best outcome. Good luck!