I. Planning and Inspiration
1. Define Your Style:
* What kind of portraits do you want to create? (e.g., moody, bright and airy, vintage, high contrast, soft and dreamy, natural, vibrant)
* What kind of feeling do you want your portraits to evoke? (e.g., joyful, serious, intimate, dramatic, timeless)
* Look for inspiration: Browse photography portfolios (Flickr, 500px, Instagram), magazines, and websites. Analyze the lighting, colors, and overall mood of images you admire. Save examples for reference.
2. Consider Your Subjects & Shooting Style:
* Skin Tones: Think about how different skin tones react to different color adjustments. You might need to create separate presets for fair, medium, and dark skin.
* Lighting Conditions: Presets that work well in natural light might not be suitable for studio lighting. Consider creating presets for different lighting scenarios (golden hour, overcast, indoor lighting).
* Your Camera: Different cameras capture color and dynamic range differently. Presets might need to be tweaked depending on the camera used.
II. The Editing Process (The Fun Part!)
1. Choose a Test Image: Select a well-exposed portrait that's representative of the type of photos you typically take. A photo with a good range of tones and colors will be ideal.
2. Start with the Basics (Exposure and White Balance):
* Exposure: Adjust the overall brightness of the image. Generally, for portraits, avoid underexposure (too dark) unless you're going for a specific dramatic look.
* Contrast: Control the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the image. Higher contrast can create a more dramatic look, while lower contrast can create a softer look.
* Highlights & Shadows: Recover detail in blown-out highlights and open up details in dark shadows. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can look unnatural.
* Whites & Blacks: Fine-tune the extremes of the tonal range. Use the histogram as a guide.
* White Balance: Get the colors looking accurate. Use the Temp and Tint sliders to correct any color casts. Consider warm (yellow/orange) or cool (blue) tones depending on the desired mood. You can also use the white balance selector tool and click on a neutral grey area in the image (if available) to get a good starting point.
3. Color Adjustments (Crucial for Creative Presets):
* Vibrance & Saturation:
* Vibrance: Adjusts the intensity of muted colors more than saturated colors. It's often a safer bet than Saturation, as it's less likely to create unnatural skin tones.
* Saturation: Adjusts the intensity of *all* colors. Use sparingly to avoid oversaturation.
* HSL/Color Panel (Hue, Saturation, Luminance): This is where you can make more precise color adjustments.
* Hue: Shifts the color of each color range (red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, magenta). Experiment with subtle shifts to create unique color palettes.
* Saturation: Controls the intensity of each color range. You can desaturate specific colors (e.g., reduce the saturation of orange to soften skin tones) or boost others (e.g., increase the saturation of blue in the sky).
* Luminance: Adjusts the brightness of each color range. You can brighten skin tones by increasing the luminance of orange and yellow.
* Color Grading: (Split Toning in older Lightroom versions) Allows you to add different colors to the highlights and shadows. This is a powerful tool for creating a specific mood or aesthetic.
* Experiment with complementary colors (e.g., warm highlights and cool shadows) or analogous colors (e.g., different shades of blue and green).
* Use the *Balance* slider to control the proportion of highlight and shadow color.
* Use the *Blending* slider to control the smoothness of the transition between highlight and shadow colors.
4. Detail Adjustments:
* Sharpening: Add sharpness to the image. Use the *Amount* slider sparingly, and pay attention to the *Radius* and *Detail* sliders to avoid creating harsh artifacts. Hold down the Alt/Option key while dragging the Masking slider to see which areas are being sharpened.
* 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. Consider adjusting *Color* noise reduction separately.
5. Effects:
* Clarity: Adds or subtracts mid-tone contrast. Positive Clarity can create a more textured look, while negative Clarity can create a softer, dreamier look. Use sparingly, as it can easily look overdone.
* Dehaze: Removes or adds haze to the image. Useful for landscape photos, but can also be used creatively in portraits.
* Grain: Add artificial grain to the image for a vintage or film-like look.
* Vignetting: Darken or lighten the edges of the image to draw attention to the subject. Subtle vignetting can be effective.
6. Tone Curve:
* One of the most versatile tools for crafting a mood, tone curve allows for global and targeted adjustment of tones.
* A subtle "S" curve adds contrast. A flat curve reduces contrast. Experiment!
III. Saving and Managing Your Presets
1. Reset Before Starting (Important!): Before creating a preset from an edit, if you edited something prior, reset the image to it's default settings. If not, it will carry over.
2. Save Your Preset:
* Click the "+" button in the Presets panel.
* Select "Create Preset..."
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Warm Golden Hour," "Moody Black and White," "Soft Skin Tones").
* Choose a Preset Group: Organize your presets into folders (e.g., "Portraits," "Landscapes," "Black and White"). Create sub-groups for different styles (e.g., "Portraits - Natural Light," "Portraits - Studio").
* Select the Settings to Include: This is *critical*. Carefully choose which settings you want to save in your preset. Uncheck settings that are specific to the individual image you used to create the preset (e.g., exposure, white balance – unless you deliberately want a preset that consistently warms the image).
* Common Settings to Include: HSL/Color adjustments, Color Grading, Detail (Sharpening/Noise Reduction), Tone Curve, Effects (Clarity, Vignetting, Grain).
* Common Settings to Exclude: Exposure, White Balance, Transform (lens corrections - unless you *always* want the same lens correction), Spot Removal.
3. Testing and Refining:
* Apply the Preset to Different Images: This is crucial to see how it works in various lighting conditions, with different skin tones, and with different subjects.
* Make Adjustments: Don't be afraid to tweak your preset. You might need to adjust the exposure, white balance, or other settings for each individual image.
* Version Control: If you make significant changes, consider saving a new version of the preset (e.g., "Warm Golden Hour v2").
IV. Tips for Creative and Effective Presets:
* Subtlety is Key (Often): Don't go overboard with your adjustments, especially in the beginning. Subtle changes can often have the biggest impact. Over-processed photos rarely look good.
* Focus on Skin Tones: Pay close attention to how your adjustments affect skin tones. Aim for natural, healthy-looking skin.
* Experiment with Color Grading: Color grading can add a lot of personality and mood to your portraits.
* Embrace Imperfection: Don't be afraid to experiment with unconventional looks. Sometimes the most interesting presets are the ones that break the rules.
* Study Existing Presets: Analyze the settings of commercially available presets to get ideas and learn new techniques. However, don't just copy – develop your own unique style.
* Create Variations: Create variations of your presets (e.g., a "low contrast" version, a "high contrast" version, a "warm" version, a "cool" version).
* Use Radial and Graduated Filters: Consider building presets that incorporate radial and graduated filters for localized adjustments (e.g., brightening the eyes, darkening the background).
* Keywords and Descriptions: Add keywords and descriptions to your presets to make them easier to find and remember.
Example Ideas for Creative Portrait Presets:
* Soft and Dreamy: Negative Clarity, subtle grain, desaturated colors, slight warm tone.
* Vintage Film: Grain, vignetting, muted colors, slight contrast reduction, perhaps a color tint in the shadows.
* High Contrast Black and White: Strong contrast, heavy sharpening, and potentially use a tone curve for deep blacks and bright whites.
* Golden Hour Glow: Warm color grading (orange/yellow in highlights), subtle boost in orange saturation, slightly increased luminance of yellow and orange.
* Moody and Dramatic: Dark shadows, desaturated colors, cool tone in the shadows, slight vignetting.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create your own unique Lightroom Develop Presets that will help you achieve your desired style and streamline your portrait workflow. Good luck, and have fun!