Understanding the "Soft Portrait" Look
The core elements of a soft portrait style usually include:
* Reduced Sharpness: Makes skin look smoother and less harsh.
* Slightly Lowered Contrast: Creates a gentler, more flattering light.
* Brightened Highlights: Can give a subtle glow.
* Subtle Color Adjustments: Warmer skin tones are often desirable, or sometimes a slightly muted color palette.
* Subtle Vignetting (Optional): Draws the viewer's eye to the subject.
* Noise Reduction (If Needed): Removes digital noise for a cleaner look.
Steps to Create the Look (and then the Preset) in Lightroom 4:
1. Import Your Image: Open the image you want to work with in Lightroom 4.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments: This is where you'll make the biggest impact.
* Exposure: Adjust as needed to get a good overall brightness. Don't overexpose, but a slight increase can help.
* Contrast: Lower this significantly. Try -15 to -30 as a starting point. Lowering contrast is key to the soft look.
* Highlights: Increase this slightly. +5 to +15 can help create a subtle glow and soften harsh highlights.
* Shadows: Increase this if you need to bring out detail in shadowed areas of the face. Use sparingly.
* Whites: Adjust this to control the brightest parts of the image, but be careful not to clip them.
* Blacks: Adjust this to control the darkest parts of the image.
3. Tone Curve Panel:
* Consider making a *very slight* "S-curve." Pull the bottom left of the curve *slightly* up (raising the blacks) and push the top right *slightly* down (lowering the highlights). This is subtle, but can add depth while maintaining the soft look. Avoid creating harsh angles in the curve.
4. HSL/Color Panel (Color Adjustments): This is where you fine-tune the color.
* Hue: Make small adjustments to the hue of oranges and reds to fine-tune skin tones.
* Saturation: You might *slightly* decrease the saturation of the overall image, or selectively adjust the saturation of specific colors (blues and greens are common candidates to desaturate for portraits). Be careful not to make the image look dull.
* Luminance: Increase the luminance of oranges and reds to brighten skin tones slightly.
5. Detail Panel: This is crucial for softness!
* Sharpening: Reduce the Sharpness slider. Try setting it to 0, or even a negative value (yes, that's possible, but use it VERY sparingly and monitor the effect on the entire image). The goal is to reduce harsh edges.
* Radius: Keep this low, usually around 1.0.
* Detail: Keep this low as well.
* Masking: This can be used to apply sharpening selectively. Increasing masking can prevent sharpening from being applied to smooth skin areas, which is often desirable for portraits.
* Noise Reduction (Luminance): If your image has noticeable noise (especially at higher ISOs), increase the Luminance noise reduction slider. Don't overdo it, as this can make the image look too smooth and unnatural. Start with small increments and increase as needed.
6. Lens Corrections (Optional):
* In the "Lens Corrections" panel, check "Enable Profile Corrections." This can often improve the image by correcting distortion and vignetting.
7. Effects Panel (Optional):
* Vignetting: Consider adding a subtle vignette to draw attention to the subject. In the "Post-Crop Vignetting" section, use a *negative* Amount value for a darkening vignette. Adjust the Midpoint, Roundness, and Feather to your liking. A slight *positive* amount can create a gentle brightening vignette, which can also look nice.
* Grain: Avoid adding grain for a soft portrait look.
Creating the Preset:
1. Reset or Select a Different Image: Either reset your current image to its original state (in the Develop module, go to Develop > Reset) or select a different image you want to apply the preset to later.
2. Go to the Preset Panel: On the left side of the Develop module, find the "Presets" panel. It may be collapsed.
3. Click the "+" Button: At the top of the Presets panel, click the small "+" button (or the "Create New Preset" button if displayed). This will open the "New Develop Preset" dialog.
4. Preset Name: Give your preset a descriptive name, like "Soft Portrait - [Your Name]" or "LR4 Soft Portrait."
5. Folder: Choose where to save the preset. You can create a new folder by clicking the "Group" dropdown menu and selecting "Create New Group." A folder like "Portrait Presets" would be logical.
6. Check the Boxes: This is *very important*. Choose *carefully* which settings you want to save in the preset.
* Always check: "White Balance", "Exposure", "Contrast", "Highlights", "Shadows", "Whites", "Blacks", "Tone Curve", "Clarity," "Vibrance," "Saturation," "Sharpening", and "Noise Reduction" (Luminance and Color).
* Consider checking: "Lens Corrections" if you consistently use this preset with images taken with the same lens.
* Do NOT check: "Local Adjustments" (Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter, Radial Filter). These are image-specific. Also, avoid checking "Process Version" unless you specifically want to force images to a particular processing engine.
7. Click "Create": Once you've selected all the appropriate settings, click the "Create" button.
Using Your Preset:
1. Select an Image: Open the image you want to apply the preset to in Lightroom 4's Develop module.
2. Find Your Preset: In the Presets panel, locate the folder where you saved your "Soft Portrait" preset.
3. Click the Preset: Simply click on the preset's name. Lightroom will automatically apply all the saved settings to your image.
4. Fine-Tune: Remember, presets are starting points. You'll almost always need to make further adjustments to the exposure, white balance, and other settings to perfectly suit each individual image.
Important Considerations:
* Image-Specific Adjustments: Presets rarely work perfectly on every image. Be prepared to fine-tune the settings *after* applying the preset. Exposure, white balance, and local adjustments (brush, graduated filter) are often needed.
* Skin Tone: Skin tone is subjective. Adjust the hue and luminance of oranges and reds in the HSL/Color panel to get the skin tone you prefer.
* Subtlety: The key to a good soft portrait is subtlety. Avoid overdoing the softening or any single adjustment.
* Experimentation: Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings to find what works best for you. Create several variations of your "Soft Portrait" preset.
By following these steps and understanding the principles behind the "soft portrait" look, you can create a useful preset in Lightroom 4 that speeds up your workflow and helps you achieve beautiful, flattering portraits. Remember to adapt the settings to fit each image's unique characteristics. Good luck!