1. Understanding Your Goals:
* What's Your Style? Do you prefer soft and ethereal, moody and dramatic, bright and airy, vintage film, or something else entirely? Define your style as a starting point.
* Subject Matter: Think about the types of portraits you shoot. A preset for a studio headshot might not work well for a sun-drenched outdoor portrait. Consider creating presets tailored to specific lighting conditions, skin tones, and subject matter.
* Consistency: Presets are key for achieving a consistent look across an entire series of photos.
* Efficiency: Presets dramatically reduce editing time.
2. Start with a Base Image:
* Choose a Representative Image: Select a portrait that's well-exposed, properly focused, and representative of the type of images you typically edit. Ideally, it should have good dynamic range.
* Basic Adjustments First: Before creating the "creative" adjustments, ensure your base image has a solid foundation:
* White Balance: Correct any color casts. Use the White Balance selector tool (Eyedropper) on a neutral grey area if available, or adjust the Temperature and Tint sliders.
* Exposure: Get the overall brightness correct. Adjust the Exposure slider to bring the image to a pleasing level.
* Contrast: Slight contrast adjustments can help to define the subject.
* Highlights & Shadows: Recover clipped highlights and open up shadows to bring out detail.
* Whites & Blacks: Set your white and black points for maximum dynamic range.
3. Dive into the Creative Adjustments:
This is where the magic happens. Experiment with these panels and sliders to create your signature look:
* Tone Curve:
* S-Curve (Mild): Adds contrast and punch. Common starting point.
* Flattened S-Curve (Matte): Reduces contrast, creating a softer, more vintage feel.
* Custom Curves: For advanced control. You can create very specific color casts or tonal shifts with custom curves. Try adding slight "fades" by lifting the bottom of the curve or lowering the top.
* HSL / Color:
* Hue: Subtle shifts in color. Change the shade of blues, greens, yellows, etc. Often used to enhance or alter skin tones. Be careful not to push too far, as it can look unnatural.
* Saturation: Intensity of colors. Lowering saturation can create a desaturated, vintage look. Boosting saturation can make colors pop. Focus on adjusting skin tone saturation to avoid orange skin.
* Luminance: Brightness of colors. Useful for brightening or darkening specific colors (e.g., brightening blues in the sky, darkening reds in lips). Adjusting the luminance of skin tones can smooth skin appearance.
* Color Grading (Split Toning in older Lightroom versions):
* Highlights: Add a subtle color tint to the highlights (e.g., golden, pink, or blue).
* Shadows: Add a contrasting color tint to the shadows (e.g., teal, purple, or green).
* Balance: Adjust the blend between the highlight and shadow colors.
* Detail:
* Sharpening: Adds sharpness to the image. Be careful not to over-sharpen, which can create unwanted artifacts. Use the Masking slider to apply sharpening only to the edges of the subject.
* Noise Reduction: Reduces noise, especially in shadows. Use sparingly, as it can soften the image.
* Effects:
* Clarity: Adds local contrast, making details pop. Use with caution, as it can also create an unnatural look. Lowering clarity can create a softer, dreamier effect.
* Dehaze: Removes haze and adds contrast. Use sparingly, as it can sometimes look artificial.
* Vignette: Adds a dark or light edge to the image, drawing the eye to the center.
* Grain: Adds a film-like texture. Use small amounts of realistic grain for a subtle effect.
* Calibration:
* Shadow Tint: Adjusting the Shadow Tint can help remove color casts and fine-tune the overall color balance. Often subtle changes here can make a big difference.
* Red, Green, and Blue Primary Hue/Saturation: Adjusting these can drastically change the overall color grading of your image. Experiment with subtle adjustments here to achieve unique and interesting results.
4. Skin Tone Considerations:
* Avoid Orange Skin: Pay close attention to the orange and red channels in the HSL panel. Slightly desaturating the orange channel can often improve skin tone. Adjusting the luminance of orange and red can also help.
* Smooth Skin (Subtly): Lowering the Clarity slightly can soften skin. You can also try a subtle increase in the Luminance of the skin tone colors (orange, red, yellow). Use targeted adjustments with the Adjustment Brush for more precise control.
* Enhance Skin Tone Color: Slight shifts in the Hue of orange and red can warm or cool skin tones. Experiment to find what looks best. Consider slightly warming skin tones for a healthier look.
5. Iterate and Refine:
* Apply to Multiple Images: Test your preset on a variety of portraits with different lighting conditions and skin tones.
* Make Adjustments: Refine the preset based on the results. What works well in one image might need tweaking in another.
* Start Subtle: It's easier to add to a preset than to subtract from one that's too strong.
6. Saving Your Preset:
* Click the "+" button in the Presets panel.
* Choose "Create Preset."
* Give your preset a descriptive name. Include keywords that describe the style (e.g., "Soft Portrait - Golden Hour," "Moody Portrait - B&W," "Vintage Film - Warm").
* Choose a group to save your preset in. You can create custom groups to organize your presets.
* Select the settings to save. Generally, you'll want to save all settings *except* for the Lens Corrections and Transform panels (unless you specifically want those settings applied). You might also exclude the White Balance if you want to adjust it on each image individually. The important thing is to think about what you want to apply to every image, and what you want to keep flexible.
* Click "Create."
Example Preset Ideas:
* Soft & Dreamy: Low contrast, slightly desaturated colors, subtle warm highlights, slightly lowered clarity, and added grain.
* Moody & Dramatic: Increased contrast, deep shadows, cool tones, strong vignette, and sharp details.
* Bright & Airy: Increased exposure, bright highlights, slightly desaturated colors, and minimal sharpening.
* Vintage Film: Flattened tone curve, warm tones, subtle color shifts in the HSL panel, added grain, and a slight vignette.
* Black & White: Convert to B&W, adjust the B&W Mix sliders for contrast and tonal separation, and add grain for texture. Experiment with different contrast levels for different moods.
Tips for Success:
* Less is More: Start with subtle adjustments and build up gradually. Over-processed portraits can look unnatural.
* Use Adjustment Brushes: For targeted adjustments to specific areas of the image (e.g., brightening eyes, smoothing skin).
* Experiment with Different Styles: Don't be afraid to try new things.
* Study Other Photographers' Work: Analyze the styles of photographers you admire and try to recreate their looks.
* Practice, Practice, Practice: The more you experiment, the better you'll become at creating presets that match your vision.
* Organize Your Presets: Create folders to organize your presets by style, subject, or lighting condition. This will make it easier to find the perfect preset for each image.
* Share Your Presets (or Sell Them): Once you've created some presets you're proud of, consider sharing them with the photography community or selling them online.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create unique and creative Lightroom Develop presets that will enhance your portrait photography and help you develop your own distinctive style. Remember to have fun and let your creativity guide you!