Understanding the Soft Portrait Look
The goal of a soft portrait preset is to:
* Soften Skin: Reduce the appearance of wrinkles and blemishes.
* Create a Dreamy Atmosphere: Introduce a slightly ethereal or romantic feel.
* Brighten and Lift Shadows: Open up the image and add lightness.
* Subtle Color Grading: Often involves muted tones or a specific color cast.
* Preserve Sharpness in the Eyes: Ensure the eyes remain sharp and engaging.
Key Lightroom Settings for a Soft Portrait Preset
* Exposure: Slightly increase exposure for a brighter look.
* Contrast: Reduce contrast to soften the image and flatten skin tones.
* Highlights: Decrease highlights to recover detail in bright areas and prevent harshness.
* Shadows: Increase shadows to brighten dark areas and reveal detail.
* Whites: Slightly increase whites to add a touch of brightness.
* Blacks: Decrease blacks to prevent the image from appearing washed out.
* Clarity: Decrease clarity significantly to soften details. This is a crucial setting for the "soft" look.
* Vibrance: Slightly increase vibrance to boost muted colors.
* Saturation: Adjust saturation cautiously, usually slightly decreased or unchanged.
* Tone Curve: Subtle adjustments to the tone curve can further refine the contrast and brightness. An S-curve can add subtle contrast, while a flat curve softens the image.
* Sharpening: Reduce overall sharpening, but consider masking to protect skin textures while sharpening eyes.
* Noise Reduction: Apply noise reduction, especially luminance noise reduction, to smooth out textures.
* Color Grading: Use color grading panels to add a subtle color tint or mood.
* Camera Calibration: Experiment with camera calibration profiles for subtle color adjustments.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Preset
1. Import and Select an Image: Import a portrait photo into Lightroom 4. Choose a photo that represents the typical lighting and skin tones you'll be working with.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust until the image is properly exposed. Typically +0.3 to +0.7, but adjust based on your photo.
* Contrast: Lower the contrast significantly. Try -20 to -40.
* Highlights: Lower highlights. Try -20 to -40.
* Shadows: Raise shadows to brighten the image. Try +20 to +40.
* Whites: Slightly increase whites. Try +5 to +15.
* Blacks: Slightly decrease blacks. Try -5 to -15.
3. Presence Panel Adjustments:
* Clarity: This is key! Reduce clarity significantly to soften the image. Try -20 to -50. The exact amount depends on the image.
* Vibrance: Increase vibrance slightly to bring out muted colors. Try +5 to +15.
* Saturation: Make subtle adjustments. Often, you'll leave it unchanged or slightly decrease it (-5 to 0) to avoid over-saturation.
4. Tone Curve Adjustments (Optional):
* Click on the Tone Curve panel. You can choose a preset curve (e.g., "Medium Contrast") as a starting point or adjust the points manually.
* A subtle S-curve (slightly lifting the shadows and darkening the highlights) can add a gentle contrast boost. A flat curve can flatten the image for an even softer look.
* Experiment with the Channel Curve for more targeted color adjustments.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening:
* Amount: Reduce the overall sharpening. Start low, around 20-30.
* Radius: Keep the radius small (around 0.8 - 1.0).
* Detail: Adjust based on the image.
* Masking: Important! Hold the `Alt` (Windows) or `Option` (Mac) key while dragging the Masking slider. This will show you a black and white mask. Adjust the masking so that only the eyes and other key details are sharpened, while the skin remains unsharpened. This helps maintain soft skin while keeping the eyes sharp.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Increase luminance noise reduction to smooth skin. Start around 10-20 and adjust as needed.
* Color: Increase color noise reduction to remove color noise.
6. HSL/Color Panel (Optional):
* Fine-tune individual colors. For example, you might slightly desaturate the oranges and yellows to soften skin tones further. Or, adjust the luminance of the skin tones to brighten or darken them.
7. Color Grading Panel (Optional):
* Experiment with adding subtle color tints to the highlights, midtones, and shadows. A slight warmth in the highlights and a subtle coolness in the shadows can create a pleasant effect. Be very subtle.
8. Camera Calibration Panel (Optional):
* Experiment with different camera profiles (e.g., Camera Standard, Camera Portrait). These profiles can subtly alter the colors in your image.
9. Save the Preset:
* On the left panel, click the "+" button next to "Presets."
* Name your preset (e.g., "Soft Portrait").
* In the "Check" section, click "Check None" to deselect all settings.
* Carefully select *only* the settings you adjusted in the previous steps. This is crucial for the preset to be effective across different images. Generally, you'll want to include:
* Basic Tone adjustments (Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks)
* Presence adjustments (Clarity, Vibrance, Saturation)
* Tone Curve
* Detail (Sharpening and Noise Reduction)
* HSL/Color (if used)
* Color Grading (if used)
* Camera Calibration (if used)
* Click "Create."
Important Considerations and Tips:
* Experimentation is Key: These settings are starting points. Every image is different, so you'll need to adjust the preset parameters to suit each photo.
* Subtlety is Important: Avoid overdoing the effects. A soft portrait should look natural and flattering, not overly processed.
* Skin Tone Accuracy: Pay close attention to skin tones. Adjust the HSL/Color panel to ensure they look natural and healthy.
* Sharpening Eyes: The most important part of a portrait is usually the eyes, so they should remain sharp. Use the masking feature in the sharpening panel to selectively sharpen the eyes while softening the skin.
* Apply Preset, Then Fine-Tune: Always apply the preset first, then make further adjustments to the individual image.
* Batch Processing: Once you're happy with your preset, you can apply it to a batch of photos. However, remember to review and adjust each image individually.
* Version Compatibility: Presets created in older versions of Lightroom *may* not work perfectly in newer versions and vice-versa.
By following these steps and understanding the key settings, you can create a beautiful and effective "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4. Remember to practice and refine your preset over time to achieve your desired look. Good luck!