Understanding the Goal:
A soft portrait aims for:
* Reduced harshness: Softening skin, minimizing wrinkles and blemishes.
* Subtle highlights: Avoiding blown-out highlights and overly bright areas.
* Slightly muted shadows: Opening up shadows without making the image flat.
* Warmth and/or luminosity: A generally pleasing, inviting tone.
* Gentle sharpening: Maintaining detail without adding harshness.
Steps to Create the Preset:
1. Start with a Properly Exposed Image: Begin with a well-exposed portrait. Over or underexposure will make adjustments more difficult.
2. Basic Adjustments (Under the "Basic" Panel):
* Exposure: Adjust to a good starting point. Slightly underexposing might give you more headroom for highlights.
* Contrast: Reduce the contrast. This is crucial for a soft look. Try around -10 to -30, or even lower depending on the original image.
* Highlights: Lower the Highlights slider. This recovers detail in blown-out areas and creates a softer look. Start around -20 to -40.
* Shadows: Increase the Shadows slider. This opens up shadows and reduces harshness. Try around +20 to +40.
* Whites: Adjust Whites carefully. Increase slightly if the image needs it, but avoid clipping (blowing out highlights).
* Blacks: Adjust Blacks carefully. Decrease slightly to add a touch of depth.
3. Tone Curve Adjustments (Under the "Tone Curve" Panel):
* Subtle S-Curve (Point Curve): A very gentle S-curve can add subtle contrast without harshness.
* Click on the "Point Curve" icon (bottom-right).
* Create two points: one in the lower left quadrant and one in the upper right quadrant.
* Slightly pull the lower-left point down and to the right to deepen shadows gently.
* Slightly pull the upper-right point up and to the left to lift highlights gently.
* Alternative (Parametric Curve):
* Adjust the highlights, lights, darks, and shadows sliders. Reduce highlights and add a bit to shadows. Adjust the darks and lights sliders according to your liking. Experiment to see what works best for your style.
4. HSL/Color Adjustments (Under the "HSL / Color" Panel):
* Luminance: This is key for skin tone control.
* Increase the Luminance of Orange and/or Yellow. This brightens skin tones. Start with +5 to +20 for each.
* If the image has a lot of red tones in the skin (common), slightly reduce the Luminance of Red.
* Saturation:
* Reduce the overall Saturation slightly, but be careful not to make the image look washed out. Try -5 to -10.
* Consider slightly desaturating Red and/or Orange to control skin tone color cast.
* Hue: Only adjust if necessary to correct skin tone.
5. Split Toning (Under the "Split Toning" Panel):
* Subtle Warmth: Adding a touch of warmth to the highlights can create a pleasant effect.
* Select a Highlights Hue around 30-45 (orange/yellow). Set the Saturation very low (1-5).
* Consider a cool tone for the shadows around a hue of 220-240 (blue). Set the Saturation very low (1-5).
6. Detail (Under the "Detail" Panel):
* Sharpening: Reduce Sharpening. Too much sharpening will ruin the soft effect.
* Decrease the Amount slider significantly. Start around 20-30 and adjust to taste.
* Increase the Radius slightly to broaden the sharpening effect (try 1.0 - 1.5).
* Increase the Detail slider to bring back some detail without adding too much harshness (try 30-50).
* Increase the Masking slider to only apply sharpening to the edges and not the smooth areas (like skin). Start with 50-70.
* Noise Reduction: Increase Luminance Noise Reduction to smooth out skin. Start with 10-20 and increase as needed. Be careful not to overdo it, or the image will look plastic.
7. Lens Corrections (Under the "Lens Corrections" Panel):
* Enable Profile Corrections: Check the box "Enable Profile Corrections" to automatically correct lens distortion and vignetting.
* Remove Chromatic Aberration: Check the box "Remove Chromatic Aberration."
8. Effects (Under the "Effects" Panel):
* Vignetting (Optional): Add a subtle vignette to draw focus to the subject. Try a negative amount (-5 to -15) for a darkening vignette, or a slight positive amount (5-15) for a brightening vignette.
* Grain: Adding a very small amount of grain can sometimes enhance the "film-like" feel of a soft portrait. Be *very* subtle (Amount: 5-10).
Saving the Preset:
1. Click the "+" Button in the Presets Panel: This is usually located at the top-left of the Presets panel.
2. Choose "Create Preset":
3. Name Your Preset: Give it a descriptive name like "Soft Portrait," "Dreamy Portrait," or something similar.
4. Check the Boxes Carefully: Critically important! Only check the boxes for the settings you *actually* adjusted. This prevents the preset from changing unrelated settings in future images. Common settings to include are:
* Exposure
* Contrast
* Highlights
* Shadows
* Whites
* Blacks
* Tone Curve
* HSL/Color (check all the boxes within this section)
* Split Toning
* Sharpening
* Noise Reduction
* Lens Corrections (Profile Corrections and Chromatic Aberration)
* Vignetting
* Grain
5. Choose a Group (Folder): You can create a new folder for your portrait presets or add it to an existing one.
6. Click "Create":
Important Considerations and Tips:
* Experiment and Iterate: These settings are just a starting point. The best settings will vary depending on the specific image, lighting conditions, and your artistic preference. Apply the preset, then fine-tune individual sliders to achieve the desired look.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Avoid making them too orange, yellow, or unnatural. Use the HSL/Color panel to make subtle adjustments.
* Masking (Graduated Filter/Adjustment Brush): For even more control, consider using the Graduated Filter or Adjustment Brush to apply adjustments selectively. For example, you could use the Adjustment Brush to soften the skin even further in specific areas, or brighten the eyes.
* Over-Processing: Be careful not to over-process. A subtle, natural look is often more desirable than an overly smoothed, unrealistic appearance.
* Batch Processing: Once you've refined your preset, you can apply it to multiple images in a batch. However, always review and adjust individual images as needed.
* Lightroom Versions: While these instructions are geared toward Lightroom 4, the general principles apply to later versions of Lightroom, although the interface and some slider names may differ slightly.
By following these steps, you'll be able to create a "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that you can use to quickly and easily achieve a beautiful, flattering look for your portrait photos. Remember to adapt the preset to each individual image for the best results.