1. Conceptualization and Inspiration:
* Define your style: What kind of portraits do you want to create? Do you prefer:
* Warm and vintage?
* Cool and modern?
* High contrast and dramatic?
* Soft and ethereal?
* Natural and realistic?
* Gather inspiration: Look at photos you admire. What qualities do they have that you want to emulate? Pinterest, Instagram, 500px, and magazines are great sources. Analyze the colors, tones, contrast, and overall mood.
* Consider the subject: A preset designed for a baby portrait will likely be different than one designed for a senior portrait or a fashion editorial. Think about skin tones, lighting conditions, and the desired aesthetic for your subject.
2. Start with a Sample Image:
* Choose a well-exposed, representative portrait. It should be similar to the types of photos you plan to use the preset on.
* This image will be your "control" for tweaking and perfecting the preset.
3. Develop Settings in Lightroom:
* Basic Panel:
* White Balance: Start here. Is the overall image too warm or too cool? Adjust the temperature and tint sliders. Consider specific looks like:
* Warm: Increase temperature slightly, maybe a touch of magenta tint.
* Cool: Decrease temperature, maybe a touch of green tint.
* Exposure: Fine-tune the overall brightness. Be careful not to overexpose highlights, especially on the face.
* Contrast: Increase or decrease contrast to add or soften the mood. Higher contrast creates a more dramatic look, while lower contrast is softer.
* Highlights: Adjust to recover detail in overexposed areas. Lowering highlights can soften the overall look.
* Shadows: Adjust to bring out detail in underexposed areas. Raising shadows can create a more airy or flat look.
* Whites & Blacks: These sliders define the extreme ends of your tonal range. Adjust them carefully to create a good balance. Often, subtly pushing them in opposite directions can enhance contrast.
* Presence (Clarity, Dehaze, Vibrance, Saturation): These are powerful tools for mood and style.
* Clarity: Adds or reduces mid-tone contrast. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can create a harsh, artificial look, especially on skin.
* Dehaze: Great for adding or removing a hazy look. Use it sparingly, as it can also affect color.
* Vibrance: Adjusts the intensity of muted colors. A good starting point before Saturation.
* Saturation: Adjusts the overall intensity of all colors. Be cautious, as it's easy to over-saturate.
* Tone Curve:
* This is where you can create unique tonal styles. Experiment with different curve shapes:
* S-Curve: Increases contrast. A subtle S-curve is a classic.
* Inverse S-Curve: Decreases contrast, creating a softer, more faded look.
* Lifted Blacks: Raise the bottom point of the curve to create a faded or "matte" look.
* Specific Color Channel Curves: (Red, Green, Blue): Adjust these to fine-tune color casts. For example, pulling down the red curve in the shadows can create a cooler tone.
* HSL/Color Panel:
* This is your color control center! Adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance of individual color ranges (reds, oranges, yellows, greens, cyans, blues, magentas, purples).
* Hue: Changes the shade of a color. For example, shifting the orange hue can make skin tones warmer or cooler.
* Saturation: Controls the intensity of a color. Great for muting distracting colors or emphasizing important ones.
* Luminance: Controls the brightness of a color. Useful for brightening eyes (adjusting the yellow/orange luminance) or darkening backgrounds (adjusting the blue luminance).
* Skin Tones: Focus on the Red, Orange, and Yellow sliders for adjustments. Generally:
* Orange: Controls the overall skin tone.
* Red: Adds warmth or coolness to the cheeks and lips.
* Yellow: Can affect skin tones and the warmth of hair.
* Color Grading:
* This panel allows you to apply different color tones to the shadows, midtones, and highlights.
* Global Adjustments: Use the Global adjustments (Luminance, Blending, Balance) to refine the overall color grading effect.
* Color Wheels: Click on a color wheel and drag the circle to choose a color. The further you drag it, the more intense the color becomes. Use this panel subtlely, especially when starting out.
* Detail Panel:
* Sharpening: Add sharpness to bring out detail. Use the Masking slider to prevent sharpening in smooth areas like skin. A small amount goes a long way.
* Noise Reduction: Reduce noise, especially in high-ISO photos. Luminance Noise Reduction smooths out grainy areas. Color Noise Reduction targets color blotches.
* Lens Corrections:
* Enable Profile Corrections: This can automatically correct for lens distortion and vignetting.
* Chromatic Aberration: Check "Remove Chromatic Aberration."
* Transform:
* Correct perspective issues (e.g., leaning buildings). This is less crucial for portraits, but useful if you've shot with a wide-angle lens and have distortion.
* Effects:
* Grain: Adds a film-like texture. Use sparingly.
* Vignetting: Adds a darkening or lightening effect around the edges of the image. Can be used to draw the viewer's eye to the center.
* Calibration:
* This is an advanced panel, but can be used to fine-tune color casts. It affects the overall "look" of the image. Experiment with the Red, Green, and Blue Primary sliders.
4. Iterate and Refine:
* Apply the preset to other photos: Try it on a variety of portraits with different lighting conditions and skin tones.
* Make adjustments: Every photo is different. You'll likely need to tweak the preset slightly for each image. Focus on:
* Exposure: The most common adjustment needed.
* White Balance: Adjust for the specific lighting in each photo.
* HSL/Color: Fine-tune skin tones if needed.
* Rename: Give your preset a descriptive name that reflects its style (e.g., "Warm Vintage Portrait," "Cool Modern Look," "B&W High Contrast").
5. Save Your Preset:
* In the Develop module, click the "+" button in the Presets panel and select "Create Preset."
* Give your preset a name and choose a group to save it in (you can create a new group for your portrait presets).
* Important: Carefully consider which settings to include in the preset. It's usually best to *exclude* settings that are very specific to a particular photo, such as:
* Spot Removal
* Crop
* Transform
* Upright
* Geometry (Distortion, Vertical, Horizontal, Rotate, Aspect, Scale, X Offset, Y Offset)
* Click "Create."
Tips for Creative and Unique Presets:
* Experiment with unusual color combinations: Try pushing colors in unexpected directions. For example, adding a hint of green to the highlights or shadows.
* Use the Tone Curve creatively: Create unique curves to achieve different tonal effects.
* Focus on mood and atmosphere: Think about the emotions you want to evoke. Adjust the settings to create a specific mood, such as nostalgic, dramatic, or dreamy.
* Study film stocks: Research the color palettes and tonal characteristics of classic film stocks and try to emulate them in Lightroom.
* Don't be afraid to break the rules: Experiment with unconventional settings and see what happens.
* Create variations: Once you have a base preset you like, create variations by making small adjustments. For example, you could create a "Warm Vintage Portrait - Low Contrast" and a "Warm Vintage Portrait - High Contrast" version.
* Skin Tone Preservation: Avoid making huge changes to overall color if it impacts the skin tones in an undesirable way. Always zoom in and evaluate how changes affect the skin.
Troubleshooting:
* Presets that work on some photos but not others: This is normal. Every photo is different. You'll likely need to make adjustments to the preset for each image, particularly exposure and white balance.
* Over-processed or unnatural-looking skin tones: Back off on the Clarity and Saturation sliders. Also, check the HSL/Color panel and adjust the orange and red sliders to create a more natural skin tone.
* Clipping highlights or shadows: Adjust the Highlights and Shadows sliders to recover detail in overexposed or underexposed areas.
Examples of Preset Ideas:
* "Golden Hour Warmth": Emphasizes warm tones, softens shadows, and adds a slight glow.
* "Vintage Matte": Creates a faded, film-like look with lifted blacks and muted colors.
* "Dramatic B&W": High contrast black and white conversion with strong tonal separation.
* "Pastel Dream": Soft, airy look with pastel colors and low contrast.
* "Cool and Moody": Cool tones, increased contrast, and a slightly desaturated look.
* "Natural Enhance": Subtle adjustments to improve color and detail without drastically changing the original look.
By following these steps and experimenting with different settings, you can create your own unique and creative Lightroom develop presets for portraits that will help you achieve your desired aesthetic and streamline your workflow. Remember to have fun and let your creativity guide you!