Understanding the Goal:
A "soft portrait" aims for:
* Reduced Contrast: Less harsh shadows and highlights for a more even skin tone.
* Gentle Sharpening: Enough sharpness to maintain detail but without accentuating texture or blemishes.
* Subtle Colors: Muted or creamy colors often associated with a vintage or romantic feel.
* Brightening: Slightly brighter overall exposure to enhance the light and airy feel.
* Smooth Skin: Reduce harshness and texture of skin.
Steps to Create the Preset in Lightroom 4:
1. Start with a Clean Slate: Open Lightroom 4 and select a portrait photo. Click the "Reset" button in the Develop module to start with the default settings.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Increase slightly. Start with +0.30 and adjust according to the specific image. The goal is to brighten the face without blowing out the highlights.
* Contrast: Decrease significantly. Aim for -30 to -60. This will flatten the image and soften the shadows.
* Highlights: Decrease. Lower the highlights (-20 to -40) to recover detail in bright areas like the forehead or cheeks.
* Shadows: Increase slightly. Raise the shadows (+10 to +30) to brighten the darker areas and reduce contrast further.
* Whites: Adjust slightly. This usually needs some minor adjustment. Move slider left to recover highlights. If highlights are already good, move slider slightly right.
* Blacks: Adjust slightly. This usually needs some minor adjustment. Move slider right to make shadows brighter. If shadows are already good, move slider slightly left.
* Clarity: Reduce. This is crucial for softening skin. Start with -10 to -30 and adjust to your liking. A negative clarity value smooths out textures.
* Vibrance: Increase slightly. +5 to +15. This will add subtle color without over-saturating the image. Vibrance affects the less saturated colors more.
* Saturation: Adjust cautiously. Increase it slightly (+3 to +7). Too much saturation can look unnatural.
3. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments (Optional but Recommended):
* Point Curve: Use the Point Curve (instead of the Parametric Curve) for more precise control. Create a gentle "S" curve.
* Slightly lift the bottom left of the curve to lighten the shadows further.
* Slightly lower the top right of the curve to protect the highlights.
* This subtle "S" curve will add a touch of contrast while maintaining the overall soft look.
4. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Luminance:
* Increase the Luminance of orange and yellow tones slightly. This will brighten the skin tones. (+5 to +15).
* Saturation:
* Slightly reduce the saturation of reds and oranges to soften skin tones further. (-3 to -7).
* Hue: You generally shouldn't need to adjust these, but if the skin tone is too warm or cool, you can tweak the orange and red hues subtly.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening:
* Amount: Reduce the Amount significantly. Start with 30. The goal is to sharpen just enough to retain detail without emphasizing skin texture.
* Radius: Keep this low (around 1.0).
* Detail: Increase this slightly to compensate for the lowered amount. Start with 40.
* Masking: Hold the ALT (Option on Mac) key while dragging the Masking slider to the right. This will protect the smoother areas of the image (like skin) from excessive sharpening. Adjust until only the edges of objects are sharpened. A value of 40-60 is usually good.
* Noise Reduction (Luminance):
* If you have noticeable noise, increase Luminance Noise Reduction slightly (5-15). This will help smooth out the image but can also soften it, so be careful not to overdo it.
6. Effects Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Grain: Add a very subtle amount of grain (Amount 5-10, Size 25, Roughness 50) for a film-like effect if desired.
* Vignetting: Add a subtle negative vignette to draw the viewer's eye toward the center of the image (-5 to -15). Use the "Highlight Priority" style to avoid darkening the corners too much.
7. Calibration Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* These settings are highly subjective and depend on your camera's profile. Experiment with the Red, Green, and Blue Primary sliders to adjust the overall color tone.
8. Saving the Preset:
* Once you're happy with the adjustments, click the "+" button in the Presets panel.
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait - Natural" or "Soft Portrait - Vintage").
* In the "Check" options, choose the settings you want to include in the preset. Generally, you'll want to include everything you adjusted, except for perhaps Exposure (as that's very image-specific).
* Click "Create."
Important Considerations:
* Image-Specific Adjustments: This preset is a starting point. You'll likely need to fine-tune the settings for each individual photograph, especially exposure, white balance, and noise reduction.
* White Balance: Ensure your white balance is accurate before applying the preset. Incorrect white balance can negatively impact skin tones.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. If they look too orange or red, adjust the HSL/Color panel settings accordingly.
* Experimentation: Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings and find what works best for your style and your subjects.
Key Things to Remember:
* Subtlety is key. Avoid overdoing any single adjustment.
* Focus on creating a balanced look. The goal is to soften and flatter, not to drastically alter the image.
* Iterate and refine. Create several variations of your preset with slight differences in the settings, and then use them as starting points for different images.
By following these steps and understanding the principles behind them, you can create a versatile "soft portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve beautiful, flattering results. Good luck!