1. Understanding the Goal:
* Soft Skin: Minimizing blemishes and wrinkles while maintaining texture.
* Gentle Light: Avoiding harsh shadows and bright highlights.
* Dreamy Feel: A slightly diffused, ethereal quality.
* Warmth (Optional): Often a touch of warmth enhances skin tones.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust for a good overall brightness. Aim for slightly brighter than you might normally. Don't overexpose and clip highlights, but a touch brighter is better than underexposed. Usually +0.25 to +0.75 is a good starting point.
* Contrast: Reduce contrast significantly. This is key to softening the image. Start with -20 to -40, but adjust based on the image's initial contrast.
* Highlights: Reduce the highlights to recover detail and prevent clipping. Try -20 to -50.
* Shadows: Increase the shadows to brighten the darker areas and soften the overall look. Try +20 to +50.
* Whites: Adjust the whites slightly to brighten the image without blowing out highlights. Usually a slight decrease or increase is needed, -5 to +10.
* Blacks: Adjust the blacks slightly to control the depth of the shadows. Usually a slight decrease or increase is needed, -5 to +10.
3. Tone Curve Adjustments:
* Point Curve: This is where you can add the subtle "S" curve often associated with soft portraits.
* In the Tone Curve panel, select "Point Curve."
* Click to create a point in the lower left portion of the curve (shadows) and drag it slightly upwards. This lifts the shadows and flattens the lower part of the curve.
* Click to create a point in the upper right portion of the curve (highlights) and drag it slightly downwards. This compresses the highlights.
* Click to create a point in the middle of the curve to prevent the overall image from becoming too flat.
* The key is to create a *very gentle* "S" curve. Avoid sharp bends.
4. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) Adjustments:
* Luminance:
* Increase the Luminance of Red, Orange, and Yellow. These colors primarily affect skin tones. Increasing their luminance brightens the skin. Start with +5 to +15 for each and adjust to your taste.
* Consider slightly decreasing the Luminance of Blues and Greens if there's a lot of background to add contrast there.
* Saturation:
* Slightly desaturate the Orange and Yellow channels to prevent skin tones from becoming too intense. -5 to -10 is usually enough.
* You might also slightly desaturate the Blues and Greens depending on the background and your desired aesthetic.
* Hue: Usually, hue adjustments are minimal for soft portraits. If needed:
* Slightly shift Orange towards Red to warm up skin tones (move the Orange slider slightly to the left).
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening: Reduce the sharpening *significantly*. This is critical.
* Amount: Reduce the amount to around 20-40. The exact amount depends on your lens and camera, but the goal is to soften the image, not sharpen it.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (around 0.8 to 1.0).
* Detail: Lower the Detail slider to further smooth out skin. Try a value between 10 and 25.
* Masking: Use the masking slider (hold ALT/Option while dragging) to apply sharpening only to edges and avoid sharpening smooth areas like skin.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance: Increase Luminance noise reduction slightly to further smooth skin. Start with +5 to +15. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can make the image look unnatural.
6. Effects Panel Adjustments:
* Post-Crop Vignetting:
* Consider adding a very subtle vignette (Amount: -5 to -15, Midpoint: 50-75, Roundness: +100, Feather: +50-75) to draw the viewer's eye towards the subject.
* Grain: Avoid adding grain for a traditional soft portrait look.
7. Camera Calibration (Profile) - Optional:
* In the Camera Calibration panel, try different camera profiles. The "Camera Portrait" profile sometimes provides a good starting point for skin tones.
* Adjust the Shadow Tint slightly if you see color casts in the shadows.
8. Saving the Preset:
1. Go to the "Presets" panel on the left side.
2. Click the "+" button (or click the small menu icon and select "Create Preset").
3. Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait - v1," "Soft Portrait - Warm").
4. Choose a group to save the preset in (or create a new group, like "Portraits").
5. Crucially: Make sure the correct settings are checked! Ideally, you should check *everything* that you modified in the previous steps. If you only want the preset to affect certain parameters, only check those. Consider *not* checking "Process Version" to ensure compatibility across Lightroom versions. If you used a Camera Profile, make sure to check the "Profile" box.
6. Click "Create."
Important Considerations:
* Individual Images Vary: This is a *starting point*. You will likely need to tweak the preset for each individual photograph. Skin tones, lighting conditions, and overall image quality will all affect the final result.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Use the HSL sliders to fine-tune the colors.
* Practice and Experiment: The best way to learn is to practice and experiment with different settings. Take notes on what works and what doesn't.
* Non-Destructive Editing: Remember that Lightroom's editing is non-destructive. You can always revert back to the original image.
Workflow Tips:
1. Start with Good Raw Material: A well-exposed and properly focused image is essential.
2. Apply Lens Corrections: Use Lightroom's Lens Corrections to fix distortion and chromatic aberration.
3. White Balance: Adjust the white balance for accurate colors.
4. Spot Removal: Remove any distracting blemishes *before* applying the soft portrait preset.
5. Local Adjustments: Use the Adjustment Brush or Graduated Filter to make localized adjustments to brightness, contrast, or sharpness. For example, you might want to brighten the eyes or add a slight vignette around the face.
By following these steps and experimenting with the settings, you can create a beautiful "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will consistently deliver pleasing results. Remember to refine the preset over time as you gain more experience. Good luck!