Key Concepts for a Soft Portrait Preset:
* Reduced Clarity & Sharpness: Softening details is crucial.
* Highlight Recovery & Shadow Opening: Reduces contrast and reveals detail.
* Skin Smoothing (Color & Luminance): Targets skin tones to minimize imperfections.
* Gentle Curves Adjustment: For subtle tonal control.
* Vibrance & Saturation Boost (Subtle): To add life without being overwhelming.
Steps to Create the Preset:
1. Open Lightroom 4 and Select a Test Portrait:
* Choose an image that's representative of the kind of portraits you want to use the preset on.
* Make a virtual copy (right-click on the image in the filmstrip, then choose "Create Virtual Copy") so you can experiment without affecting the original.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Adjust exposure to achieve a good starting point for the overall brightness. Don't overexpose highlights.
* Contrast: Reduce contrast significantly. Start with `-20` to `-40`. This helps to flatten the image and make it more receptive to softening.
* Highlights: Decrease the highlights. Start with `-50` to `-80`. This recovers detail in bright areas, often on the face.
* Shadows: Increase shadows. Start with `+20` to `+50`. This opens up the shadows and reduces harshness.
* Whites: Adjust slightly to ensure there is some white in the picture, but avoid clipping.
* Blacks: Adjust slightly to add some darkness back into the image, but avoid losing too much detail.
* Clarity: This is critical. Reduce clarity to soften the image. Start with `-20` to `-50`. The exact value will depend on the sharpness of the original image. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can make the image look muddy.
* Vibrance: Increase vibrance slightly to add a subtle boost of color. Start with `+5` to `+15`. This helps to enhance skin tones without looking overly saturated. Avoid *Saturation* for now; vibrance is generally better for portraits.
3. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments:
* Switch the Tone Curve to the "Point Curve" (click the icon in the bottom right of the Tone Curve panel).
* Create a slight "S" curve or a very subtle "S" curve if you feel the image needs a bit more contrast, and bring back a bit more separation between tones. It should be extremely subtle. The key is to avoid harsh transitions.
* Another approach is to create a very slight "lift" in the shadow area by gently raising the lower-left point of the curve a little bit. This will create a slightly milky look.
4. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Luminance: Adjust the Luminance sliders for the skin tones. Typically, you'll want to increase the Luminance of the Orange and Yellow channels. Experiment with small adjustments; start with +5 to +15. This can brighten the skin and make it look smoother. Be subtle – too much can look unnatural.
* Saturation: Reduce the Saturation of Orange channel. This reduces excessive orange in skin tones. Start with -5 to -10.
* Hue: You *might* need to adjust the Hue of the Orange channel slightly to fine-tune the skin tone. Small changes here can make a difference.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments (Noise Reduction & Sharpening):
* Sharpening: Reduce Sharpening. If the original image is already quite sharp, you might set Amount to 0 or even a negative value. If it's naturally soft, you may only need to reduce the Amount slightly. The key here is to soften the detail without making the image look blurry. Consider lowering the Radius and Detail sliders to further soften the effect.
* Noise Reduction: Increase Luminance Noise Reduction. This is important for smoothing skin. Start with `10` to `30`. Adjust the Detail and Contrast sliders in the Noise Reduction section to prevent the image from becoming too smooth and losing detail.
6. Camera Calibration Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* This panel can provide subtle color shifts that enhance the look.
* Experiment with the Red, Green, and Blue primary hues and saturation to adjust skin tones and overall color balance to your liking. Small adjustments go a long way here.
7. Effects Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Adding slight vignetting can draw attention to the subject's face. Consider a subtle vignette, starting with an amount of -5.
8. Save the Preset:
* Once you're happy with the adjustments, go to the "Presets" panel on the left.
* Click the "+" button (or the "New Preset" button).
* Give your preset a descriptive name (e.g., "Soft Portrait").
* In the "New Develop Preset" window, carefully select which settings you want to include in the preset. Generally, you'll want to include all the adjustments you made in the steps above.
* Click "Create."
Important Considerations & Tips:
* Experimentation is Key: These are suggested starting points. Every image is different, so adjust the settings to suit the specific portrait.
* Subtlety: The key to a good soft portrait is subtlety. Avoid overdoing any one adjustment.
* Skin Tone Accuracy: Pay close attention to skin tones. Avoid making them too orange, yellow, or plastic-looking.
* Local Adjustments: Consider using the Adjustment Brush or Graduated Filter to make targeted adjustments to specific areas of the image after applying the preset. For example, you might use the Adjustment Brush to selectively smooth skin further or brighten the eyes.
* Batch Processing: After applying the preset, always review each image individually to ensure that the adjustments are appropriate.
* Face Detection: Some newer versions of Lightroom have facial recognition features that can help with skin smoothing, but Lightroom 4 does not.
Example Settings (Starting Point):
* Exposure: As needed
* Contrast: -30
* Highlights: -60
* Shadows: +30
* Whites: +5
* Blacks: -5
* Clarity: -30
* Vibrance: +10
* Tone Curve: Subtle S-curve (or shadow lift)
* Orange Luminance: +10
* Orange Saturation: -5
* Sharpening: Reduced (Amount 0-20, Radius 0.5-0.7)
* Luminance Noise Reduction: 20
Remember to regularly adjust and refine your preset as you learn and develop your own style. Good luck!