1. Start with a Suitable Portrait:
* Choose a portrait photo that has good lighting and focus as a base for your preset. This will help you dial in the settings more accurately.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Slightly increase or decrease exposure as needed to get a good overall brightness. Avoid clipping highlights. Generally, a slight increase (+0.10 to +0.30) is a good starting point.
* Contrast: Reduce the contrast significantly. This is key to achieving a softer look. Try a value between -20 and -40.
* Highlights: Lower the highlights. This helps recover detail in bright areas and contributes to the soft look. Experiment with -30 to -60.
* Shadows: Increase the shadows. This brightens up the darker areas and further reduces contrast. Try a value between +20 and +40.
* Whites: Slightly increase the whites to add a bit of brightness without clipping. +5 to +15. Watch the histogram to avoid overexposure.
* Blacks: Slightly lower the blacks to add some depth. -5 to -15. This prevents the image from becoming too washed out.
3. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments (Subtle S-Curve):
* Point Curve: Create a very subtle S-curve.
* Click on the curve to create a point roughly in the lower-left quadrant and drag it *slightly* downwards. This will darken the shadows.
* Click on the curve to create a point roughly in the upper-right quadrant and drag it *slightly* upwards. This will brighten the highlights.
* The curve should be very gentle. The goal is to add a touch of contrast back in, but subtly.
4. HSL/Color Panel Adjustments:
* Hue: Adjust the hue of skin tones (orange and red) slightly if necessary to achieve a more pleasing tone. Small adjustments are key. Experiment with shifting them warmer.
* Saturation: Desaturate the overall image slightly to enhance the dreamy look. Lowering the saturation of orange and red can further soften skin tones. Try reducing overall saturation by -5 to -15. Lower orange and red by -5 to -10.
* Luminance: Increase the luminance of orange and red to brighten skin tones. This helps smooth the skin. Try increasing by +5 to +15.
5. Detail Panel Adjustments (Key for Soft Skin):
* Sharpening: Reduce Sharpening. This is critical for softening the skin. Lower the amount significantly, perhaps down to 0-20.
* Radius: Keep the radius low (around 1.0).
* Detail: Lower the Detail slider in the Sharpening section to further soften the skin texture. A setting between 0-10 is usually good.
* Masking: Increase the masking slider to protect edges from excessive softening. A setting between 40-60 is a good starting point. Hold the Alt/Option key while adjusting Masking to see which areas are being masked (white areas are affected, black areas are masked).
* Noise Reduction (Luminance): Increase Luminance Noise Reduction slightly to further smooth the skin and reduce grain. Start with a value between 5-15 and adjust as needed. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can lead to a plastic look. You may not need any noise reduction if the image isn't noisy to begin with.
6. Effects Panel Adjustments:
* Vignette: Adding a subtle vignette can draw attention to the subject. Use a negative value to darken the edges slightly.
* Grain: Adding a tiny amount of grain (e.g., Amount: 5-10, Size: Small) can give the image a more film-like look, which complements the soft aesthetic. This is optional.
7. Calibration Panel (Optional):
* Subtle adjustments in the Calibration panel (Red, Green, and Blue Primaries) can influence the overall color tone of the image. Experiment with these to fine-tune the colors to your liking. Small changes are usually best.
8. Save the Preset:
* Once you're happy with the settings, click the "+" button in the Presets panel.
* Give your preset a descriptive name, such as "Soft Portrait," "Dreamy Portrait," or something similar.
* Choose which settings to include in the preset. Be sure to *uncheck* any settings that are specific to the original photo, like cropping, spot removal, or transform corrections. Leaving these checked will apply those *exact* adjustments to every photo you use the preset on.
* Click "Create."
Important Considerations & Tips:
* Subtlety is Key: The best soft portrait presets are subtle. Overdoing the adjustments can lead to a blurry or unnatural look.
* Experiment: Don't be afraid to experiment with different values for each slider until you achieve the desired effect. Each photo is different, so a preset is just a starting point.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Make sure they look natural and healthy.
* Use as a Starting Point: Remember that a preset is just a starting point. You'll likely need to make further adjustments to each photo to optimize the result.
* Batch Processing: After applying the preset, you can sync the settings to other similar photos in a batch to save time. Then, make individual adjustments as needed.
* Before and After: Use the before and after view (backslash key) to compare the original image with the edited version.
* Test on Different Photos: Test the preset on various portrait photos with different lighting conditions, skin tones, and subject ages to ensure it works well across a range of images.
By following these steps and experimenting with the settings, you can create a beautiful "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will give your photos a dreamy, ethereal look. Remember to save different versions with slight variations to cater to different lighting and skin tones.