Key Principles of a Soft Portrait Preset:
* Reduced Clarity and Sharpness: This is the foundation of the soft look.
* Slightly Increased Exposure: Brightens the image and enhances a soft glow.
* Highlights Recovery: Prevents harsh highlight clipping.
* Skin Tone Smoothing: Can involve subtle adjustments to orange hues.
* Gentle Contrast: Avoids harsh shadows and highlights.
* Subtle Tone Curve Adjustments: Helps refine overall brightness and contrast.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Preset:
1. Import and Select a Portrait: Import a portrait image into Lightroom. Choose one that's well-lit to begin with.
2. Basic Panel Adjustments:
* Exposure: Slightly increase the exposure (e.g., +0.10 to +0.30). Adjust this based on your specific image; you're aiming for a brighter, airier feel. Don't overexpose! Watch the histogram.
* Contrast: Slightly decrease contrast (e.g., -5 to -15). This helps to flatten the tonal range and reduce harsh shadows.
* Highlights: Reduce the highlights (e.g., -20 to -50). This recovers detail in bright areas and prevents clipping.
* Shadows: Slightly increase the shadows (e.g., +5 to +20). This lifts the shadows and reveals more detail in darker areas.
* Whites: Adjust Whites carefully, typically decrease slightly (e.g., -5 to -15) to prevent clipping and maintain a soft look.
* Blacks: Adjust Blacks carefully, often slightly increase (e.g., +5 to +15) to lift the darkest tones and soften the contrast further.
* Clarity: The most important setting for softness! Reduce the Clarity slider significantly (e.g., -20 to -50). The lower the number, the softer the image will appear. Start conservatively and adjust to taste.
* Vibrance/Saturation: You might slightly increase Vibrance (e.g., +5 to +15) to boost the overall color without over-saturating skin tones. Saturation should be tweaked carefully, only increase if the image feels too desaturated.
3. Tone Curve Panel Adjustments (Optional, but Recommended):
* Click on the Point Curve icon (the one with the diagonal line).
* Subtle S-Curve (or Inverse S-Curve): Create a very gentle S-curve to add a touch of contrast, or a slight inverse S-curve to further reduce contrast. Avoid making it too aggressive.
* S-Curve (for a slight boost in contrast): Pull down slightly on the highlights (upper-right part of the curve) and push up slightly on the shadows (lower-left part of the curve).
* Inverse S-Curve (for further reduced contrast): Push up slightly on the highlights and pull down slightly on the shadows.
* Linear: Alternatively, you can use the linear (straight line) curve and simply adjust the black point (bottom left) upward slightly to lift the shadows and further reduce contrast.
4. HSL / Color Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Luminance:
* Orange: Slightly increase the Orange luminance (e.g., +5 to +15) to brighten skin tones. Be careful not to overexpose the skin.
* Saturation:
* Orange: Reduce orange saturation slightly if skin looks overly orange.
* Hue:
* No changes are typically needed here, but you might subtly adjust the orange hue to refine the skin tone. Be very subtle!
5. Detail Panel Adjustments:
* Sharpening: Since we've reduced Clarity, you might need to add a tiny bit of Sharpening back in, but be very conservative. Start with a low Amount (e.g., 20-40) and increase until the image looks sufficiently sharp but not harsh. Use the Masking slider (hold Alt/Option while dragging) to apply sharpening primarily to edges and avoid sharpening overly smooth areas like skin.
* Noise Reduction:
* Luminance Noise Reduction: Slightly increase Luminance noise reduction (e.g., 5-15) to smooth out skin and reduce any digital noise. Don't overdo it, as this can make the image look plastic.
* Color Noise Reduction: A small amount of Color noise reduction (e.g., 5-10) can help with color artifacts.
6. Lens Corrections (Optional):
* Enable "Remove Chromatic Aberration" and "Enable Profile Corrections". These can help clean up any lens distortion or color fringing.
7. Effects Panel Adjustments (Optional):
* Post-Crop Vignetting: Consider adding a very subtle, slightly negative Vignetting (e.g., Amount -5 to -15) to draw the viewer's eye to the subject. Set the Midpoint slider appropriately so the vignette isn't too harsh or intrusive.
* Grain: Avoid adding grain as it counteracts the softness.
8. Creating the Preset:
* In the left panel of Lightroom, click the "+" icon next to "Presets."
* Give your preset a descriptive name, such as "Soft Portrait" or "Dreamy Portrait."
* In the "Check" boxes, carefully select ONLY the settings you adjusted. This is crucial. You don't want the preset to accidentally change settings you didn't intend to change. A typical selection would include:
* Exposure
* Contrast
* Highlights
* Shadows
* Whites
* Blacks
* Clarity
* Vibrance (if adjusted)
* Saturation (if adjusted)
* Tone Curve
* Sharpening
* Noise Reduction
* HSL / Color (if adjusted any of the HSL sliders)
* Lens Corrections (If you enabled them)
* Post-Crop Vignetting (if applied)
* Click "Create."
9. Test and Refine:
* Apply the preset to several different portrait images.
* Make small adjustments to the preset as needed to fine-tune it for different lighting conditions and skin tones. You may need to slightly tweak the exposure, clarity, or skin tone adjustments. You can edit an existing preset by applying it to an image, making the desired changes, then right-clicking on the preset name in the Presets panel and choosing "Update with Current Settings."
Important Considerations:
* Image-Specific Adjustments: Remember that presets are starting points. You will almost always need to make some adjustments to a preset based on the individual image.
* Skin Tone: Pay close attention to skin tones. Overly smoothed or orange skin can look unnatural.
* Subtlety is Key: The best soft portrait presets are subtle and enhance the natural beauty of the subject without making the image look overly processed.
* Experimentation: Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings and find what works best for your style.
By following these steps, you can create a custom "Soft Portrait" preset in Lightroom 4 that will help you achieve beautiful, flattering results. Remember to practice and refine your preset over time to make it a valuable part of your workflow.