I. Understanding the Goal:
The "Soft Portrait" aesthetic aims to:
* Soften Skin: Reduce harsh details and imperfections.
* Create a Glow: Add a subtle highlight and airy feel.
* Flatter Skin Tones: Enhance natural color and reduce blemishes.
* Maintain Sharpness in Key Areas: Keep eyes and other important features in focus while softening everything else.
II. Steps to Create the Preset in Lightroom 4:
1. Import a Test Image: Select a portrait image that is representative of the types of photos you want to use the preset on. It should have good light and a subject with reasonably good skin.
2. Open the Develop Module: Navigate to the "Develop" module in Lightroom.
3. Basic Adjustments: These are the foundation.
* Exposure: Adjust as needed to achieve a bright but not overexposed image. Experiment! A slight increase (e.g., +0.10 to +0.30) is common for this effect. Watch the highlight clipping.
* Contrast: Reduce contrast significantly (e.g., -15 to -30). This helps to flatten the tonal range and create a softer overall look.
* Highlights: Lower the Highlights (e.g., -20 to -40). This recovers detail in bright areas and contributes to the softening.
* Shadows: Increase the Shadows (e.g., +10 to +30). This opens up the darker areas of the image and reduces harsh shadows, adding to the soft feel.
* Whites: Adjust gently. A slight increase (e.g., +5 to +15) can brighten the image without overexposing. Lowering slightly can work too, depending on the image.
* Blacks: Adjust gently. Usually, a small increase or decrease (e.g., -10 to +10) is sufficient. Decreasing adds depth.
* Clarity: This is KEY. Reduce Clarity significantly (e.g., -15 to -30, or even more). This smooths the skin and reduces harsh texture. Too much will make the image look unnatural and blurry.
* Vibrance: Increase Vibrance moderately (e.g., +10 to +20). This boosts the saturation of muted colors, enhancing skin tones.
* Saturation: Adjust Saturation subtly (e.g., -5 to +5). Be careful not to over-saturate the image. Too much can look unnatural.
4. Tone Curve Adjustments: This adds subtle tonal changes.
* Go to the "Tone Curve" panel.
* Create a slight "S" curve, especially in the highlights. Lift the shadows *very slightly*. This increases contrast subtly in the midtones while slightly lifting the blacks. Don't make the "S" curve too aggressive.
* Alternatively, in Lightroom 4, the 'Point Curve' method is common. Click the point curve tool (looks like a small curve with a dot in the middle). Now click on the curve in approximately the middle, and drag it *slightly* upwards. Next, click on the bottom-left part of the curve and drag it upwards *slightly*. This lifts the blacks, creating a more hazy, soft look. Be subtle!
5. HSL / Color Adjustments: Fine-tune skin tones.
* Hue:
* Adjust the hue of orange and red slightly to fine-tune skin tones. Moving orange slightly towards red can make skin look warmer, while moving it towards yellow can make it look cooler. Adjust slightly, checking to see how skin tones respond.
* Saturation:
* Adjust the saturation of orange and red to enhance skin tones. A slight increase in orange saturation can add warmth.
* Luminance:
* Increase the luminance of orange and red to brighten skin. This also helps soften.
6. Sharpening: Add targeted sharpening.
* Go to the "Detail" panel.
* Amount: Sharpening is crucial to counteract the softness from the Clarity reduction. Start with a moderate amount (e.g., 40-70).
* Radius: Keep the radius small (e.g., 0.5-1.0). This prevents halos around edges.
* Detail: Increase the Detail slider (e.g., 40-60). This brings back some texture without over-sharpening the skin.
* Masking: Important: Use the Masking slider (hold ALT/Option while dragging) to protect the skin. Masking isolates the sharpening to edges and textures, preventing it from being applied to the smooth areas of the skin. Aim to protect most of the skin, only sharpening around the eyes, lips, and hair. A value of 50-80 is a good starting point.
7. Noise Reduction: Subtly reduce noise.
* Go to the "Detail" panel.
* Luminance: Increase luminance noise reduction (e.g., 5-15) to smooth out any residual noise, especially in the shadows. Be subtle, as too much can make the image look plastic.
8. Lens Corrections (Optional):
* Go to the "Lens Corrections" panel.
* Enable Profile Corrections: This can correct for lens distortion and vignetting. If you are using a lens specifically designed for portraits (e.g., an 85mm prime) this might not be necessary, or the adjustments might be minor.
9. Save the Preset:
* Click the "+" button next to "Presets" in the left panel.
* Name your preset (e.g., "Soft Portrait").
* Important: Check the boxes for the settings you adjusted. Crucially, ensure that "Process Version" is *NOT* checked if you want this to work with all files, even those taken with a different Lightroom version or camera settings. If you ONLY want this preset to be applied to photos taken with a specific camera/lens configuration (unlikely), check it. For general usage, leave this *unchecked*.
* Click "Create."
III. Important Considerations and Fine-Tuning:
* Each Image is Different: This preset provides a starting point. You'll need to tweak the settings for each individual image based on its exposure, lighting, and subject.
* Experiment: Don't be afraid to experiment with different settings. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
* Subtlety is Key: Overdoing any of these adjustments can lead to an unnatural or unrealistic look. Err on the side of caution.
* Skin Tone Accuracy: Pay close attention to skin tones. Use the HSL panel to fine-tune the hue, saturation, and luminance of orange and red until you achieve a natural and flattering result.
* Before/After Comparisons: Regularly compare your adjusted image with the original to ensure you're making improvements and not over-processing. Use the "\" key to toggle between before and after.
Example Settings (Starting Points):
* Exposure: +0.20
* Contrast: -25
* Highlights: -30
* Shadows: +20
* Whites: +10
* Blacks: -5
* Clarity: -20
* Vibrance: +15
* Saturation: +0
* Sharpening Amount: 55
* Sharpening Radius: 0.8
* Sharpening Detail: 50
* Sharpening Masking: 70
* Luminance Noise Reduction: 8
Remember, these are just examples. Adjust them based on your specific image. Good luck!