{"id":18319,"date":"2021-11-30T15:12:43","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T20:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd341\/?p=18319"},"modified":"2021-11-30T15:12:43","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T20:12:43","slug":"portrait-adjustments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd341\/portrait-adjustments\/","title":{"rendered":"Portrait Adjustments"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to take your portraits<\/a> to the next level, you\u00a0must\u00a0<\/em>master editing \u2013 but getting started with portrait edits can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for a beginner.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where this article comes in handy.<\/p>\n

You see, I\u2019ve spent plenty of time learning how to edit portraits in Lightroom, and I\u2019ve developed a simple, 11-step process for beautiful results. Below, I\u2019ve shared my entire system, which will take your photos from \u201cBefore\u201d to \u201cAfter\u201d:<\/p>\n

\"portrait<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, you don\u2019t absolutely\u00a0need\u00a0<\/em>Lightroom to edit your portraits. Any full-fledged editing software will work, including Capture One<\/a>, ON1 PhotoRAW<\/a>, ACDSee<\/a>, Luminar<\/a>, and more. Lightroom is my personal favorite program, and I do recommend it for beginners, but you should be able to follow along with my instructions regardless of your software.<\/p>\n

One more thing: Every photo is different, and while I\u2019ve selected a standard portrait shot as an example, you may need to make tweaks to my editing process as you go along. That\u2019s absolutely okay! Just bear in mind that, even where your technique changes, the overall step-by-step process should remain the same. Make sense?<\/p>\n

Step 1: Import your portrait for editing<\/h2>\n

Start by importing your image into Lightroom (or your post-processing program of choice).<\/p>\n

I often apply a sharpening preset upon import, which gives my RAW images a bit of extra pop and cuts down my editing time significantly when I\u2019m working with a large number of images at once. In case you\u2019re interested in trying out my portrait sharpening preset for yourself, here are the details:<\/p>\n

\"Lightroom<\/span><\/p>\n

(To apply a preset on import, go to the righthand panel in Lightroom and find the Apply During Import<\/strong> tab. Go to Develop Settings<\/strong>>User Presets<\/strong>, then click on the preset you wish to apply.)<\/p>\n

Once you have imported your file, go to the Lightroom Develop module<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"basic<\/span><\/p>\n

You should always start a portrait edit by importing your file into Lightroom!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 2: Adjust the white balance<\/h2>\n

Every photo features a slightly different tint and temperature, which depends on the color of the light and the shooting location. Unless you custom-set your white balance<\/a>using a gray card before each shoot, your image will likely need a bit of color correction.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, color correction is simple. One method is to find a neutral surface in the image (i.e., an area that should be pure white or gray), then select it with the White Balance Eyedropper tool. Another option is to simply adjust the Temperature and Tint sliders until you get a result you like.<\/p>\n

In my example image, the temperature is a bit cold (i.e., blue), so I need to warm it up. There doesn\u2019t appear to be a neutral surface, so I\u2019ll adjust the white balance sliders to give the image more warmth:<\/p>\n

\"edits<\/span><\/p>\n

Correct the white balance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 3: Adjust exposure, highlights, and shadows<\/h2>\n

The next step in Lightroom portrait editing? Exposure and tonal adjustments.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve taken your shot correctly, you should have a relatively well-exposed shot, but it always pays to check the histogram to be sure; you should have zero peaks pressed up against the walls of the graph, and unless the image is meant to feature lots of darks and\/or lights, the curve should be balanced throughout the histogram.<\/p>\n

If your image\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>overexposed, simply drop the\u00a0Exposure\u00a0<\/strong>slider (and if the image is underexposed, do the reverse!).<\/p>\n

Then take a careful look at your portrait subject\u2019s skin tones, hair, and background. I recommend adjusting the Highlights\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Shadows\u00a0<\/strong>sliders until you get a nice result. Go ahead and experiment, though a common adjustment is to boost the shadows while dropping the highlights. (Also, play with the whites and blacks, as well!)<\/p>\n

For my example portrait edit, the overall exposure is decent, but my model\u2019s skin tone is a little too light, and her hair and the background are too dark. So I pulled back the highlights and lightened the shadows (a common edit, remember?):<\/p>\n

\"adjusting<\/span><\/p>\n

Adjust highlights and shadows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 4: Increase the vibrance and saturation<\/h2>\n

At this point, you\u2019ll want to liven up your portrait with a bit of color. You can use Lightroom\u2019s Saturation slider, but don\u2019t go overboard; the Vibrance slider is a bit more subtle, and a bit smarter, too.<\/p>\n

You can also increase the Whites slider, if you haven\u2019t already. The goal here is (generally) to push the whitest whites in the image up against the edge of the histogram, so make sure to pay it careful attention.<\/p>\n

By the way: After you\u2019ve made your vibrance and saturation adjustments, I recommend toggling the before and after view (hit the \u201c\\\u201d key). Make sure skin tones are\u00a0natural<\/em>, not garish and unpleasant.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say that my example portrait still looks a little dull and fake without some saturation, so I\u2019ll boost the Vibrance slider, the Saturation slider, and even the Whites. Note that all the adjustments are\u00a0very\u00a0<\/em>subtle, and give my model natural-looking skin tones:<\/p>\n

\"basi<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 5: Crop your image<\/h2>\n

Technically, you can crop your images at any stage. Some photographers crop early in their portrait edit workflow, whereas others like to do it at the end. I, on the other hand, do my cropping in the middle, once I\u2019ve made my basic adjustments, but haven\u2019t really started in on any facial features.<\/p>\n

Before cropping, ask yourself:<\/p>\n