Subtle adjustments can elevate an image from good to outstanding. Here's how to do that in Lightroom.
Coming to you from Gareth Evans with Park Cameras, this straightforward video shows an efficient method to improve portraits using Lightroom Classic. Evans demonstrates how to utilize Adaptive Presets, which leverage Lightroom's AI to automatically identify and adjust specific facial features such as eyes, lips, and skin. This saves considerable editing time, making the process less overwhelming, particularly if masks and detailed retouching intimidate you. Importantly, these adaptive presets remain fully customizable, allowing you to easily refine effects to match your style without losing control over your image.
Additionally, Evans illustrates how easy it is to layer multiple presets to refine your results further. By combining presets like "Glamour Portrait" with "Enhance Eyes" or "Smooth Hair," you can achieve a polished and professional look in minutes. Evans emphasizes moderation, adjusting preset intensity sliders to maintain a natural appearance. This careful balance ensures that portraits stay authentic, avoiding an overly edited appearance that could compromise their appeal.
The video also touches on manual adjustments to enhance portraits beyond presets. Evans briefly explores radial and linear gradients for subtle brightness adjustments, allowing you to creatively shape the lighting and draw attention to your subject. These gradient tools complement adaptive presets, providing an extra dimension of control that fine-tunes the overall aesthetic and mood of your portraits. By illustrating these additional adjustments, Evans ensures that even beginner-level users can gradually expand their editing skills beyond automated tools.
Lightroom's mask panel clearly shows which parts of an image each preset affects, providing valuable insight into effective portrait editing techniques. This transparency turns editing sessions into practical learning experiences, helping you understand exactly what each adjustment does to your image and why it works. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Evans.
