Portraits are some of the most meaningful photos we create. They capture people we love, clients we care for, and moments that only happen once. But straight out of the camera, even a beautifully lit portrait can look a little flat, too warm, too cool, or just not quite like you imagined.
Lightroom gives you all the tools you need to turn an ordinary portrait into a soft, flattering, professional image. With a thoughtful workflow, you can smooth skin without losing texture, fix color problems, sharpen eyes, and build a consistent style that works across every session.
In this guide, we will walk through how to make portrait photos look better in Lightroom, step by step. You will learn how to adjust exposure, fix white balance, correct skin tones, use masks, and apply presets in a way that feels natural and true to your subject.
If you are brand new to presets and editing, our beginner friendly guide What Are Presets explains how they work and how to start using them in Lightroom.
How to Make Portrait Photos Look Better in Lightroom: Step-by-Step Workflow
This workflow works beautifully in both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Mobile, whether you are editing client galleries or everyday portraits on your phone.
Step 1: Start With Exposure and Basic Contrast
Before you touch color or skin tones, adjust the overall brightness of the image. A portrait that is too dark or too bright will never feel polished, no matter how good the color is.
- Use the Exposure slider to bring the overall image to a natural brightness.
- Adjust Highlights and Shadows to recover detail in bright faces or dark hair.
- Use Whites and Blacks to set a gentle contrast without crushing detail.
Focus on the subject’s face. If the face looks properly exposed and readable, you are in a good starting place.
Step 2: Fix White Balance So Skin Looks Natural
White balance controls the warmth and coolness of your image. Portraits often look too orange, yellow, green, or blue straight out of the camera, especially in indoor or mixed lighting.
- Use the Temperature slider to shift between warm (yellow) and cool (blue).
- Use the Tint slider to balance pink and green tones.
- Try the White Balance picker on something neutral, then refine by eye.
Watch the skin, not the background. Skin should look soft and believable, not overly tanned, neon, or grey.
Step 3: Refine Skin Tones With HSL and Masks
Even with good white balance, skin can still look too red, too orange, or dull. Lightroom’s HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) sliders and masking tools let you target only the skin without changing the whole image.
- In HSL, gently adjust the Orange and Red channels to correct overly strong color.
- Lower Saturation slightly if the skin is too intense.
- Use a Mask like Select Subject or Brush to target the face and make small adjustments.
Small changes make the biggest difference. Think soft, healthy skin rather than dramatic color shifts.
Step 4: Smooth Skin While Keeping Texture
One of the easiest ways to ruin a portrait is to blur the skin until it looks plastic. Instead, aim for a gentle smoothing effect that keeps pores and fine details.
- Use the Skin Smoothing or Soften Skin preset or mask for a subtle softening effect.
- Reduce Clarity slightly on the skin area, not the whole image.
- Avoid using too much negative Texture, which can erase important detail.
The goal is to reduce distractions, not erase real features. You want your subject to still look like themselves, just more rested and polished.
Step 5: Sharpen Key Details Like Eyes and Hair
Sharp eyes and defined features can instantly make a portrait feel professional.
- Create a new Mask for the eyes, brows, and lashes.
- Add a touch of Texture and Clarity to those areas.
- Increase Sharpening slightly and lift Exposure just a little if the eyes feel flat.
You can also add a soft sharpening mask to hair, jewelry, or key clothing details. Keep it gentle, especially on older skin or very close-up portraits.
Step 6: Shape the Light With Vignettes and Radial Masks
Light can guide the viewer’s eye straight to your subject. Instead of using a heavy vignette, use masks to subtly shape the light around the face.
- Use a Radial Gradient over the face and upper body to slightly brighten the subject.
- Darken the background gently using an inverted radial mask or Linear Gradient.
- Use the new Lens Blur or Background blur tools lightly if available in your version of Lightroom.
When done well, this creates a soft spotlight effect that feels natural and flattering.
Step 7: Add Color Grading and Film Inspired Tones
Once exposure, skin, and detail are in a good place, it is time to add mood. Color grading or film inspired presets can give your portraits a cohesive, recognizable look.
- Use the Color Grading panel to tint shadows, midtones, or highlights.
- Try soft warm shadows for cozy, romantic portraits.
- Use gentle cool tones in the shadows for a calm, refined feel.
- Apply a film inspired preset that fits your style, then adjust exposure and white balance as needed.
Color grading should support the story you want to tell. Think about how you want your viewer to feel when they look at the portrait.
Step 8: Crop, Straighten, and Keep a Consistent Style
Finally, refine the framing.
- Straighten any tilted horizons or leaning lines behind your subject.
- Cropped portraits often look best when the eyes sit slightly above the center line.
- Review a small set of portraits from the same session side by side to make sure the exposure, color, and contrast look consistent.
A consistent edit across a full gallery makes your work feel polished, cohesive, and professional.
Common Portrait Editing Mistakes in Lightroom
Even experienced editors fall into a few common traps. Avoiding these mistakes will instantly make your portraits look better.
1. Over-Smoothing Skin
Using too much skin softening, negative Texture, or blur can make faces look plastic and unrealistic.
How to fix it: Reduce the strength of your skin smoothing mask. Keep some texture and detail, especially around the eyes, lips, and nose.
2. Oversaturated Orange Skin Tones
Many cameras capture skin with strong orange or red tones, and some presets increase it even more. This can make your subject look sunburned or overly tanned.
How to fix it: In HSL, lower the Saturation of the Orange and Red channels and adjust the Hue slightly toward a softer peach tone. Always judge by the face, not the overall image.
3. Unrealistic Eye and Teeth Whitening
It is easy to over-whiten eyes and teeth until they glow unnaturally.
How to fix it: Use a small brush mask and lower the Whites or Exposure just a little. Keep the change subtle. If you can clearly see the edit, it is probably too strong.
4. Crushing the Blacks Too Far
Heavy contrast might look dramatic at first, but it can erase shadow detail in hair, clothing, and darker skin tones.
How to fix it: Raise the Blacks slider slightly and keep Contrast moderate. Use the Tone Curve gently to keep richness without losing information.
5. Too Much Clarity on Faces
Clarity can add punch, but on faces it often emphasizes texture, fine lines, and pores.
How to fix it: Apply Clarity selectively. Use positive Clarity on hair, clothing, and background details and keep it very low or slightly negative on skin.
6. Inconsistent Color Across a Gallery
If each portrait in a set has different white balance or skin tone, the final gallery can look messy and disconnected.
How to fix it: Edit one anchor image first, then sync your settings across similar photos. Make small, image-specific tweaks instead of starting from scratch on each one.
FAQ: How to Make Portrait Photos Look Better in Lightroom
1. How can I make skin look smoother in Lightroom?
Use masks instead of global blur. Start with a Select Subject or Brush mask and reduce Texture slightly, lower Clarity a small amount, and adjust Noise Reduction if needed. Keep the effect subtle so pores and natural texture remain visible. You can also combine this with a gentle preset designed for skin smoothing.
2. Why do my portraits look too orange or too pink?
Indoor lighting, mixed light sources, and certain camera profiles can push skin tones toward orange or pink. First, adjust White Balance using the Temperature and Tint sliders. Then refine the Orange and Red channels in HSL to soften intensity. Small changes make a big difference. Aim for skin that looks soft, calm, and believable.
3. How do I get sharp eyes in Lightroom?
Create a Brush or Select Subject mask that targets the eyes, lashes, and brows. Add a touch of Texture, a bit of Clarity, and a small Sharpening boost. You can also slightly lift Exposure in the eyes if they feel too dark. Avoid sharpening the entire face heavily, which can emphasize unwanted texture.
4. Should I use masks for portraits?
Yes. Masks are one of the most powerful tools for portrait editing in Lightroom. They let you adjust the face, background, eyes, hair, or clothing separately without affecting everything else. Use them for skin smoothing, eye sharpening, subtle dodging and burning, and refining specific problem areas like under-eyes or color casts.
5. What is the best preset for portrait photography?
The best preset for portraits is one that keeps skin tones natural while still giving your images a consistent style. Look for presets that describe themselves as natural, film inspired, soft, or portrait friendly. Start with a clean base preset, then add utility tools for skin, white balance, noise, and sharpening.
6. How do I edit portraits on Lightroom Mobile?
The same principles apply on Lightroom Mobile. Start with exposure and white balance, then adjust skin tones, use masks for the face and eyes, and apply a preset as your base style. Lightroom Mobile includes powerful masking and color tools, so you can create professional portrait edits directly on your phone.
Recommended Lou & Marks Presets for Portraits
If you want to build a soft, flattering portrait style in Lightroom, these Lou & Marks presets are designed with skin tones, detail, and workflow in mind.
The Starter Bundle
A beginner friendly collection of clean, natural presets that work beautifully for portraits, families, lifestyle sessions, and everyday images. The tones are soft, flattering, and easy to adjust, which makes this bundle perfect if you are still discovering your portrait style.
Kodak Portra 400 Lightroom Preset
This preset is inspired by one of the most loved portrait films in the world. It creates soft, golden skin tones, gentle contrast, and a romantic film look that is perfect for couples, weddings, and lifestyle portraits.
Vintage Black & White Film Presets
For emotional, timeless portraits, vintage style black and white presets are a beautiful choice. These presets add soft contrast, gentle warmth, and fine grain so your portraits feel like classic film photographs.
Photo Fix and Editing Kits
These utility tools are perfect add-ons for any portrait preset. Use them to fix skin tones, correct white balance, reduce noise, and sharpen your images without changing your main style. They fit seamlessly into a professional portrait workflow.
Shop Photo Fix and Editing Kits
Free Skin and Portrait Tools
If you are just getting started, you can build a portrait workflow using free tools. Skin tone fix presets, skin smoothing, white balance fixes, and noise reduction presets make it easy to clean up portraits without spending anything.
Download Free Skin Tone Fix Presets
Download Free Skin Smoothing Presets
The All Access Bundle
If you want a complete portrait toolkit for every lighting situation, the All Access Bundle includes all Lou & Marks presets in one collection. You can mix clean looks, film styles, vintage black and white, and utility presets to create your own signature portrait workflow. Shop The All Access Bundle
The Takeaway
Making portrait photos look better in Lightroom is not about extreme edits. It is about thoughtful steps that respect the person in front of the camera. When you balance exposure, refine white balance, correct skin tones, use masks with care, and choose presets that support your vision, your portraits start to feel soft, intentional, and truly professional.
Use this workflow as a starting point, then adjust it to fit your own style. Over time, you will build a portrait editing process that feels natural and repeatable, whether you are editing on a laptop or your phone.
If you are ready to keep exploring portrait editing, you can also read our guide to choosing a style and presets that fit your work: Best Lightroom Presets for Portraits.
