Developing a portrait in Lightroom: basic correction and look

By Marko Bogdanovic Last updated on November 15, 2026 Shown in: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 2015

A portrait can be technically flawless and still look flat. This is exactly where image development comes in. In this tutorial, you follow Marko through his personal workflow in Lightroom, from the first basic correction to the finished look. There is no fixed recipe, because a lot of it is a matter of taste. That is precisely why a comprehensible process helps, which you can then apply to your own photos.

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The development is divided into two parts. First, Marko brings the image into a clean basic mood. Then he builds the actual image look exclusively with a tone curve.

Key Takeaways

• Develop the portrait in two phases: first the basic correction, then the look.
• Sort out temperature and color mood at the beginning and keep an eye on the skin tones while doing so.
• Adjust highlights, shadows, whites and blacks only subtly, because exaggerated values quickly look artificial.
• Use the HSL panel to reduce colors and remove disturbing color casts.
• The look is created via the tone curve in the blue channel: dark areas blue, light areas yellow.
• With synchronizing, you apply settings to other images, and you can fine-tune individual photos afterwards.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Select the base image and check the shooting data

Start with the image you like best as a foundation. Marko chooses a portrait whose mood, exposure and sharpness already convince him. Before you change anything, look at the shooting data. In the example, they are ISO 800, an exposure time of 1/100 second and a very wide-open aperture. These values give you an impression of how much noise and room to work with in the shadows you can expect.

Step 2: Set the temperature and basic mood

The original image initially looks very neutral. If you move the temperature slider to the left, the image becomes colder and bluish; to the right, it becomes warmer and more yellowish. Try both directions before you decide. Marko deliberately stays rather neutral, because otherwise the yellowish background in the hair and the bluish tone in the face work strongly against each other. Make sure the skin does not look pale or sallow.

Step 3: Correct exposure and highlights

Raise the exposure slightly so that the areas in the face retain more detail. In the example, the light in the face then still looks too bright, which is why Marko reduces the highlights. Keep in mind: if you pull the highlights down too far, an unnatural impression quickly arises. Therefore, proceed in small steps and keep comparing with the original.

Step 4: Subtly adjust shadows and whites

You raise the shadows slightly to make structure in the hair and details in the dark areas visible. However, if you raise the shadows too much, the image appears flat and dull, like an artificial look. Marko also pulls the whites down a bit, which is generally a common step. Here too: the decision about the strength is a matter of personal taste.

Step 5: Adjust blacks, contrast and vibrance

With the blacks, you can go up or down depending on your goal. Marko appreciates dark image areas in which there is still detail and structure, because the eye then has to look a little more closely. He increases the contrast moderately, to about +10 in the example. He discards the clarity again, however, because he doesn't like it. Finally, he raises the vibrance slightly to bring more color into the image without overdoing it.

Step 6: Analyze colors in the HSL panel

Open the HSL panel to look at each primary color individually. This way you can quickly see where a color cast arises. In the example, there is a clear blue cast over the entire image. Marko first pulls down the saturation of the blue tones and checks how this affects the eyes. Since he works minimalistically, he removes the blue completely in the end. He also reduces green tones so that the tree and lawn do not stand out too strongly.

Step 7: Check the orange tones and skin tones

The orange tones mainly affect the skin, so you should check them especially carefully. If you move the hue slider to the left, the skin looks redder; to the right, it becomes more greenish. Marko thinks the skin in the example already looks good and only shifts the hue minimally toward red. He keeps the saturation at a level where the colors appear neither garish nor pale.

Step 8: Adjust the red tones for lips and background

Next, take a look at the red tones, as they include the lips and some areas in the background. In the example, Marko shifts the hue only by a small amount to the right. The goal is a balanced color balance in which the skin tones remain natural and the lips still provide accents. If you intervene too strongly in the red range, skin tones can quickly look unnatural.

Step 9: Open the tone curve in the blue channel

Now the actual look begins. Marko uses the tone curve for this, and he changes only the blue channel, not the RGB curve. This leaves brightness and contrast untouched, and only the color distribution changes. You move one point at a time on the curve: moving it up shifts the colors overall toward blue, moving it down shifts them toward yellow.

Step 10: Tint the shadows blue and the highlights yellow

The look thrives on the separation between dark and bright areas. If you pull the point in the lower left area of the curve upward, the dark parts of the image turn blue. You pull the point in the upper right area downward so that the highlights become yellowish. This combination creates the so-called cross look, which is very popular in portraits. If you don't like a change, you reset the point with a double-click.

Step 11: Check the result with before/after

Switch back and forth between the state before and after editing to assess the effect objectively. This comparison shows you whether the look supports the subject or overpowers it. Pay attention to the skin tones and to whether the image looks coherent overall. Only when you are satisfied with the result do you move on.

Step 12: Synchronize settings to other images

If the look convinces you, you can transfer it to other photos with just a few clicks. To do this, select the edited image and hold down the Shift key while you click the last image of the selection. Then click Synchronize at the bottom. In the dialog, you specify which values should be applied. Marko leaves all the settings he used activated and confirms with another click on Synchronize.

Step 13: Fine-tune individual images

The synchronized values do not produce the same result for every photo, because brightness and exposure differ from shot to shot. The third image in the example looks significantly more colorful than the others. Here, targeted readjustment of individual sliders helps, without affecting the other images. This way the uniform look is preserved, and you still save a lot of time. According to Marko, the result is perfectly fine for a quick edit, while for important projects there is certainly more fine-tuning possible.

Summary ??? Developing a portrait in Lightroom: From a neutral base image to your own look

You have seen how a portrait comes together in Lightroom step by step. First, you set the temperature, exposure, and tonal values so that skin and details look natural. Then, in the HSL panel, you reduce disruptive colors and ensure a balanced color balance. You create the actual look in the blue channel of the tone curve with blue shadows and yellow highlights. With synchronizing, you transfer the values to other images, and small adjustments ensure consistency. Try out the steps on your own photos and discover which look suits your style.

Trainer About Marko Bogdanovic Marko Bogdanovic is in his mid-thirties and works as a freelance commercial & wedding photographer/filmmaker in the Black Forest. His skills include an enormous amount of technical know-how when it comes to cameras. All courses by Marko Bogdanovic →