To create a "soft and dreamy" look in Lightroom, the core strategy is to reduce harshness by lowering clarity and contrast while adding a gentle glow through negative dehaze. This aesthetic is characterized by a hazy, ethereal appearance that mimics film or the "Orton effect". Core Lightroom Settings
The following adjustments form the foundation of a soft and dreamy preset:
How To Create A Dreamy Film Look: Lightroom Editing Tutorial
Capturing a "soft and dreamy" aesthetic in Lightroom is all about reducing harsh digital clarity and introducing a gentle glow.
To achieve this look, focus on the following key adjustments: 1. Soften Textures
The most effective way to get that dreamy feel is to lower the mid-tone contrast:
Clarity: Drop this significantly (between -15 and -30) to reduce harsh edges and create a "hazy" effect.
Texture: Lower this slightly to smooth out skin and surfaces without losing all detail.
Dehaze: Use a negative value to add a subtle atmospheric fog to the image. 2. Fade the Blacks (Matte Look)
A "dreamy" look often features "lifted" shadows that appear dark gray rather than pure black:
Tone Curve: Open the Tone Curve panel and drag the bottom-left point (blacks) upward. This "washes out" the darkest parts of the photo, giving it a film-like or hazy quality. 3. Create a "Creamy" Color Palette For skin tones and highlights that feel smooth:
Contrast: Reduce the overall contrast to create a softer base for your colors.
Whites & Blacks: Soften the whites and lift the blacks to flatten the dynamic range.
HSL/Color Grading: Lean toward warmer highlights and cooler shadows to create a balanced, ethereal glow. 4. Add Local Glow
Use the Masking Tool to add a "halo" effect to specific areas:
Create a Radial Gradient around your subject, invert it, and slightly lower the exposure/clarity to draw focus inward.
Alternatively, use a soft brush with negative clarity and increased exposure to manually "paint" a glow onto light sources like windows or lamps.
Professional photographers often use these settings as a foundation to maintain a consistent "signature style" across their work. You can find pre-made versions of this look through creators like Lou & Marks or Artifact Uprising. Creating that soft, dreamy, hazy look - Photofocus
"Soft and dreamy" Lightroom presets are designed to create ethereal, hazy, and glowing aesthetics by reducing harsh details and warming up color tones
. They are widely used for weddings, lifestyle portraits, and family photography to achieve a "light and airy" or nostalgic film-inspired look. Samantha Shannon Photography Before and After Visual Examples
These presets typically soften textures, add a subtle haze, and brighten shadows to transform standard photos into ethereal scenes. lightroom preset soft and dreamy
A "soft and dreamy" Lightroom preset focuses on reducing harsh contrast, smoothing skin tones, and creating an ethereal, glowing atmosphere. This aesthetic is highly popular for wedding, newborn, and fine-art photography because it adds a timeless, fairytale quality to the images. Visual Examples
The following images demonstrate the "soft and dreamy" look, characterized by muted colors, soft focus, and ethereal light:
How to Achieve Soft, Dreamy Images in Lightroom - LR Presets Pretty Presets
How to Achieve Soft, Dreamy Images in Lightroom - LR Presets Pretty Presets
The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Soft and Dreamy Aesthetic with Lightroom Presets
There is something inherently timeless about a "soft and dreamy" photo. It evokes a sense of nostalgia, romance, and ethereal beauty that sharp, high-contrast digital photography often misses. Whether you are shooting a sun-drenched wedding, a quiet morning portrait, or a misty landscape, achieving this look in post-processing can elevate your work from a standard snapshot to a piece of fine art.
If you are looking to master the Lightroom preset soft and dreamy aesthetic, this guide will walk you through what makes this style work and how to apply it to your own workflow. What Defines the "Soft and Dreamy" Look?
Before diving into the presets, it is important to understand the visual DNA of this style. A soft and dreamy edit usually consists of:
Raised Blacks & Low Contrast: Instead of harsh, deep shadows, the blacks are often "faded" or "matte," creating a film-like quality.
Pastel Color Palettes: Saturation is often dialed back in favor of luminance. Think creamy skin tones, minty greens, and sky blues.
Glow and Haze: Highlights are softened to create a "bloom" effect, making light appear as if it’s gently spilling over the edges of subjects.
Reduced Clarity: By lowering textures, skin appears smoother and the overall image feels less "digital" and more "painterly." Why Use Presets for This Style?
Achieving a consistent dreamy look manually can be time-consuming. Lightroom presets are powerful because they allow you to:
Maintain Consistency: Ensure your entire Instagram feed or wedding gallery has a cohesive "vibe."
Save Time: Apply complex tone curve adjustments and color grading in a single click.
Learn Technique: By applying a preset and looking at the slider settings, you can reverse-engineer how the effect was created. Key Adjustments Inside a Soft & Dreamy Preset
If you are building your own preset or tweaking one you’ve purchased, focus on these four key panels in Lightroom: 1. The Basic Panel (The Foundation) Contrast: Drop this significantly (-20 to -40).
Highlights: Bring these down to recover detail in bright areas. Shadows: Boost these (+30 to +50) to reveal hidden details.
Clarity & Dehaze: Move these to the left (negative values). This is the "secret sauce" for creating that hazy, ethereal glow. 2. The Tone Curve (The "Film" Look)
To get those "soft" blacks, create a point on the bottom-left of the RGB curve and lift it upward. This "crushes" the blacks into a dark grey, giving the photo an instant matte finish. 3. HSL / Color (The Pastel Palette) To create a "soft and dreamy" look in
Saturation: Lower the saturation of greens and yellows to prevent "neon" grass.
Luminance: Increase the luminance of skin-tone colors (usually orange and red) to make subjects appear to glow from within. 4. Calibration (The Pro Secret)
Many pro-level dreamy presets focus heavily on the Blue Primary slider in the Calibration panel. Shifting the hue and boosting saturation here can create those sought-after "fine art" skin tones and creamy highlights. Best Settings for Different Scenarios
For Portraits: Focus on "Soft Skin" presets that prioritize high luminance in the oranges and low texture.
For Landscapes: Look for "Golden Hour" or "Misty" presets that emphasize warm highlights and a heavy negative "Dehaze" setting.
For Weddings: Aim for "Light & Airy" presets which are essentially the professional standard for the soft and dreamy aesthetic. How to Make the Preset Work for Every Photo
No preset is "one-click" perfect. To make your soft and dreamy edits look professional, always check these two things after applying the preset:
Exposure: Dreamy photos usually look best when slightly "overexposed" (bright). If the preset makes your photo look muddy, bump up the Exposure slider.
White Balance: The "dreamy" look relies heavily on temperature. If a photo feels too sterile, warm it up (move the Temp slider to the right) to invite a golden, nostalgic feeling. Conclusion
The soft and dreamy aesthetic is more than just a trend; it’s a way to inject emotion and atmosphere into your digital files. By using the right Lightroom presets, you can transform a flat image into a glowing, ethereal memory in seconds.
"Soft and dreamy" Lightroom presets are designed to create a romantic, ethereal aesthetic by reducing harsh contrasts and smoothing textures. Reviewing the most popular options available as of early 2026, these presets generally focus on lowering Clarity and Dehaze while lifting Blacks and Shadows to achieve a "matte" or "glow" effect. Top Recommended Preset Collections
Golden Dusk Collection: Frequently cited for its "warmth" and ability to create a golden hour glow even in flat lighting. Reviewers on Etsy highlight its high average rating (4.8+) for achieving consistent "creamy" skin tones.
Kodak Portra Collection (Lou & Marks): A favorite among influencers for its natural approach to the "dreamy" look. It enhances photos with soft color, mild brightness, and a hint of warmth, making it a go-to for social media consistency.
Clean Edit Portrait Workflow (Digital Photography School): Highly reviewed for professional portraiture, this set provides a polished but soft finish that avoids looking overly "filtered".
Mastin Labs (Portra/Pushed): Known for film-accurate colors, these are often reviewed as the gold standard for "creamy" skin tones and a timeless, soft aesthetic. Technical Breakdown of the "Dreamy" Look
Most "soft and dreamy" presets apply the following adjustments, which you can also replicate manually:
Texture & Clarity: Presets typically decrease these sliders to soften skin and environmental details, giving the photo a painting-like quality.
Negative Dehaze: This is the secret to the "glow." Dropping the dehaze value adds a subtle fog or light bleed effect.
Tone Curve: A common technique is pulling the Blacks slider up and the Darks slider down to create a soft, faded contrast.
HSL Management: To get that "creamy" feel, presets often desaturate greens and yellows while slightly boosting orange luminance to brighten skin. Expert Consensus Part 4: Top 5 Recommended Soft & Dreamy
Reviewers from Digital Photography School and Lou & Marks agree that while presets are essential for efficiency, they are best used as a foundation. Because "dreamy" presets often lower clarity, they may require you to manually mask the subject's eyes or hair to bring back a bit of sharpness.
g., dark and moody, light and airy, or warm golden hour) to narrow down a recommendation?
Light and Airy Photography 101: Creating Dreamy Family Portraits
Creating a "soft and dreamy" look in Adobe Lightroom involves reducing harsh digital sharpness and manipulating light to mimic film or ethereal glow. The Core Elements
Lower Contrast: Softens the transition between light and dark.
Reduced Clarity: Removes the "crunchy" digital edge from textures.
Negative Dehaze: Introduces a subtle, atmospheric mist or "bloom." Raised Blacks: Creates a faded, matte look in the shadows. Technical Step-by-Step 1. Basic Panel Adjustments
Highlights: Decrease (-20 to -40) to save detail in bright areas. Shadows: Increase (+30 to +50) to reveal hidden details.
Clarity: Set to negative (-10 to -30). This is the "secret sauce" for softness.
Texture: Subtle decrease (-5 to -15) to smooth skin or landscapes. 2. Tone Curve Mastery
Point Curve: Create an "S-curve" but lift the bottom-left point (Blacks) upward.
Result: This "washes out" the darkest areas for a vintage, dreamy feel. 3. Color Grading (The "Dreamy" Palette)
HSL: Desaturate Greens and Yellows slightly for a more aesthetic, muted look.
Split Toning: Add a warm hue (Gold/Cream) to Highlights and a cool hue (Soft Blue/Lavender) to Shadows. 💡 Pro Tip: The Bloom Effect
To get that "ethereal glow" around light sources, use a Radial Gradient over the brightest part of your photo. Increase the Feather to 100 and slightly bump the Exposure and Dehaze (to the negative side). If you'd like to refine this further, let me know: Are you shooting portraits, weddings, or landscapes? Do you prefer a warm (golden) or cool (moody) vibe?
Should the final look be bright and airy or dark and filmic?
I can give you the exact slider values for the specific aesthetic you're chasing.
While you can make your own, the market is flooded with excellent options. Here are the community favorites for a Lightroom preset soft and dreamy style:
Not every photo benefits from this style. Knowing when to apply your preset is as important as knowing how to edit.
When you apply a Lightroom preset soft and dreamy, you are not just "adding a filter." You are triggering a series of automated adjustments. Here is the physics of the magic:
