How to Make a Preset in Lightroom

(Last updated on October 10th, 2023)

Short Summary

In this article, you will learn how to make a preset in lightroom in five easy steps:

• Choose a photo to edit that reflects your style and mood.
• Adjust the basic settings to change the brightness, contrast, and color of your photo.
• Apply tone curve and color adjustments to create contrast, fade, or cross-process effects and color grading effects.
• Add finishing touches with sharpening, noise reduction, lens corrections, vignette, grain, split toning, and color profile or calibration.
• Save and apply your preset to other photos or import, load, and manage new presets from other sources.

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how some photographers can create stunning photos with just a few clicks? How do they achieve that consistent style and mood across their images? The secret is using presets.

Presets are a set of predefined settings and effects that can be applied to any photo in lightroom. They can save you time and effort by editing your photos in seconds. They can also inspire you to experiment with different looks and moods for your images. And they can improve the quality and professionalism of your photos by using the best settings and effects for each situation.

In this article, I will teach you how to create your own custom preset in lightroom. You will learn how to choose a photo to edit, adjust the basic settings, apply tone curve and color adjustments, add finishing touches, save and apply the preset, import, load, and manage new presets, and get the most out of your own presets. By the end of this article, you will be able to create your own unique presets that reflect your style and vision.

What Can Presets Do for My Photography?

Presets can do a lot for your photography. They can help you:

• Save time and effort: Instead of adjusting each setting and effect manually for every photo, you can apply a preset with one click and get instant results. You can also batch edit multiple photos with the same preset to save even more time.
• Inspire creativity and experimentation: Presets can offer you different ways to enhance or transform your photos. You can try different presets to see how they affect your images and discover new possibilities. You can also tweak or modify the presets to suit your preferences or create new effects.
• Improve quality and professionalism: Presets can help you achieve the best settings and effects for your photos. You can use presets that are designed for specific types of photos, such as landscapes, portraits, or street photography. You can also use presets that are created by professional photographers or experts who know how to optimize the photos for different purposes, such as web, print, or social media.

How Do I Use Presets?

Using presets in lightroom is very easy. Here are the steps:

• Access the presets panel: In the develop module, click on the presets panel on the left side of the screen. You will see a list of folders that contain different presets. You can expand or collapse each folder by clicking on the arrow next to it.
• Browse, preview, and apply the presets: To browse the presets, click on the folder name and scroll through the presets inside it. To preview how a preset will look on your photo, hover over the preset name and see the effect on the navigator panel on the top left corner of the screen. To apply a preset to your photo, click on the preset name and see the effect on the main image area.
• Adjust the strength or opacity of the preset: To adjust how much of the preset is applied to your photo, use the amount slider at the bottom of the presets panel. You can drag it left or right to decrease or increase the strength of the preset. Alternatively, you can use the brush tool to apply the preset selectively to specific areas of your photo.
• Undo, redo, or reset the preset: To undo or redo any changes you made with the preset, use the history panel on the left side of the screen. You can click on any step in the history list to go back or forward in time. To reset your photo to its original state before applying any preset, click on the reset button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 1: Choose a Photo to Edit

The first step in creating a preset is choosing a photo to edit. This photo will serve as a base for your preset and will reflect the style and mood that you want to achieve with your preset.

To choose a photo to edit, follow these steps:

• Import a photo into lightroom: To import a photo into lightroom, go to file > import photos and video and select the photo from your computer or device. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the photo into lightroom.
• Select a photo in the library module: To select a photo in lightroom, go to library module and click on grid view icon at the bottom left corner of the screen. You will see all your imported photos as thumbnails. Click on any photo to select it.

When choosing a photo to edit, keep these tips in mind:

• Choose a photo that has good exposure, contrast, and color balance: A well-exposed photo will have enough details in both shadows and highlights without being too dark or too bright. A well-contrasted photo will have clear separation between different tones without being too flat or too harsh. A well-balanced photo will have natural and realistic colors without being too warm or too cool.
• Choose a photo that suits your style and mood: A photo that matches your style and mood will help you create a preset that reflects your personality and vision. For example, if you want to create a preset that is warm and cozy, you can choose a photo that has warm colors, soft lighting, and cozy elements. If you want to create a preset that is cool and edgy, you can choose a photo that has cool colors, hard lighting, and edgy elements.

Step 2: Adjust the Basic Settings

The second step in creating a preset is adjusting the basic settings. These are the settings that affect the overall brightness, contrast, and color of your photo. They are located in the basic panel on the right side of the screen in the develop module.

The basic settings are:

• Exposure: This setting adjusts the overall brightness of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your photo darker or brighter.
• Contrast: This setting adjusts the overall contrast of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your photo flatter or more contrasted.
• Highlights: This setting adjusts the brightness of the brightest parts of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your highlights darker or brighter.
• Shadows: This setting adjusts the brightness of the darkest parts of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your shadows darker or brighter.
• Whites: This setting adjusts the white point of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your whites darker or brighter.
• Blacks: This setting adjusts the black point of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your blacks darker or brighter.
• Temperature: This setting adjusts the color temperature of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your photo cooler or warmer.
• Tint: This setting adjusts the color tint of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your photo more green or more magenta.
• Clarity: This setting adjusts the midtone contrast and detail of your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your photo softer or sharper.
• Vibrance: This setting adjusts the saturation of the less saturated colors in your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your colors more muted or more vibrant.
• Saturation: This setting adjusts the saturation of all colors in your photo. You can drag it left or right to make your colors more desaturated or more saturated.

To adjust the basic settings, follow these steps:

• Switch to the develop module: To switch to the develop module, click on develop at the top right corner of the screen.
• Access the basic panel: To access the basic panel, click on basic on the right side of the screen. You will see a list of sliders for each setting.
• Adjust each setting according to the desired effect: To adjust each setting, drag the slider left or right until you get the effect you want. You can also type in a value in the box next to the slider or use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard.

Here are some examples of different effects that can be achieved with different combinations of settings:

• To create a bright and airy effect, you can increase exposure, highlights, whites, and vibrance, and decrease contrast, shadows, blacks, and saturation.
• To create a dark and moody effect, you can decrease exposure, highlights, whites, and vibrance, and increase contrast, shadows, blacks, and saturation.
• To create a warm and cozy effect, you can increase temperature, tint, clarity, and vibrance, and decrease contrast and saturation.
• To create a cool and edgy effect, you can decrease temperature, tint, clarity, and vibrance, and increase contrast and saturation.

Step 3: Apply Tone Curve and Color Adjustments

The third step in creating a preset is applying tone curve and color adjustments. These are the adjustments that affect the tonal range and color balance of your photo. They are located in the tone curve and color panels on the right side of the screen in the develop module.

The tone curve is a graph that shows how each tone (from black to white) in your photo is mapped to another tone (from black to white) after applying an adjustment. You can use it to create contrast, fade, or cross-process effects by manipulating the shadows, midtones, and highlights of your image.

The color panel is a set of sliders that allow you to change the hue (color), saturation (intensity), and luminance (brightness) of individual colors or the overall color mix of your image. You can use it to create color grading effects by altering the colors in your image.

To apply tone curve and color adjustments, follow these steps:

• Access the tone curve panel: To access the tone curve panel, click on tone curve on the right side of the screen. You will see a graph with four points representing blacks (bottom left), shadows (lower mid), midtones (center), and highlights (upper mid) on the horizontal axis, and whites (top right) on the vertical axis.
• Adjust the tone curve according to the desired effect: To adjust the tone curve, drag any of the four points up or down to change the brightness of the corresponding tone. You can also click anywhere on the curve to add a new point and drag it up or down to change the brightness of a specific tone. You can also switch to the point curve mode by clicking on the icon at the bottom right corner of the graph and adjust the red, green, and blue channels separately to create color shifts.

Here are some examples of different effects that can be achieved with different adjustments of the tone curve:

• To create a contrast effect, you can make an S-shaped curve by dragging the shadows point down and the highlights point up. This will darken the shadows and brighten the highlights, creating more contrast in your image.
• To create a fade effect, you can flatten the curve by dragging the blacks point up and the whites point down. This will reduce the contrast and create a faded or vintage look in your image.
• To create a cross-process effect, you can switch to the point curve mode and drag the red, green, and blue points in opposite directions. This will create color shifts and mimic the effect of processing film in the wrong chemicals.
• Access the color panel: To access the color panel, click on color on the right side of the screen. You will see a list of sliders for each color (red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, magenta) and for the overall color mix.
• Adjust each slider according to the desired effect: To adjust each slider, drag it left or right until you get the effect you want. You can also click on each color name to expand or collapse its sliders. You can also use the mixer tool to select a specific color from your image and adjust its hue, saturation, and luminance.

Here are some examples of different effects that can be achieved with different adjustments of the color panel:

• To create a warm effect, you can increase the saturation and luminance of warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and decrease the saturation and luminance of cool colors (green, aqua, blue).
• To create a cool effect, you can do the opposite: increase the saturation and luminance of cool colors and decrease the saturation and luminance of warm colors.
• To create a cinematic effect, you can use the mixer tool to select a color from your image and change its hue to create a complementary or analogous color scheme. For example, you can select a blue color from your image and change its hue to teal or purple to create a cinematic look.

Step 4: Add Finishing Touches

The fourth step in creating a preset is adding finishing touches. These are the settings and effects that can enhance or modify your photo in subtle or dramatic ways. They are located in the other panels on the right side of the screen in the develop module, such as detail, lens corrections, effects, calibration, etc.

The other settings and effects are:

• Detail: This panel allows you to sharpen and reduce noise in your photo. Sharpening enhances the edges and details of your photo, while noise reduction smooths out the grain and artifacts caused by low light or high ISO. You can adjust the amount, radius, detail, and masking of sharpening, and the luminance, detail, and contrast of noise reduction.
• Lens corrections: This panel allows you to correct the distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration, and perspective caused by your lens. Distortion is the bending or stretching of straight lines in your photo, vignetting is the darkening of the corners of your photo, chromatic aberration is the color fringing along the edges of your photo, and perspective is the tilting or skewing of your photo. You can use the profile tab to apply automatic corrections based on your camera and lens model, or use the manual tab to adjust each parameter individually.
• Effects: This panel allows you to add creative effects to your photo, such as vignette, grain, and split toning. Vignette is a dark or light border around your photo that can create a focus or a mood. Grain is a texture that can add a film-like or vintage feel to your photo. Split toning is a color effect that can add different hues to the shadows and highlights of your photo.
• Calibration: This panel allows you to change the color profile of your photo. The color profile is a set of instructions that tells lightroom how to interpret and display the colors in your photo. You can use the profile tab to choose from different profiles that can affect the overall color rendition of your photo, or use the calibration tab to adjust the hue and saturation of each color channel (red, green, blue) individually.

To add finishing touches, follow these steps:

• Access each panel according to the desired effect: To access each panel, click on its name on the right side of the screen. You will see a list of sliders or options for each setting or effect.
• Adjust each setting or effect according to the desired effect: To adjust each setting or effect, drag the slider left or right until you get the effect you want. You can also type in a value in the box next to the slider or use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard.

Here are some examples of different effects that can be achieved with different adjustments of the other settings and effects:

• To create a sharp and clean effect, you can increase sharpening and reduce noise in the detail panel.
• To create a soft and dreamy effect, you can decrease sharpening and increase noise in the detail panel.
• To create a realistic and natural effect, you can enable lens corrections in the lens corrections panel.
• To create a distorted and artistic effect, you can disable lens corrections and apply manual adjustments in the lens corrections panel.
• To create a focused and dramatic effect, you can add a dark vignette in the effects panel.
• To create a faded and vintage effect, you can add a light vignette and some grain in the effects panel.
• To create a colorful and creative effect, you can add some split toning in the effects panel.
• To create a different and unique effect, you can change the color profile or calibration in the calibration panel.

Step 5: Save and Apply the Preset

The fifth step in creating a preset is saving and applying it. This is how you can store your preset for future use and apply it to other photos.

To save and apply your preset, follow these steps:

• Save your preset: To save your preset, click on the plus icon at the top of the presets panel. You will see a dialog box where you can name your preset and choose which settings and effects to include in it. Give your preset a descriptive name and check or uncheck the boxes according to your preference. Then click on create to save your preset. You will see your preset appear in the user presets folder in the presets panel.
• Apply your preset to other photos: To apply your preset to other photos, go to the library module and select the photos you want to edit. You can select multiple photos by holding down the ctrl key (or cmd key on Mac) and clicking on each photo. Then go back to the develop module and click on your preset name in the presets panel. You will see your preset applied to all the selected photos. You can also right-click on your preset name and choose apply on import to apply your preset automatically to any new photos you import into lightroom.

How to Import, Load, and Manage New Presets

If you want to use presets that are created by other sources, such as websites, blogs, or other photographers, you need to import, load, and manage them in lightroom. Here are the steps:

• Import new presets: To import new presets, you need to download them from the source and copy them to the lightroom presets folder. The lightroom presets folder is located in different places depending on your operating system. You can find it by following these steps:
  • On Windows: Go to edit > preferences > presets and click on show lightroom presets folder. Then open the lightroom folder and then the develop presets folder.
  • On Mac: Go to lightroom > preferences > presets and click on show lightroom presets folder. Then open the lightroom folder and then the develop presets folder.
• Load new presets: To load new presets into lightroom, you need to restart the program or click on the import button at the bottom of the presets panel. You will see a dialog box where you can browse and select the new presets from your computer or device. Then click on import to load them into lightroom. You will see them appear in a new folder in the presets panel with the same name as the source.
• Manage new presets: To manage new presets, you can create folders, rename, delete, or hide them in the presets panel. Here are some tips:
  • To create a new folder, right-click on any preset or folder name and choose new folder. Then give it a name and drag and drop any presets you want to include in it.
  • To rename a preset or folder, right-click on its name and choose rename. Then type in a new name and press enter.
  • To delete a preset or folder, right-click on its name and choose delete. Then confirm your action by clicking on delete again.
  • To hide a preset or folder, right-click on its name and choose hide this preset/folder. You will see it disappear from the list. To show it again, right-click on any other preset or folder name and choose manage presets. Then check or uncheck the boxes next to each preset or folder name according to your preference.

Advice for Getting the Most Out of Your Own Presets

Creating your own presets is a fun and rewarding process that can help you improve your photography skills and express your creativity. Here are some advice for getting the most out of your own presets:

• Create versatile and adaptable presets that can work well with different types of photos: A good preset should be able to enhance or transform any photo without making it look unnatural or overdone. To create versatile and adaptable presets, you should avoid using extreme settings or effects that may not suit every photo. You should also test your presets on different photos with different lighting, colors, and subjects to see how they work.
• Use selective editing tools to apply presets to specific areas of your photo or create local adjustments: Sometimes you may want to apply a preset only to a certain part of your photo or make some changes that are not included in your preset. To do this, you can use selective editing tools, such as graduated filters, radial filters, or adjustment brushes. These tools allow you to apply settings or effects to a specific area of your photo by drawing a shape or painting over it. You can access these tools by clicking on their icons at the top of the screen in the develop module.
• Combine or stack multiple presets to create complex or unique effects: Another way to get creative with your presets is to combine or stack them together to create new effects that are not possible with one preset alone. To do this, you can apply one preset first and then apply another one on top of it. You can also adjust the strength or opacity of each preset by using the amount slider at the bottom of the presets panel.

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned how to make a preset in lightroom. You have learned how to choose a photo to edit, adjust the basic settings, apply tone curve and color adjustments, add finishing touches, save and apply the preset, import, load, and manage new presets, and get the most out of your own presets. By following these steps, you can create your own unique presets that reflect your style and vision.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful. If you did, please share it with your friends or leave a comment below. I would love to hear your feedback and see your presets. Thank you for reading and happy editing! 😊

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)