As a professional photographer, you must have a consistent, efficient workflow. You need to master the process from start to finish, right from clicking the photo, transferring it to a computer, editing and archiving it. This will help maintain consistency in your work and allow you more time to get out there and shoot rather than spend hours organizing your photos.
For a faster workflow, there are various steps that you should incorporate into your digital photo editing process. One of the crucial points is post-processing. You must learn a few basic photography post-processing techniques that will allow you to enhance your photos.
Photographers have varied opinions regarding post-processing digital photos. While some use Photoshop to enhance their images, many photographers use Adobe Lightroom, a hugely popular image editing software, to get the best results. Lightroom is a powerful software for photographers to do a wide range of editing easily. While you can create your own presets, there are predetermined Lightroom presets available that will help you to speed up the editing process in a one-click process. These presets are customized effects and adjustments which can be applied in Lightroom with just a few clicks. By using these Presets, photographers can apply the desired effect on the photos, which reduces the effort involved in manual editing. Once you have made adjustments to your full-resolution images, you can save both the original and edited versions. Organize your photos in folders and use keywords to locate them quickly. There are Presets available for all types of photography, and both free and paid versions are available.
Lightroom offers an easy to use interface that allows you to edit, organize, store and share your photos across any device - mobile, web or your desktop.
Having the right set of Lightroom presets can save creative professionals a huge amount of time. Not only will it give your workflow a refresh, but will also be a valuable editing tool. Lightroom presets to give your photos a professional look. From retouching, improving, and enhancing your photos, to adding stunning visual effects, you can do a lot more with Lightroom.
We have found the perfect set of Lightroom presets that you can instantly apply to your photos. Before we list them, let us look at how to add and apply presets in Lightroom.
How to add Presets in Lightroom?
- Save the Presets file by downloading it from the internet.
- If the folder is zipped, then unzip it and open Lightroom.
- Search for "user Presets" on the left side of the library module.
- On "user Presets" right-click and select "import" from the list.
- Search for the Presets in your device and add them to Lightroom.
How to preview and apply Lightroom Presets?
Step 1: Select a photo to be edited. Click on the edit button.
Step 2: Click on the"Presets" located at the bottom of the editing panel. The Preset panel will be opened.
Step 3: Select the category of Presets you want to apply.
Step 4: Hover on the Presets in that category without clicking and notice the changes in the adjustments settings.
Step 5: Click on Presets you like to apply it in the photo. Use Undo or Revert commands to remove the Presets.
Step 6: Go to Edit and click on Make a Copy to create more than one version of the photo.
How to create your own Lightroom Presets?
Step 1: Edit an image by adjusting the editing controls to get the desired look.
Step 2: Click on the edit button and then select Presets. The "Presets panel" would have three dots on the top right. Click on the three dots and click on create Presets.
Step 3: Name the Presets and click the save button. The Presets will be displayed in the "user Presets" category of the Presets panel.
Here are 34 Best Lightroom Presets that you can try :
- Warmsphere
- B&W Sombre
- Film Matte
- Photography Goals Preset Collection
- Visual Flow
- Wedding Collection by Greater than Gatsby
- Prolost
- Honey Collection
- Portrait Lightroom Presets Collection
- Mini Enlighten
- Skin Tone and more.
1. Warmsphere
Altphotos offers free Lightroom Presets to photographers. These Presets can be used with version 4,5,6 version of Adobe Lightroom and Creative Cloud CC. A photographer can apply the Presets to both JPG and RAW images. The 'Warmsphere' Preset by Altphotos can add a retro look to the images. The colors in the image will get stronger, and the photo will have more contrast than before. This Preset can be used by portrait photographers to give photos a simple warm-toned effect.
2. B&W Sombre
If you are looking for a black and white Preset to enhance your photos, check out this Preset. This Preset will remove the overblown highlights from the image. The image will get darker, as the Preset will reduce the shadows and blacks from the image.
3. Film Matte
This Lightroom Preset is one of the best Presets used by street photographers. After using the Preset, the image will get more vibrant, and the clarity also increases. The shadow in the image gets lighter, giving the image a boost.
4. Photography Goals Preset Collection
Photography Goals' Lightroom Presets were developed by a professional photographer and are designed to fit into an efficient Lightroom Workflow. The Signature Collection contains 89 presets and more are added every year. Once you have them, you'll get lifetime updates whenever new presets are added.
5. Visual Flow
Visual Flow is a new preset company created by SLR Lounge and DVLOP. They've quickly become the favorite presets for many wedding photographers because of their unique system of Lighting Condition Based Development. Using the system, photographers post produce images by lighting condition, which creates more consistent results and speeds up a photographer's workflow.
6. Wedding Collection by Greater Than Gatsby
The Wedding Collection is a 5-Part (Garden Party, Light & Airy, Painted Desert, Sundrenched, and Black & White), Wedding Preset series containing 136 Lightroom Presets and comprised of some of the most popular classic and modern lightroom wedding presets and editing styles.
7. Prolost
Prolost is one of the best Lightroom Presets available for photographers. These Presets give photos a cinematic look, along with improvements in tonality and color grading. The collection includes Presets on monochrome and light leak overlays.
8. Honey Collection
The Honey Collection is a set of the best photo Presets created by India Earl. The Presets add a golden tone to the photos. The saturation of the colors increases and the whites gets softer. The Presets adds contrast to the image with the help of deep shadows.
9. Portrait Lightroom Presets Collection
If you are a portrait photographer and want your portrait images always look eye - catching and natural, here is a wonderful pack of 10 free presets. They help fix minor skin defects, preserve a natural texture, remove greasy shine and make teeth look white without going overboard
10. Mini Enlighten
These free Lightroom Presets for wedding photography are best suitable when a photographer has to give a touch of professional effects. The Presets are also helpful in controlling the exposure of the photograph. The effects are subtle, and it makes the colors in the image stand out. These professional Lightroom Presets are more suitable for portrait photographers.
11. Skin Tone
This Preset aims to correct the skin tone in portrait photographs. Correcting the skin tone in Lightroom may take some time, this Preset will make your process easy.
12. Matte Effect Lightroom Presets
A matte effect is highly popular among modern portrait, wedding and newborn photographers, so make sure you have this collection of professional matte presets in your personal Lightroom editing arsenal. They allow uncovering beautiful details in shadows and highlights, keep the contrast low and muted, and create a relaxed atmosphere in your photos. If you want more matte presets for streamlined photo editing, check this professional Matte Complete Collection.
13. Film Effect Lightroom Presets
This collection contains the best film presets that help simulate the analog film look in a quick and efficient way. You can choose a filter from this pack and pair it with an effect from the Cinematic Color Lightroom Presets Collection to produce lighter colors and highlight the fine grain. An alternate way is to create a captivating mix with Dark Film Lightroom Presets to add artistic touches to your images.
14. Valley Isle Collection 1
The Preset collection has muted organic tones and tan skin tones, giving you an island vibe. The tones in these Presets are created in such a way that the outdoor and indoor photos can have a similar look and feel to it.
15. Light and Airy Presets
If you want the people and moments in your images to stand out, a bright and airy look is the way to go! This preset collection will give your photographs a clean, bright and airy look in no time. When you’re working with images of family, friends, and special moments, keep it simple with a soft and bright look and these free presets do the job pretty well
16. Silver Surfer
This Preset is used to convert a colored photo into black and white by giving it a matte look. Silver Surfer is mainly used by street photographers who are looking for a Preset, which decreases the highlights and increases the shadows.
17. Cascade by Meridian
Created by a wedding photographer, who couldn't find suitable photography Presets, these are good at managing tricky lighting situations. Use these Presets as a starting point and customize it as per the need.
18. Heck Yeah Art Pack
This popular Lightroom Presets pack is designed to make the subjects in the images stand out. The art pack Presets gives a muted look to the images making it suitable to photos of multiple locations, different lighting conditions, and varied skin tones.
19. G-Presets Pack 05 Indoor
The pack is designed for photographs which are taken indoors. This may be for a photo session or wedding event which has complex lighting situations.
20. Vintage Lightroom Presets by PhotographyCourse.net
Vintage Lightroom Presets by PhotographyCourse.net was made exclusively for those who enjoy the feeling of timelessness. The collection includes 75 classic film presets and 39 brushes. You can experiment with a wide variety of options within seconds and make creative adjustments when necessary.
21. Summit
Summit Presets give you similar results over a variety of images. The Presets doesn't take away any color tones, rather the natural green effect is emphasized. The Presets in this collection has effects from warm hues to cool blues, which will match the aesthetic needs of a photographer.
22. Skyfall
One of the best Presets for landscape photography, Skyfall is all about pale pink skies and low contrast. This Preset is designed to give a soft feel to the image.
23. Erik Kim Monochrome 1600
The famous street photographer, Erik Kim, has made this Preset to turn the photos into black and white and give them the look of a film camera. The Erik Kim Monochrome 1600 Preset is high in contrast; it is good for photos where the shape of the elements in the photo have to be emphasized.
24. High Tide
High Tide is made for those photos which are taken in bright summer light. Like the ones which were taken in beaches and seaside. The Preset will give the photos a fresh and warm look.
25. Portrait Lightroom Presets by BeArt-Presets
Beautiful portraits can be easily created with the BeArt Portrait Perfection Lightroom presets collection. Transform your photos or just make a few simple corrections. Their versatile editing tools allow you to make your editing process quick and simple. Develop your unique style using BeArt portrait presets for desktop and mobile Lightroom apps.
26. Landscape Vibrations
This free Lightroom Preset is mainly built for those landscape photographs which need more contrast and clarity. The colors in the photograph also get saturated, and the details get more prominent.
27. Voodoo Lounge
When an image needs a subtle punch in color without making the image too saturated, this Preset will add more liveliness to the image. Voodoo Lounge is one of the best photography Presets for street photographs.
28. Forgiveness X100
Some landscape photographs need more drama; this Preset is built for that. The photo becomes quite intense, like a black and white photograph. A photographer can play with the contrast, blacks, and shadows to make the image more desirable.
29. Trey Ratcliff Presets
Photographers can use this pack of popular Lightroom Presets to enhance the warm colors in the photos. This Preset will bring more color and life to the images.
30. Orange and Teal
Perfect for photos of beaches, sea, and other landscapes; this Lightroom Preset will give an orange and teal look. This Preset will give a cinematic look by adding both cold and warm tones in a photograph.
31. CosmicDancer
Cosmic Dance is one of the top Lightroom Presets, which is bold and different. This Preset will add more clarity and warm tones to the photograph.
32. We Eat Together Food Photography Presets
These are one of the best Presets for Food Photographers who want to publish their photos without spending much time on editing. The Milk and Cookie Preset, for example, will bring out the natural brown tones from the bakery items and is suitable when the background is bright. There are five free Presets in this set, each carefully designed for specific types of food.
33. Matt Kloskowski's Spotlight Presets
Some photos where the focus needs to be on the center part look better when edited with the radial filter. These Presets by Matt are made to do exactly that. It also adds color and warmth to the photo.
34. Cinematic Color Lightroom Presets
The cinematic color lightroom Presets aims to impact the mood and story of the image. This is done by adding bold and dramatic effects to the image. The Presets are carefully designed to protect the natural skin tones in the images. There are ten Presets in this pack with unique color palettes. These Presets will make your images visually appealing.
35. Soltice Presets by Meridian
The Soltice presets are build around four seasons. With the help of these presets, you can implement the fresh colors of the spring in your photographs. The portraits through these preset get a warm tone, and the greens in nature will become more colorful. The image gets more depth with the help of high contrast, the colors get richer, and the image is left with a matte finish to give a sense of timelessness. The Soltice is more suitable for images that lack proper lighting and which are backlit.
36. Mastin Labs
Mastin Labs is a collection of Lightroom Presets for professional photographers created by Kirk Mastin. These Presets give photos of the look of common film stocks. The Presets created by the Mastin Labs are Kodak Portra, Kodak Portra Pushed, Ilford, and Fujicolor. The Presets, when used on a photo, make it hard to distinguish between the film photo and the digital photo.
37. Preset Packs by Lapse of the Shutter
With over 100 free presets in packs covering film emulations, lens flares, urban presets and many more, Lapse of the Shutter offers you one of the widest ranging sets of Lightroom presets, designed by a professional photographer to help you get the best from your images. You can also get access to the Lightroom Develop System, a guided set of over 1000 stackable presets, used by thousands of photographers worldwide.
Conclusion
The above list covers a broad range of best Lightroom Presets suitable for all types of photographers, ranging from landscape photographers to food photographers. Once you have edited the photos using the top Lightroom Presets, you can showcase your stunning images in a beautifully designed online portfolio.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are Lightroom Presets free?
While some lightroom presets cost money to buy, there are preset packages that are available for free.
What are the best presets for Lightroom?
Warmsphere, Visual Flow, Skin Tone, Photography Goals Preset Collection etc are some of the best and most popular Lightroom presets available.
Where can I get free Lightroom presets?
You can download some free Lightroom presets either from the ‘Free Assets’ section on the Adobe creative cloud website or from websites like Altphotos that provide free presets for photographers.
What do Lightroom presets do?
Presets are a predetermined set of adjustments that can speed up your post-processing workflow and simplify your photography production process. With presets you do not need to adjust or enhance elements like brightness, tone, saturation etc individually. You can use the preset to adjust them to predetermined levels to create a certain tone or mood.