A Photographer’s Guide to Wedding Presets 

When it comes to wedding photography, taking photos is only a fraction of the job.

Many people overlook the amount of preparation, planning, and editing that goes into capturing and creating the perfect wedding gallery. In fact, if you’re only focusing on the big day itself you’re probably not doing your job properly. 

As any professional photographer will tell you, the REAL magic happens during the editing process. Beautiful imagery is created with your camera, but editing allows you to breathe life into the moments you captured. The only downside? Editing can take a really long time and requires a certain amount of expertise. Mastering how to polish your photos in a realistic manner is a learning process and, until you’ve figured out how to do it well, you run the risk of tarnishing the photos you deliver to your couples. 

Editing can take a very long time and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you run the risk of ruining your couples’ wedding photos.

Wedding presets are a wonderful way to achieve elevated, beautiful imagery…every time. If you’re struggling to get the editing process right or are wasting time editing photos unnecessarily, here’s everything you need to know about wedding presets.

Image by KT Merry

Photography presets are a saved group of photo-editing settings that transform your images with one single click. You then have the flexibility to adjust the settings that best fit the image you are post-processing. 

Presets are available for purchase across many different software and programs; because of this, you will need to ensure the presets you choose are compatible with your chosen software. Standard preset platforms include Lightroom, Mobile, and Video and Capture One. Once installed, the preset can automatically change the settings and edit photos to a specific rule. 

Some settings that presets are able to change are:

• Exposure
• White Balance
• Vibrancy
• Temperature
• Highlights & Shadows
• Grain
• Color Luminance 
• Saturation
• Noise Reduction
• And more!
• Save Time
• Maintain Consistency
• Improved Standard of Editing
• Stunning Aesthetics

As a professional wedding photographer that values bespoke editing and a high level of customization, why would you want to use photography presets for your wedding galleries? 

The main benefits of using presets are:

• Save Time
• Maintain Consistency
• Improved Standard of Editing
• Stunning Aesthetics 

Save Time

One of the primary reasons professional photographers use wedding presets is to save time during the editing process.

For every hour of shooting, you’ll need to allow around four hours of editing. This can be incredibly time- consuming- especially if you’re booked every weekend with events! To speed up the process, a preset can instantly apply lighting, brightening, shade, and tone filters over every photo.

Presets will reduce your editing time significantly so you can turn around photos in a shorter time. 

Maintain Consistency 

Wedding photos- including engagement shoots, the ceremony, and reception- are often displayed and viewed collectively. As such, most people value consistency across the photos.

With photos captured over the course of a day (or several days) in many outfits and locations, presets can introduce consistency between shots. With preset lighting and filter settings, your portfolio will instantly become more harmonious, cohesive, and professional. 

Presets can take an average collection of photos and transform them into a stunning gallery that will be viewed time and time again. 

Improved Standard of Editing 

Editing can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to get stuck fiddling with minor details until you don’t know what looks good anymore.

Using premium presets takes away this stress because they are developed by experts to ensure the settings are exactly correct. Did you know the average premium preset takes over one year to develop? You’ll be able to deliver galleries with confidence knowing that your photos look polished + elevated, every single time. You can also use presets as an excellent foundational edit and then give them your own flourish.  Embrace your creative side without fear knowing that your initial edits are timeless. 

Stunning Aesthetics

Using presets also means you can achieve a stunning aesthetic with ease. Even industry-leading photographers have presets in their editing toolkits to create imagery that evokes their style. Bold or dreamy, editorial or lifestyle- presets can help you achieve whatever aesthetic you envision.

Creating a signature photography style is important for every artist. You want to set yourself apart with a unique style that still evokes timeless beauty. Presets don’t put you in a box to look like every other photographer rather they amplify what makes your creativity unique and provide a jumping-off point to elevate your portfolio.

Since the editing process is so important, having the right presets on hand is crucial. Presets can help you refine your style, attract your ideal couples, and create consistency within your wedding photography brand (late nights starting at the computer, not included).

Ready to showcase your creativity with presets and editing tools that save time and elevate your look? We’ve compiled a list of some of our most popular wedding photography presets: 

Image by Bruno Rezza

Our KT Merry preset collection showcases editorial-inspired presets that elevate photos with gorgeous skin tones and luminous, unforgettable colors. If you’re looking for the optimal romantic, floral, whimsical wedding preset…this one is for you. The editing style is bright, smooths out flaws, and maintains a natural finish. Brides look radiant, flowers reveal their full bloom, and intimate moments are captured in full detail. 

The KT Merry presets were designed to achieve the perfect, traditional wedding edit that brings an elegant, light tone to your photos. It features five Fuji 400h color presets and profiles, two ambient light presets and profiles, and two reception presets. There are also five mobile presets and easy-to-use workflow tools. 

All the presets within the collection complement each other so you can use them for the same wedding with ease. With mobile presets, black and white presets, and video presets available- you can achieve consistency across several media and platforms.

Image by KT Merry

For destination or outdoor weddings with a modern vibe, the Tec Pataja preset pack provides the ultimate edit. Colors are bold, well-rounded, and softened by warm lighting. The Tec Pataja presets capture distinctive tones, shadows, and depth for vibrant photos that spring to life in print and on-screen. 

The clean and classic aesthetic of this preset collection allows you to capture wedding days in exquisite detail and with authenticity. Inside you’ll find 10 Kodak Portra Presets & Profiles, 2 Ilford HP5 400 BW Presets & Profiles, 2 Ilford Delta 3200 BW Presets & Profiles, and 2 Ambient Light Presets & Profiles, plus Tec’s favorite workflow tools. 

Available with mobile and video options, the Tec Pataja preset bundle is one of our bestselling preset collections that you don’t want to miss.

Image by Tec Petaja

The Caroline Tran presets offer spectacular color saturation for vibrant and bright wedding photos. Designed to be rich and distinctive, this line of presets lets you be flexible and combine settings for varied lighting. 

Caroline Tran’s preset pack has a luminous, dreamy quality that compliments skin tones for an old Hollywood glamour with touches of modern vitality. The grain can be adapted to give a classic film camera overlay by picking out delicate details. 

The presets include patina, pure & vibrant presets, and profiles in three strengths each. There are also black and white presets and profiles, mobile presets, and practical workflow tools. 

Perfect for use across several events, including reception, the ceremony, engagement shoots, and more this preset pack has everything you need.

Image by Caroline Tran

For more varied edits, including light and airy through dark and moody, the REFINED II preset collection has a little bit of everything. This collection is an ideal starter pack for beginner photographers looking to try out different presets and refine their editing style. 

REFINED II is a foundational preset pack with bright, clean lines, vibrant colors, clear shadows, and highlights. There are four main color presets, including light, dark, soft, and moody. You’ll also get two black and white options, three color tones, and our signature workflow tools to make editing easier. 

The preset pack fits almost every aesthetic for clean, sharp photos with exquisite detail.

Image by Lavender & Twine Photography