From the moment you decide to pursue photography, Lightroom Presets are placed on your radar. These photography tools are marketed as ‘magical’, ‘transformative’, and ‘the secret to beautiful imagery’...and honestly? They are. When used in tandem with a thoughtfully composed, lit, and captured photo, Lightroom Presets can elevate your work to a true piece of art. 

So what is a Lightroom Preset? And how does it play into the modern photography professional’s workflow? 

To understand how to use Lightroom Presets, let’s begin with the software that makes them possible. Adobe Lightroom (LR) is a powerful yet intuitive photo editing software that is used by the professionals who inspire you with their polished portfolios and scroll-stopping Instagram posts. 

Photographers can use this all-in-one software to import, edit, organize, and share their photos. Lightroom’s streamlined editing capabilities allow for adjustments like white balance, tint, exposure, tonal curves, color grading, camera calibration, and much more. Plus, the new Lightroom AI Masking tools make it easier than ever to edit like a professional photographer. 

Lightroom is truly the best editing software for the modern photography professional. Big statement? Maybe. But we believe in it so much that we created a whole line of Lightroom presets to use within its walls. 

A preset is a saved group of photo-editing settings in Adobe Lightroom that transforms your images with just a click of the preset. You then have the flexibility to adjust the settings that best fit the image you are editing.

Where can you find "presets" in Lightroom? Once you have an image loaded into Lightroom, go to the Develop mode. Once in Develop Mode click on Presets in the left hand panel. If you have loaded Lightroom presets you will find them there!

We just gave a brief overview around the question of “what are presets?”. But diving deeper, we can say that Lightroom presets are like 'recipes' for photo editing. Each time you adjust settings in Lightroom, these modifications can be saved as a preset. This means that with a single click, you can apply a series of specific adjustments, encapsulated in a preset, to an image. What results is a swift transformation that embodies your desired aesthetic, without the need to manually repeat the editing steps for each photograph.

Lightroom presets not only expedite the editing process but also ensure a consistent visual theme across multiple images, which is especially important when handling numerous shots from one event. Their flexibility is another advantage. Even after applying a preset, users can fine-tune to their liking. Beyond personal use, understanding how to use a preset lets you foster community collaboration, allowing photographers to share and exchange their unique 'recipes'.

One of the best things about Lightroom is you can use their software + your presets on desktop AND mobile. Mobile Presets are designed for compressed JPEG Mobile and Drone Images whereas Desktop Presets are designed for RAW images.

Ultimately, this capability allows you to create consistency between your social and professional work (with the click of a button). How’s that for brand cohesiveness? 

Elevate your editing with our Desktop + Mobile Lightroom Presets, HERE

Now that you know the answers to the question:

- What are presets?

- How do Lightroom presets work?

It’s time to answer the “why”. Check out these three reasons we stand by Lightroom presets as a key investment for photographers of all skill levels:

1. Speed Up Your Workflow. We polled the users in our Facebook Group and over 75% of them said the presets save them 90 seconds or more per image edited. Investing in Lightroom Presets will absolutely save you time and speed up your workflow. 

In fact, you can apply our Presets to all the images from a photoshoot upon importing them into Lightroom. From there, make minor adjustments and send the gallery to your clients. 

2. Consistency. As noted above, you can apply the same Presets to all of the photos from a shoot which will lead to an elevated and polished final gallery. In order to stand out as an artist, it’s important for your body of work to feel cohesive and like it has a “signature” quality. Lightroom presets allow you to do that with minimal work on your end. 

3. Effortless to Use. Between the simplicity of Adobe Lightroom itself and Refined Co’s ever growing library of resources you’ll ditch the frustration of trying to make your photos look the way you envision once and for all. Editing is only the beginning. We take user feedback to tailor resources to the needs of amateur and professional photographers alike.

Are you ready to showcase your creativity with Lightroom Presets and Editing Tools that save time and elevate your look with timeless beauty? Shop Refined Co Presets, today!