What Is a Lightroom Preset?

In simple terms, a preset is a filter applied to photos imported into Adobe Lightroom. The operative word is “filter.” What sets a Lightroom preset apart from other apps with filters, such as Instagram, is that it’s technical without scaring you away from using it. In fact, it is a very useful and friendly tool for professional photographers who use presets for their artistic value. For example, if you want to produce a dramatic image, a black-and-white preset is a good place to begin. Check out these examples of black-and-white photo presets. If your artistic vision has a Hollywood feel, you can start with one of these free cinematic presets. Please take note that every photo requires a specific preset based on your desired output. By using Lightroom presets, you can do editing magic: from simple things like adjusting hues, texture, details, shadows, and clarity, to complicated things like adjusting the RGB (red, green, blue) values of your picture. There are plenty of Lightroom presets available on the Web: some are free, some are not. If you don’t feel like buying a Lightroom preset, you can also create your own.

Where to Find Free Lightroom Presets

A simple search on the Internet will give you a rundown of free Lightroom presets available for download. Typically, a download link containing your desired presets will be emailed to you. Other websites let you automatically download Adobe Lightroom presets straight from their website. Once you extract the zipped folder, you’ll receive a file containing instructional documentation and the preset itself. Take note that a Lightroom preset for desktop computers has a .lrtemplate extension. These websites offer free Adobe Lightroom presets for download:

Parker Photographic (no email required for download)Shuttersweets (sepia presets are technically good)LightroomPreset.Org (also offers a slew of Lightroom presets for mobile with no email required for download)

A free and compact version of Adobe Lightroom is available for both iOS and Android users and also has a handful of free Lightroom presets. You’ll find more mobile presets on these websites:

freepresets.com (the teenage hip-looking presets are excellent)filtergrade.com (the orange and teal preset will definitely transform your photo)Presenters.com (check out their mobile app, too)

While a desktop version of a Lightroom preset has a .lrtemplate extension, its mobile counterpart carries a .dng extension. The difference is that the desktop version is more technical, while the .dng format is basically an image that is embedded with pre-determined settings. This being said, do not be confused if you get an image file once you download a mobile version of Lightroom presets.

How to Install a Lightroom Preset on Your Desktop

Installing a Lightroom preset is surprisingly easy.

How to Install a Lightroom Preset on Your Mobile Device

Before we go on to the step-by-step guide on how to install a Lightroom preset on your mobile device, remember that Lightroom presets for mobile devices are not a typical preset file. Instead, it is an image with certain settings saved. These same settings can be copied and applied to your images. Now comes the fun part: using the Lightroom presets you just have installed on either your desktop computer or mobile phone. Applying the Adobe Lightroom presents as filters in your photos is relatively easy.

How to Edit Photos Using Lightroom Presets on Your Desktop

You are now very close to turning your rather dull photos on your desktop into awesome images worthy of appearing on your social media accounts. Follow the steps below.

How to Batch Edit Photos Using Lightroom Presets

Doing the aforementioned steps can be daunting, especially if you edit many photos. To edit more quickly with Adobe Lightroom presets, follow these easy steps:

How to Edit Photos Using Lightroom Presets on Your Mobile Phone

Follow these simple steps to edit Instagram-worthy photos with Adobe Lightroom presets right on your trusty smartphone:

Creating Your Own Lightroom Preset

Provided that you have already scoured the Internet looking for a perfect Lightroom preset to no avail, you can create your own Lightroom preset yourself. Follow these steps on the Adobe lightroom software: The process is similar on a mobile phone. Here’s what to do: Now that you have you have beautiful photos create with Lightroom presents, share them to your Instagram profile or any other social app.

If you are a photographer, it pays to shoot in RAW format instead of the usual JPEG. The latter tends to compress the values of an image to produce a single image with the smallest size possible without compromising quality. Images shot using a RAW format, however, tend to eat up much space in your SD card. Either way, both are read by the software and the app. At the end of the day, it is really up to you.

2. Will I lose my presets if I switch to a new phone?

Worry not, as the Adobe Lightroom app is a cloud-based app. Presets you have imported or created on your old phone get backed up to the cloud and will show up on your new phone automatically when you connect to the Internet, as long as you use the same Adobe ID on both devices.

3. Can I share my created Lightroom presets with my friends?

Definitely. You can send both the .lrtemplate and .dng files that you have created using Adobe Lightroom via email. After importing these files into their respective computers and smartphones, your friends can use these presets to their heart’s content.