How To Install and Use Lightroom Presets to Edit Photos

If you want your photos to stand out, you’re going to have to get smarter with your editing tools.

 

One of the biggest challenges that photographers face is finding an editing tool that simplifies their workflow, yet also adds a note of drama and flair to their photos. In fact, some photographers give up looking altogether and instead focus on advancing their skills and buying high-quality cameras. All which are good ideas no doubt.

 

But as it turns out, thriving in photography means that you must go beyond simply capturing good photos and having a high-quality camera. You will need to have the necessary editing tools to add a touch of flair and glamour to your photos. But with so many editing tools on the market, finding the best one for your needs can be a monumental task.

 

Don’t worry though. Today I am going to walk you through one of the best editing tools you’ll find on the market – Lightroom Presets! I’ll walk you through how to install Lightroom presets and how to use them to edit your photos.

 

Sounds good?

 

Let’s dive in.

 

But first……

 

What are Lightroom Presets?

 

Lightroom presets are add-ons that allow Lightroom to apply particular settings to an image. They come with a range of presets stored in folders based on the type of preset within.

 

How to Install Lightroom Presets

 

Installing Lightroom presets is pretty simple. Here are a few options you can choose from.

 

Option 1

 

• Download the preset file. Here, you will need to unzip the compressed preset file and place it somewhere that you can easily find it later when you need it.

 

• Open the Lightroom platform and navigate to the “Develop tab”. Once there, the presets will populate on the left side of the screen.

 

• Right-click anywhere in the presets module, and select import Lightroom presets. Once you have imported the preset files, the preset will go to your desired folder.

 

• Navigate to the downloaded preset and click Import.

 

• Once you have imported the preset, its ready for use and you can give it a try.

Option 2

 

• Download the preset file. Again, you will need to unzip the compressed preset file and place it somewhere that you can easily find it later when you need it.

 

• Once downloaded, drag and drop the file into the correct preset folder. Once you’ve done that, go to the downloaded folder via the main Lightroom folder and then drop the file in the user presets.

 

Option 3

 

You might also be interested in editing photos from your phone or tablet devices. So let’s take a look at how to install Lightroom presets on your mobile phone.

 

• First you need to ensure that you have the latest update of Lightroom on your phone or on your desktop depending on where you are most comfortable editing from. Once you have ensured that you have the latest edition of Lightroom, sign in using your Adobe ID.

 

• Once the presets have been downloaded they will come with instructions on how to sync with mobile application. At this point, you should be able to sync the presets with mobile application.

 

• Once installed, ensure that the presets are synced by clicking the cloud.

 

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to how to apply a preset in Lightroom.

 

How to Use Lightroom Presets to Edit Photos

 

• The first thing you need to do is browse through the Lightroom library and identify the photo that you want to edit. Once you have selected the photo, you have in mind, select edit from the drop-down menu on the left part of the screen. Once you’ve selected edit, tap the button labeled “preset” on the bottom of the menu to open the list of presets available for use.

• Once you’ve skimmed through the available presets, click on your preset of choice and have a preview of the changes that take effect. If you’re not happy with the effect, you can always undo the changes and try a different preset.

 

• When you get the desired effect, you can either choose to apply the preset by clicking “?” or exit without saving.

 

• If you chose to save the changes and later on feel like making tweaks to your selection, you can adjust the settings in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

 

• Finally, once it is done and dusted and you are happy with the changes, click export to save your photo

 

Wrapping It Up

 

And there you have it folks, a comprehensive blog post on how to install Lightroom presets. Pretty simple right? I know that the installation processes I have mentioned seem awfully simple, but they work. As always, I hope that this information has been useful.