Should You Use Lightroom Presets Plus 10 Free Presets

I'm the type of person that likes to get straight to the point, no fluff, so if the answer to this question were straight forward I would answer it with a simple yes, or no. but it's not as simple as that.

So we're going to go a little more in-depth on Lightroom presets. What they are, when to use them, the pros and cons of using them, and where to get them. As a bonus feature I'm going to share which presets I personally use, and why


Unedited Raw Photo	Edited to taste without preset

What are Lightroom presets?

A preset is a predetermined set of parameters and adjustments that you can apply to an image with a single click. Presets can make minor changes like only adjusting the saturation of one or more colors, or major changes like totally converting your image of a lovely yellow bird in a cherry tree into a hot mess of purples and oranges, making it look like it was taken on some alien planet where cherries are bright yellow balls exploding with light. that's a little extreme, but it is possible.

More often than not a preset will make significant, but tasteful changes to an image, toning down greens, increasing or decreasing contrast, and making adjustments to the highlights or shadows. it serves as a one click solution to what might take you hundreds of clicks to do manually.


Cool Matte preset, Default in lightroom	Cool Matte makes minor changes in the basic tab, changes in the tone curve give it its "Matte" look, while changes in the color grading provide the "Cool" look.

When to use presets

For me it depends on the situation. Sometimes when I make a photo I know exactly how I want to edit that photo. If I'm trying to keep it true to life than I'll make those adjustments manually, by adjusting things slowly, one at a time, it keeps me from slipping to far off the path. I'll notice far more quickly when I've gone to far with an edit when I'm making one adjustment at a time.

Still other times I have no idea how I want to edit a photo, this is where presets really come in handy for me. Lightroom now has over 100 presets built in. some are designed around portraits, some are designed to give you photo a vintage look, and others just increase or decrease the colors that are already there. This means when I have a photo that I'm struggling with I can cycle through the presets for inspiration, or ideas, using the preset as a jumping off point. No preset makes a permanent change to your photo, and every element that a preset adjusts can be further adjusted to your liking in the adjustment panels.

That doesn't mean you can't just slap on a preset on it and call it day, in fact, sometimes its the best way to keep continuity between photos in a single collection. If you like the way a preset looks and you want all your images to have the same look, by all means, preset away.

But isn't that kinda like cheating?

Is a painter cheating when they use a paint color directly from the tube? is a musician cheating when they read music from a sheet? Photography is art, and art is yours to create. There is no wrong way to make your art, and if you can find a short cut, like buying premixed blue paint, or sheet music that someone else printed, than by all means, you may take advantage of that short cut, you don't need anyone's permission.

Pro's and Con's

We've already covered why I do or don't use presets, but let's get more specific about the pros and cons of using presets.

Pros	Cons
Increased workflow: If you're a wedding photographer, or a real estate photographer, and you need to pump out dozens or maybe hundreds of photos for an important client by the end of the week, presets are your friend. There's no point in spending hours fine tuning and customizing each image when you can get stunning results with just one click.	Decreased attention to detail: Opposite the "Pro" just above, just hitting the preset button and moving on can cause you to miss finer details. taking the time to edit your photos gives you time to examine them for imperfections, missed focus, lens flair, or a stain on the brides wedding dress that could have been removed in photoshop.
Inspiration for edits on photos: Sometimes I'll bring home a photo that I thought would have a lot of potential, but after looking at it further I'm just not seeing when I saw before. Sometimes these photos get left behind, or ignored, but if I cycle through the presets I may see the image in a new light.	Presets can be a fast track to an over edit. It never fails when I spend an hour editing a photo, making it look like some kind of ethereal dream, or rustic vintage paradise, only to show my wife the before and after, and she prefers the before. Dramatic changes aren't for everyone, which is fine if you like it, but be prepared for some criticism if you're gonna share it.
Continuity, I mentioned it before. If you've taken 30 shots from roughly the same location and you want all those shots to feel like they belong together, presets are a great way to go. in addition to this you can slap a preset on one image, make any adjustments if needed, then use the copy and paste feature to transfer those same settings onto the rest of your photos	Lighting conditions and camera settings change. Let's say you've been on location for about 45 minutes. in that time the sun has slowly crept down and the clouds have rolled in, maybe the street lights have come on. the same preset you used on your first image of the day, is not going to look the same on your last image of the day, and this can actually be detrimental for your continuity.

Where to get presets

As I've already mentioned Lightroom now comes with over 100 presets built in. You may think that's more than enough, or even to many, but that hasn't stopped just about every photography youtuber from putting together their own collection of presets and offering them for sale on their websites.

This is a great opportunity for you to support your favorite content creator but keep in mind that their presets were created using the same features and settings you have at your disposal already.

If you want your photos to look like Jared Polin's, but you don't have the cash to dish out, you can achieve the same results by just doing the work yourself.

You can even create your own presets. Doing so easy.

Edit your photo to your taste.
Click the "+" Icon to the right of the presets tab.
Click the "Create Preset" and give it a name.
You'll be asked which settings you want to include in your preset, you may want to omit any "transform" and "graduated filters" as they are unique to each photo.
Click Create and that's it! Your preset can not be found under the "user" tab inside the presets tab.

You may create a preset that adds lens correction, and removes grain just as a short cut to start your edit, or create one that works best for shooting at a specific location.

Of course if you're not interested in having your photos look like those of your favorite youtube celebrity there are a ton of resources on the internet for presets of all kinds. presets can range in value from free, to upwards of 100 dollars for a whole collection.


Aged Photo, Default in lightroom	Aged Photo makes minor changes in the "Color Grading" panel, but more significant changes in the "Basic" panel. Saturation, vibrance, and blacks are brought down. Textures, and whites are brought up, giving the entire photo a vintage sepia tone effect.

My favorite presets

Though my tastes can change with the seasons. I find my self gravitating towards any preset that give me that matte effect, the lifted blacks, almost a dull appearance. I often find myself trying out several presets but ending on the default "Matte" preset as a starting point. I use it as a sort of short cut, speeding up my work flow. Now, Dulling the image may sound like the opposite of what you might wanna do with a photo, but the darker flat nature of it allows brighter, more vibrant colors to pop out.

In closing

So, to answer the question, should you use Lightroom presets? Yes, if the situation calls for it, and you're happy with the outcome, than absolutely, but I think the real underlying question here is "Is it OK to use presets?" Yes, you are no less a photographer for using them, just as a musician is no less a musician for reading music from a sheet.

Bonus

As a bonus I've included 10 presets taken directly off some of my favorite images of 2021 so far. Download

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