Lightroom presets

Lightroom presets: saved develop settings for raw files

A Lightroom preset is a stored set of develop-module values. Exposure, contrast, tone curve, HSL ranges, split toning, grain and lens corrections are recorded as numbers, and applying the preset writes those numbers onto another photo in a single step. Nothing is painted over the image and nothing is flattened, which is why every slider stays available afterwards.

Adobe changed the format in 2018. Presets before that point were .lrtemplate files; everything after uses XMP, the same sidecar standard Lightroom already used for metadata. The practical consequence is a version floor: Lightroom Classic and CC from 7.3, Camera Raw from 10.3. Mobile has no import path for XMP, so presets reach it as DNG files with the settings attached, copied from the imported image onto your own.

Presets are starting points, not finished results. The values were chosen against one photograph with its own exposure, white balance and camera profile, and transferring them to a different file transfers the numbers, not the outcome.

What the collection covers

• Cinematic and teal-orange: shadows pushed cool, skin held warm, the standard color separation of film grading.
• Analog and film emulation: lifted blacks, reduced contrast, grain, color casts taken from print and slide stock.
• Portrait grades: HSL adjustments that protect skin while shifting everything around it, including black-and-white conversions.
• Natural and earth tones: muted greens and browns for landscape, travel and interiors.
• Low light and moody: deep shadows with controlled noise, built for indoor and evening work.
• Seasonal and occasion sets: summer, Christmas, wedding and streetwear grades aimed at specific shoots.

Applying presets across a shoot

The workflow that saves time is batch synchronization. Correct one photograph fully, including exposure and white balance, then copy the develop settings and paste them across the selection. In Lightroom Classic this is Sync Settings; in the mobile app it is Copy Settings and Paste.

Images shot under different lighting still need individual exposure and white balance passes. What the preset carries reliably is the color relationship: the tone curve, the HSL positions and the split toning. Those are what make a set look consistent, and they survive the per-image corrections.

File type affects the result. A raw file retains highlight and shadow information that the preset can redistribute, so aggressive curves stay clean. A JPEG has discarded that data during compression, so the same settings arrive harder and can band in skies or block up in shadows. Reducing the strength of the preset is usually enough.

Suitable projects

• Wedding and event galleries: hundreds of images that must match across changing light.
• Brand and product photography: a repeatable color treatment across catalog updates.
• Editorial and travel: a consistent grade across a feature shot over several days.
• Social content: feed cohesion built from color temperature and curve, not from filters.
• Portrait sessions: skin-safe grading applied to a full set before retouching.