Why you need good presets
What are presets. In a few words if you don't know.
Presets are saved editing settings that let you quickly apply a certain style to your photos with a single click. They can include changes to exposure, contrast, tone, or color effects.
They can completely change the feel of a photo, giving it a specific mood—from warm, nostalgic tones to cold, stark contrasts. They can give your photos a filmic feel, more dramatic lighting, or harmonious colors that emphasize emotion and visual communication.
Find something new.
I'm giving you a big piece of what I've been doing for a long time. These presets will give your photos character and you'll find a new path in post-processing thanks to them. I'll tell you how to use presets and get the most out of them.
Adobe Lightroom is a powerful tool, and using it in an inept way can do more harm than good to your photography. Don't worry. With my help, you'll use the presets the right way.
Presets that I've been perfecting over the last few years are now available to everyone. Sometimes you write to me on my insta channels privately or in the comments asking how I got such colors. How did I give the scene such a mood? You asked about trainings, lessons. I'm probably too introverted for such things, but I've always been happy to help by advising and suggesting as much as I can. This time I'm giving you something more. A ready-made solution that you can easily load into your Lightroom. Additionally, I'll also tell you how to use them.
You get a tool from me that will allow you to change something in your photography. That's what you're here for, right? After selecting your package, you'll receive a confirmation by email, and a moment later a link to download the file. Lightning fast.
Adobe Lightroom is a powerful tool, and using it incorrectly can do more harm than good to your photography. Don't worry. With my help, you will use presets in the right way.Now
For years of shooting as a professional photographer, I have been waiting for the possibilities that Lightroom has recently given us. Presets using the "Amount Slider" are a different dimension
How to use presets. Installation and operation
Installation
After selecting your package, you will get a link to the file to download. The ZIP file contains a set of presets. In Lightroom, in the presets section at the very top, see the plus icon + Click it and choose "import presets". Select the downloaded file. Done. They will jump into the list themselves and are ready to use.
Magic
There is no magic. There is only a cardboard scenography. I give you presets but for them to work you have to give something of yourself. So one click is not enough? Not really. Presets are not a magic spell. First of all, I do not know what photos you will use them for, what the light intensity was or what tone distribution appeared.
1. Presets do not contain white balance settings. I have no idea what you were photographing. Setting WB "fixed" will ruin your photo. Adjust WB.
2. Presets do not have exposure set. I have no idea if you are a fan of underexposing photos or boosting them by +3. Improve EXP.
Reality. Your move
Choose a photo and go. Before applying a preset, set the white balance and exposure correctly. By definition, correct WB is where white is white, gray is gray, and you don't see any strange discolorations. The condition for the correct operation of presets is correct WB.
Fix the exposure if necessary, and this is where presets come in.
When you select a preset from the list, you will notice that a slider has appeared at the top of the tree. I use Lr in English, so I see the "Amount" text on mine. If there is magic somewhere, it is here. Believe me, there was no such function back then and those were the times when presets made no sense because everything was set rigidly and usually massacred photos.
Reduce the value on this slider. Adjust the strength of the preset to your expectations. All changes contained in the presets will dynamically adapt to what you are doing. Many of the presets you see will look too aggressive, unpleasant at first. Adjust the strength of the preset, and before you make your changes, you can still fine-tune the white balance and exposure. Find the right point.
When you start moving other sliders, the "Amount" fine-tuning slider deactivates. It is active until you move anything that the preset applies to. White balance and exposure are not included in the preset and therefore you can use them before you lose the ability to adjust the entire preset with one slider. It couldn't be simpler but you need some intuition. And good material but that's on your side.
The rest is up to you
It's your head to work on the other aspects. Maybe it should be as it is, or maybe you need point correction, gradients
or something else.
Refine the image in your own way, improve the lights, shadows, colors and other elements. Or not. There is no specific way. You decide. Presets are a great tool to give yourself a new path. They are an entry point, a hint, uncharted ground and something that will bring something new.
Compatibility
RAW format. Of course, the presets are created for the RAW format and then Lightroom correctly uses all the features.
They can be used for JPG or TIFF but they are not created with these formats in mind.
The presets are saved in XMP format and are correctly read by: Adobe Lightroom CC, Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, Lightroom Mobile App, so you can successfully use them in the mobile version of Lightroom. Then you should transfer the downloaded files to your phone and import the presets similarly to the desktop version. It is also possible to transfer the presets by synchronizing the Desktop and Mobile versions. The presets are correctly read in both the Windows and Mac versions.
At the end
If you are a beginner photographer, things like grading, tone curve, or color channels may seem foreign to you.
With these presets, you can get to know them better and start ruining your photos to a lesser extent. When turning the sliders, remember that by improving one, you can ruin the other. As a beginner photographer, it is easy not to notice that, for example, by changing color sliders, you can lose the transitions in tones and create ugly "artifacts". In simpler terms, "holes" in the photo. It is a constant learning process.
For many years, I have been working as a professional photographer in various fields, and after work I like to break away and get lost somewhere with my camera, listening to deep cyberpunk ambients on my headphones.
I pass on what I know here to you and give you tools that will definitely contribute something to your photography. Maybe thanks to them you will build the cinematic mood of the scene you are looking for. Good luck.
*Physical case is for reference purposes only. Presets are a digital product and are delivered electronically.