{"id":83126,"date":"2026-03-03T02:44:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T02:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital-photography-school.com\/?p=83126"},"modified":"2026-03-03T13:44:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T02:44:56","slug":"how-to-create-your-own-lightroom-presets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digital-photography-school.com\/how-to-create-your-own-lightroom-presets\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Your Own Lightroom Presets (Step By Step)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span>\"how<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

How can you create and save presets in Lightroom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I’m going to take you through the simple process, step by step. By the time you’re done, you’ll be able to confidently make presets of your own – and I’ll even show you how to make and apply import presets for high-quality, lightning-fast edits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s dive right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When should you create and apply Lightroom presets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are mundane edits in Lightroom<\/a> that you should carry out on almost every photo.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you can save time by creating presets that perform these jobs automatically upon import. That way, you don\u2019t have to do editing later.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words: I highly recommend you apply presets to pretty much every photo you take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(You can also apply presets during the editing process, but you’ll want to use these more sparingly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact is that RAW photos<\/a> need <\/em>edits to look good. And presets will help you do those edits faster <\/em>than a standard editing workflow. Look at this unedited RAW file:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"RAW<\/span>
A straight-out-of-camera RAW file from an EOS 5D Mark II. This is the sort of image you’ll see when you import images into Lightroom without applying a Develop preset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And look at it after applying a simple preset:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"image<\/span>
The same photo, but with the Profile set to Landscape<\/em>, lens corrections applied, chromatic aberrations removed, and white balance set to Auto<\/em>. This is what you would see after importing the photo into Lightroom if <\/em>you applied an import preset similar to the one I show you how to make in this article. The biggest benefit is that it saves you time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That’s what I’m going to teach you how to do in the next section:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a simple preset that you can apply upon importing. But note that you can use these instructions to create a preset of any <\/em>type, whether you plan to apply it on import or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to prepare a useful Lightroom preset: step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now let’s take a look at the simple instructions for making a useful Lightroom preset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Open a photo in the Develop module<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Start by selecting <\/span>the photo you plan to use as your preset base. Open it in the Lightroom Develop module.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"image<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Hit the Reset <\/em>button to zero out any existing settings:<\/p>\n\n\n

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(You may find it helpful to make a Virtual Copy of the photo first so you don\u2019t undo any edits you have already made; you can do this by right-clicking on the image, then selecting Create Virtual Copy<\/strong>.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Set your Profile in the Basic panel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, you’ll need to pick a Profile<\/a>. Think of this as a starting point or base layer, on top of which you’ll make all your edits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So head up to the Basic panel and click to open the Profile fly-out menu:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"setting<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Lightroom’s default Profile is Adobe Color<\/em>, and this is where I often leave my photos – but if you’re a frequent landscape photographer, you might try Adobe Landscape<\/em>, portrait photographers might try Adobe Portrait<\/em>, and black and white photographers might try Adobe Monochrome<\/em>. Really, it’s all about experimenting. Test out a few options and see what you like!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that, even if you save a profile as part of a preset, you can always change it after applying the preset if you decide it doesn’t work for a particular shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Also, note that your Profile options may vary depending on your camera, so if you can’t find one of the options I suggested, don’t worry; you probably have other cool Profiles to try out instead.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you shoot a number of different genres or in a number of different styles, or if you simply like several profiles, you might consider creating a preset for each one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Apply profile corrections and remove chromatic aberration<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most shots suffer from slight issues due to lens aberrations. The specifics depend on your lens, which is why Lightroom comes with profiles for a huge <\/em>number of lenses:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"Lightroom's<\/span>
Just a few of the many <\/em>lens profiles included in Lightroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So head down to <\/em>the Lens Corrections panel and check Enable Profile Corrections<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"Enabling<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If Lightroom offers a profile matching your lens’s make and model – and it almost certainly will! – the profile corrections will be applied automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d also recommend checking Remove Chromatic Aberration<\/em>, which will get rid of fringing<\/a> (which you pretty much always want to do!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Make sure the Basic panel is ready to go<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now it’s time to look at the Basic panel. Make sure the white balance<\/a> is set to As Shot<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"adjusting<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And make sure all the other sliders are zeroed<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"zeroing<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If you’re a fan of Lightroom’s automatic settings, you can hit the Auto <\/em>button. This will automatically set the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks, along with the vibrance and saturation<\/a>. I don’t do this myself, but if it’s helpful to you, then go ahead and try it!<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"the<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Also, if you shoot a mix of color and black and white, consider creating one preset for color photos and a second preset for black and white shots<\/a>. Simply set the Treatment to Black & White<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"selecting<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Creating a preset in Lightroom<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now it’s time to actually make <\/em>a Lightroom preset. The process is extremely simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Click the Create Preset option<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you’re in the Develop module, then click the Plus <\/em>icon next to the Presets panel:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"creating<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And select Create Preset<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Step 2: Determine which settings should be a part of your preset<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The New Develop Preset window should come up:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"the<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Give your preset a name and select a folder to save it in:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"giving<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Then select the settings you’d like to save as your preset. Hitting Check All <\/em>works fine if you’re creating the preset I discussed above – though if you’ve decided to create a more targeted editing preset, you may want to only check certain boxes. <\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"working<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Step 3: Hit Create<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, once you’re ready to save your preset, press Create<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"creating<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it! It\u2019s a simple process that doesn\u2019t take very long and can save you a lot of time when importing or editing your photos.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying presets upon import<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To apply the preset you just created upon importing your photos, launch the Import window:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"tapping<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Then head over to the Apply During Import <\/em>panel and set the Develop Settings menu to the appropriate preset: <\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>\"apply<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(This is where creating several presets helps saves time, as you can pick the best preset for the photos you are importing.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, when you click the Import <\/em>button, Lightroom applies the settings from your selected preset!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n