5 Ways Lightroom Presets Can Help You Unleash Your Creativity

We live in an image-lovin’ world, but taking and editing images well can be time-consuming and takes a lot of skill. But there is a little trick… Lightroom Presets. You get to create that perfect signature aesthetic while also editing your photos in just a second with a click. It’s not magic… but it might look like it.

I have been photographing and editing my images in great detail for over a decade. Yes, I enjoy it, but let’s be real. I don’t want to be editing photos all day long! So, I created three collections of Lightroom Presets that bring us gorgeous, gorgeous vibes (and quickly).

Photography + Presets can also be such a rewarding form of creative expression. Your images can finally have that ~ aesthetic ~ you see in your mind. But let’s talk about presets!

Keep scrolling for tips!

SAVES YOU TIME 

Using Lightroom presets is a great way to quickly edit images and save time. With just one click, you can apply adjustments to an image that can take a while to make manually. This makes it much easier and faster to get your images ready for sharing. With a few pieces of advice, tips, and tricks, you can use Lightroom presets to make quick edits that you can be proud of. This not only saves you time, but ensures your images are edited to the highest quality with consistent results.  

CREATIVE CONTROL + DONE FOR YOU EDITS

Yes, there are one-click wonders, BUT Lightroom Presets (like the “Paris Presets” or the “Nice Painting” Collections) are also COMPLETELY editable. Unlike filters that blindly edit your photos, a preset allows you to move all the levels and balance everything to fit the individual photo. This is really wonderful because this means you have creative freedom. Glorious!

TIP: Often, I shift the “exposure” so every photo has that aesthetic I can see.

HELPS YOU LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES

TIP: As you work with the presets you enjoy most, start looking at the way the edits are set up. This is a great way to learn about different editing styles and how they work on the back end. Once you have a good sense of what you like and what you don’t, you can use that knowledge as a starting point toward creating YOUR unique edits.

Many talented creatives offer their own Lightroom presets online, so you can pick and choose the ones that inspire you the most and use them to learn from their techniques. Instead of starting with a blank canvas, you can start with a preset and then tweak it to create something fully unique.

HELPS YOU DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE

I use my Lightroom Presents (especially the Paris Presets) to edit nearly every single photograph you have seen on my Instagram, Pinterest, emails, etc. I remember when I first discovered presets… It was back in 2013-ish, and I felt like the whole world opened up to my camera and to me. My whole process improved. I began looking at the scenes in front of me more like an artist than someone who knows how to take a picture. A huge part of that was the thrill of using a preset to get that perfect look. The more and more consistent I am with ‘that look,’ the more it becomes mine, something I am known for, and something I deeply enjoy.

While presets can save you time by quickly creating beautiful photos, they also allow you to express yourself in more ways than just the photo subject.  You can explore different looks, themes, colors, and textures. In seeing how they interact with your images, you can learn how to create visuals that truly represent your vision.  As creatives, we all have something to say, and these tools can help us communicate our ideas even more clearly.  

TIP: Remember, you are an artist the moment you look through your viewfinder — taking your art seriously is so, so gratifying!

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Each preset has a different aesthetic voice. Offering an array of different looks and styles— with presents, it's easy to find something that sparks your creativity. Whether it's the vibrant colors of a landscape preset, or the moody tones of a portrait preset, Lightroom presets can help you quickly develop ideas for a shoot or project.  Since this tool allows you to experiment with different effects and styles without needing to manually adjust every setting, it’s easier to try out different combinations and helps you refine your vision.  Lightroom presets can provide valuable insight into trends in the photography industry. By exploring various presets, you can identify what elements are popular in the current landscape and use that information to inform your own work.  Using presets makes it easier to explore different styles, refine your ideas, and stay up-to-date on industry trends! 

Want to bring this tool into your own creative process?

I’ve curated three different preset collections to make my images as lush and moody and light and thoughtful as the images I see in my imagination.  So, here’s a list of the best Lightroom Presets for Artists, in my humble opinion…