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Collecting Presets
I’ve already done a blog on the advantages of using presets to “preview” effects and processing so that you can immediately see a direction you might want to go in for a given image. If you’re in Develop mode and you set the Preview window to a fairly large size, pick a thumbnail in the filmstrip, and then drag down through the open Preset panel, you’ll instantly see the effect of that preset as applied to the panel you have there. You can then make a Virtual Copy of any of the effects you like, open the Virtual Copy, and go through the Develop Panels to “tweak” any of the automatically applied adjustments.
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with “refining” this process by grouping my presets according to their functions after creating a Preset Library for White Balance, Contrast, HDR, Split-Toning, Film Effects, etc. Then I can organize them into a personal workflow preference by simply dragging them from their original location into the appropriate functional library.
You may already be thinking about what a pain it would be to create dozens (or hundreds) of presets yourself. You really don’t need to. You’ll find lots of free ones just by Googling “Lightroom Presets.” Download them into a Lightroom Presets folder, unzip those that may be zipped. Then go to the Presets Panel in the Develop module, right click, choose Import, navigate to the folder you’ve stored the presets in, and select all those you want to import. Really, folks…it takes just minutes.
By the way, this can be a great way to quickly re-cycle photos for stock libraries or for the creating of new portfolios, slide-shows and presentations that are meant to sell your “style.”
