To add presets to Lightroom Classic, open the Develop module, click the + icon at the top of the Presets panel on the left, choose Import Presets, select the preset files (or the .zip they came in) and click Import. In the cloud-based Lightroom, open a photo in the Edit panel, click Presets, open the three-dot menu at the top of the Presets panel and choose Import Presets. The new presets appear in the panel straight away, ready to apply with one click.
A preset saves a collection of editing adjustments that you can apply to any photo with a single click, so it speeds up editing and keeps a series of photos looking consistent. This page covers installing presets in both versions of Lightroom, applying and adjusting them, making your own, and fixing presets that do not show up.
What Are Lightroom Presets?
A Lightroom preset is a saved recipe of editing adjustments. When you create or install a preset, you are saving specific settings for exposure, contrast, color grading, tone curves, and other adjustments. Applying a preset copies those settings to a new photo instantly, giving you a starting point for your edit or a finished look you can use across many images.
Because Lightroom edits non-destructively, a preset never changes your original file. It only writes a set of instructions that Lightroom uses to display and export the photo, so you can remove or change a preset at any time and get back to the untouched image.
Presets are especially useful when you want a consistent look across a photo series, when you need to get through a large batch of similar images, or when you want to try several looks quickly without moving dozens of sliders by hand. A preset only changes the settings it was saved with. A preset that holds only color settings leaves your exposure and crop alone; a preset that holds every setting replaces them all.
Not sure what each of those settings does yet? Lightroom for beginners walks through the Develop panels from top to bottom.
Where to Get Presets
Lightroom presets come from several sources:
- Built-in presets: Lightroom includes default presets for common adjustments and creative looks, such as black and white conversions and grain.
- Free downloads: many photographers share free preset packs online.
- Paid preset packs: curated collections sold by photographers and editors.
- Your own creations: you can save any edit as a custom preset, which is usually the most useful source of all.
Downloaded presets come as .xmp files (the current format) or .lrtemplate files (the older format). Packs often arrive as a .zip file. Lightroom can import the .zip directly, so you do not need to unzip it first. Some packs also include profiles, which are a different kind of file explained further down.
How to Install Presets in Lightroom Classic
The Develop module is where you manage and install presets. The Presets panel sits on the left side of the screen and shows your preset groups (folders).
Method 1: Import through Lightroom (recommended)
- Open the Develop module.
- Click the + icon at the top right of the Presets panel, or right-click anywhere in the panel.
- Select Import Presets.
- Navigate to your downloaded preset files and select them. You can select a .zip file, several .xmp files, or older .lrtemplate files.
- Click Import. The presets appear in a group in the Presets panel.
This is the most reliable route for older .lrtemplate files, because Lightroom converts them to the current .xmp format as it imports them. If a pack contains both presets and profiles, File > Import Develop Profiles and Presets installs both in one step.
Method 2: Copy to the presets folder
- Open Lightroom Preferences (Edit > Preferences on Windows, Lightroom Classic > Preferences on Mac).
- Go to the Presets tab.
- Click Show Lightroom Develop Presets to open the presets folder.
- Copy your .xmp files into this folder, or into a subfolder to keep them organized.
- Restart Lightroom to see the new presets.
The folder method is handy when you are moving a large preset library to a new computer, but for a few new presets the import command is faster and needs no restart.
How to Install Presets in Lightroom (Cloud Version)
The cloud-based Lightroom handles preset installation differently:
- Open an image in the Edit panel.
- Click the Presets button at the bottom of the editing panel.
- Click the three-dot menu at the top of the Presets panel.
- Select Import Presets.
- Choose your preset files or the .zip they came in.
You can also use File > Import Profiles & Presets. Presets installed in the cloud version sync to the other devices signed in to the same account, including the mobile app.
Editing on a phone or tablet? Lightroom mobile guide covers the mobile app, including how presets reach it.
How to Use Presets in Lightroom
Once presets are installed, applying them takes seconds:
- Select a photo in the Develop module (or the Edit panel in the cloud version).
- Open the Presets panel and expand a group.
- Hover over a preset to preview its effect, then click it to apply it.
- Fine-tune the result in the Basic panel: exposure and white balance almost always need a small adjustment for each photo.
Newer versions of Lightroom show an Amount slider in the Presets panel after you apply a preset. Dragging it below 100 weakens the look and dragging it above 100 strengthens it, which is often all the adjustment a preset needs. If you do not like the result, click another preset, use Undo, or step back in the History panel.
To apply a preset to many photos at once in Lightroom Classic you have three options:
- During import: in the Import dialog, choose the preset under Apply During Import > Develop Settings, and every incoming photo gets it.
- In the Library module: select the photos, then choose the preset from the Saved Preset menu in the Quick Develop panel.
- By syncing: apply the preset to one photo, adjust it, select the other photos and click Sync to copy the settings across. Batch editing in Lightroom covers syncing in detail.
Presets Versus Profiles
Profiles and presets are easy to confuse because both are .xmp files and both change the look of a photo. A profile sets how Lightroom first interprets the colors and tones of the file. It is chosen in the Profile Browser at the top of the Basic panel and does not move any of your sliders. A preset moves the sliders themselves, and it can include a profile as one of its settings. In practice: choose a profile first as the base rendering, then apply a preset or edit by hand on top of it.
Creating Your Own Presets
Presets built from your own editing are usually more useful than generic downloaded packs, because they start from your photos and your taste. To save one in Lightroom Classic:
- Edit a representative photo until you like the look.
- Click the + icon in the Presets panel and choose Create Preset.
- Name the preset and choose the group it belongs to.
- Tick only the settings you want the preset to carry, then click Create.
In the cloud version, open the three-dot menu in the Presets panel and choose Create Preset; the steps are the same.
The settings you tick decide how well the preset travels. For the most flexible presets, leave out exposure, white balance, crop and transform settings, because they vary from photo to photo. Include the settings that define the character of the look: tone curve, color grading, the HSL panel, grain, sharpening, lens corrections and calibration. A small library of personal presets, one for bright daylight portraits, one for indoor events, one for warm evening landscapes, covers most situations without hunting through hundreds of options.
When a preset looks right on some photos and wrong on others, that tells you something useful. Compare the two groups: the difference is usually the light, the white balance, or whether the photos are raw files or JPEGs. You can then refine the preset or make a second version for those conditions.
Want to go further with building and organizing a preset library? Lightroom presets guide covers making presets that work across a whole shoot.
Organizing Your Presets
As your preset collection grows, organization matters. Create groups by style (film looks, black and white, portrait), by source (your own, downloaded packs) or by use (quick fixes, creative effects, client work). Clear names such as “Portrait, warm film” or “Landscape, high contrast” let you find the right starting point quickly.
In Lightroom Classic, create a new group when you save a preset: in the Create Preset dialog, open the Group menu and choose New Group (older versions call it New Folder). Drag presets between groups to reorganize them. Right-click a preset you use often and choose Add to Favorites to keep it at the top of the panel, and hide packs you never use with Manage Presets in the + menu.
Why Your Presets Are Not Showing Up
- The presets are hidden as incompatible. Lightroom Classic hides presets that do not fully match the selected photo, for example a raw-only preset on a JPEG. Open the Presets tab in Preferences and turn on Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets. In the cloud version, the same option is in the three-dot menu of the Presets panel.
- You copied files to the folder without restarting. The folder method needs a restart before new presets appear.
- The files went to the wrong folder. If Store presets with this catalog is ticked in the Presets preferences, Lightroom reads presets from a folder next to the catalog, not the usual location. Use the Show Lightroom Develop Presets button to open the folder Lightroom is actually using.
- The download was not a preset. Files ending in .dng are sample images, not presets, and some packs only contain profiles. Check the file extensions before importing.
- The group is hidden or collapsed. Scroll the whole panel, and check whether the group was hidden.
Tips for Using Presets Effectively
- Presets are starting points. Most presets need fine-tuning for each image. Exposure, white balance and other basics usually need adjustment after applying one.
- Stack presets on purpose. A second preset overwrites any setting the first one also contains and leaves the rest alone. Use partial presets (a color-only preset, a grain-only preset) when you want to layer effects.
- Judge presets on several photos. A preset that looks dramatic on the sample image may fall apart on a photo with different light. Try it on a bright, a dark and a mixed-light photo before relying on it.
- Save what you like. When you finish an edit you love, save it as a preset straight away while the settings are in front of you.
- Keep a backup. Copy your presets folder along with your other backups so a new computer does not mean starting again.
Video Walkthrough
This walkthrough shows preset installation on an older version of Lightroom. Menu names have shifted since, so follow the written steps above where they differ:
Questions About Lightroom Presets
Can you add presets to the free mobile version of Lightroom? Yes. Presets you import in the cloud desktop version sync to the mobile app when you are signed in with the same account, and recent versions of the mobile app can also import preset files directly from the three-dot menu in the Presets panel.
Do presets work on JPEG files? Yes, but raw files respond better because they hold more color and tonal information. A preset built on raw files can look heavier on a JPEG, so lower the Amount slider or the individual settings to suit. Raw vs JPEG explains the difference.
Do old .lrtemplate presets still work? Yes. Import them with the Import Presets command and Lightroom Classic converts them to the current .xmp format as it imports them.
How do I remove a preset? Right-click it in the Presets panel and choose Delete. Removing a preset does not change photos it was already applied to, because those settings are stored with each photo.
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