Speeding up your post-processing workflow will allow you to spend more of your time taking photographs and less time editing them in Lightroom and/or Photoshop. For Lightroom users, making use of develop presets can be an excellent way to reduce the amount of time you spend in Lightroom. When it comes to presets, you can either create your own or use those created by others. There are plenty of high-quality presets available for purchase, and there are also some excellent ones that can be downloaded for free.
One of the great things about Lightroom Presets is that you can easily tweak the settings to suit a particular photo. No preset will work well with every photo, so it is really handy that you can adjust them to meet the specific needs of one of your own photos.
Presets can also serve as a great learning tool. If you’re new to Lightroom you can check the settings used by a preset to understand how a certain effect is accomplished.
If you’re just starting with Lightroom or even if you’re a seasoned expert, we highly recommend Scott Kelby’s new book called The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Book for Digital Photographers. It’s the bestselling Lightroom book that you can get on paperback or Kindle, and it will make you a better Lightroom user.
Other popular books for Lightroom include:
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 For Digital Photographers – a chunky guide that’s chock-full of information, tutorials, and practical advice for beginners and experts alike.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5: Classroom in a Book – a great introduction to Lightroom, perfect for anyone diving into Photoshop for the first time.
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book: A Complete Guide For Photographers – a comprehensive (700+ pages) textbook to keep you learning for a long time, even if you’ve already been using Lightroom for years.
Free Lightroom Presets
Below are more than 230 Free Lightroom Presets that we hope will speed up and streamline your workflow. We’ve organized the presets into 9 general categories:
- Premium Presets
- Preset Bundles
- Matte/Film-Inspired
- Light & Color
- Travel & Landscape
- Monochromatic
- Summertime
- Flowers & Greenery
- HDR
- Portraits
Jump down to the category that interests you, or download and enjoy them all!
Like the presets and filters here? Spread the love by sharing this post with your photographer friends.
Premium Presets
Visual Flow Free Lightroom Preset
Visual Flow has released one of their most popular presets as a sample, available when you sign up for their newsletter. Click here to signup. If you haven’t heard of Visual Flow, they are a relatively new company formed by two established preset makers, SLR Lounge and DVLOP. They utilize Lighting Condition Based Development, a new way of post producing that they have a patent pending on. They are definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re a wedding or portrait photographer.
Preset Bundles
If you prefer getting a batch of presets in one click, look no further than these free bundles. Most are sample packs, letting you try out some presets from a larger bundle that’s for sale. Besides saving time, a bundle gives you a unified style, since the presets are all from the same designer or studio. However, you might also be tempted to spend more if you end up loving the sample presets. They’re free, but you might get hooked!
Contrastly Presets
Contrastly has an online store loaded with presets, but if you subscribe to their emails, you can get a free starter pack with 25 classic presets. These presets were selected from their best packs in the store, so you’ll have a good idea of what to expect if you decide to buy more.
Shutter Pulse Lightroom Presets
Shutter Pulse has a massive pack of over 300 presets for $59, but before you wade into that bundle, you can try 20 of their presets for free. The presets in this sample bundle are varied and interesting. Autumn, Winter, Blue Day and Evening Black & White are just a few of their presets you can try out.
MCP Mini Enlighten Lightroom Presets
This bundle is a sample pack of 15 presets and custom resets, selected from MCP’s full Enlighted collection. It includes color, black & white, and toning presets that allow you to create 8 distinct looks. Then, if you really like the sample, you can get the full package of 200 easy-to-use presets for $100.
onOne Signature Collection Presets
On1 has a whole page of presets to download for free. Some are from ON1, while others are from ON1 partners, like Contrastly and Sleeklens. If you want a single big bundle, you can start off with the ON1 Signature Collection, Volume 1, which gives you 60 presets. Or, for Instagram-style photos, download Volume 2 with 29 presets.
The Creativv Lightroom Presets
If you sign up for a free account with The Creativv, you can download their 10 free presets. Most were designed for urban landscapes, but a few work great in other situations, too.
Pro Lightroom Sample Bundle
This sample bundle gives you 5 presets, selected from the full Pro Lightroom Bundle. You mainly get three black & white presets, plus a color-boosting “Touch of Drama” preset and a “Deeply Matte Color Cream Wash” preset. If you like these, you can buy the complete bundle of 595 presets for $20.
Matte/Film-Inspired
Love the aesthetic of film photography? Luckily, there are plenty of free presets out there to give you that classic look with a digital camera.
Vintage Vixen Lightroom Preset
Light & Color
Getting the color and lighting of a photo right is one of the toughest challenges in photography. These presets can’t fix every problem, but they sure can help.
Light & Bright Lightroom Preset
Sharp Color Pop Lightroom Preset
Basic Color Enhance Lightroom Presets
Travel & Landscapes
These presets are perfect for any photographer who loves traveling and shooting landscapes. Some can help solve specific issues, like dull landscape colors, while others give a specific vibe to your photos. A few work great with urban shots, too.
Autumn Landscape Lightroom Preset
Vibrant Landscape Lightroom Preset
Monochromatic
Despite the lack of color, black and white photography has a wide range of possibilities. Monochromatic photos can have a modern or vintage look, a melancholy or bright atmosphere. Whatever vibe you’re aiming for, these presets can help you get there.
Best Black & White Lightroom Preset
High Contrast Black & White Lightroom Preset
Summertime
Every season has its beauty, even winter. But if you’re a wedding photographer or summertime vacationer, it’s worth checking out these summery presets.
August Sunset Lightroom Preset
Silver Lining Lightroom Preset
Flowers & Greenery
Whether you’re shooting springtime flowers or frost-covered pine trees, these presets can help turn your everyday shots into eye-catching works of art.
Cherry Blossom Lightroom Preset
HDR
If you love the look of HDR photos, then these presets are for you. They cover a range of photography genres, so you can try a little of everything.
Cinematic HDR Lightroom Preset
Vibrant Colors HDR Lightroom Preset
Autumn Color Boost HDR Lightroom Preset
Black & White HDR Lightroom Preset
Portraits
A lot of the above presets work well with portrait photography, but the following ones were specifically designed with portraits in mind. Whether you’re a professional portrait photographer or a casual street photographer, these presets might come in handy.
Free Lightroom Presets for Grungy Urban Portraits
Blondies and Brunettes Lightroom Presets
Vintage Lightroom Presets for Portraits and Weddings
Whitman Cinematic Lightroom Preset
