As a professional photographer, your time is your most valuable asset. Every hour spent behind a computer is an hour you’re not shooting, booking clients, or growing your business. This is where Lightroom presets come in. They offer a powerful way to speed up your editing workflow, maintain a consistent style, and deliver beautiful photos faster. But with a sea of options available, how do you find the best Lightroom presets that truly match your artistic vision and professional needs?
This guide cuts through the noise. We’ll explore the top editing solutions available today, from traditional preset packs to the next evolution in photo editing: Artificial Intelligence. We’ll dive into what makes each option unique and help you understand which tool is the right fit for your photography business. Whether you’re a wedding photographer chasing golden hour, a portrait artist perfecting skin tones, or a high-volume shooter needing ultimate efficiency, the right editing solution is out there. Let’s find it.
Key Takeaways
- Presets Are a Starting Point: Traditional Lightroom presets are excellent for applying a consistent base style quickly but almost always require manual tweaking to fit each photo’s unique lighting and exposure.
- AI Editing is the Next Step: AI-powered tools like Imagen are not static presets. They analyze each photo individually to apply your unique style, adapting to different lighting conditions for unparalleled consistency and speed.
- Your Style Is a Priority: The best preset or editing tool is one that complements your unique aesthetic, whether it’s bright and airy, dark and moody, or true-to-life film emulation.
- Consider Your Niche: Wedding, portrait, real estate, and volume photographers have different needs. The right solution should offer features tailored to your specific line of work.
- Efficiency Drives Profitability: The ultimate goal is to reduce your editing time without sacrificing quality. The less time you spend editing, the more time you have to grow your business.
The Evolution of Photo Editing: From Presets to AI
For years, presets have been a cornerstone of the professional photographer’s toolkit. At their core, Lightroom presets are saved sets of slider positions—exposure, contrast, HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance), tone curve, and more. When you apply a preset, Lightroom instantly adjusts all those sliders to the saved values.
The Good:
- Speed: Applying a base edit in one click is significantly faster than starting from scratch.
- Consistency: Presets help you achieve a similar look and feel across an entire gallery.
- Learning: They can be a great way to deconstruct how certain looks are created.
The Challenge: The biggest limitation of a traditional preset is that it’s static. It applies the exact same settings to every photo, regardless of whether the image was shot in bright sun, deep shade, or indoors with mixed lighting. A preset that looks perfect on one photo might completely crush the blacks or blow out the highlights on another. This means you still have to spend considerable time tweaking each image to perfection.
This is the problem that AI photo editing was born to solve. Instead of applying the same settings, AI learns your creative intent. It understands how you adjust for different lighting scenarios and edits each photo individually to achieve a consistent result. It’s a dynamic, intelligent approach that represents the future of professional photo editing.
The Best Lightroom Presets & Editing Tools for Professionals
Navigating the world of presets and editing tools can be overwhelming. Here’s a breakdown of the top solutions trusted by professional photographers, starting with the evolution beyond traditional presets.
1. Imagen: The AI-Powered Future Beyond Presets
Imagen isn’t a collection of presets; it’s a personalized editing assistant powered by artificial intelligence. It’s a desktop app that integrates directly with Adobe Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop, and Bridge, using cloud-based processing to deliver edits in your unique style at incredible speeds. Instead of buying someone else’s style, you teach Imagen your own.
How Imagen Works (The Personal AI Profile)
The magic behind Imagen is its Personal AI Profile. This is where the platform truly separates itself from any static preset. The process is straightforward but incredibly powerful:
- You Teach the AI: You start by providing Imagen with at least 2,000 of your previously edited photos directly from your Lightroom Classic catalogs. These should be photos that accurately represent your signature style.
- Imagen Learns: The AI analyzes your edits. It doesn’t just average the settings; it learns the relationships between the original, unedited photo and your final edit. It understands how you treat highlights in harsh sun, how you adjust white balance indoors, and how you render skin tones in shade.
- Imagen Edits for You: Once your Personal AI Profile is trained, you can submit new, unedited photos. Imagen analyzes each image individually and applies edits based on what it learned from you. The result is a gallery edited just as you would have, but in a fraction of the time—often less than half a second per photo.
For photographers who don’t have 2,000 edited photos, Imagen offers a Lite Personal AI Profile. This lets you get started by uploading a favorite preset and answering a few questions about your editing preferences. As you use it, you can upload your final tweaks to “fine-tune” the profile, making it more accurate and personalized over time.
The Power of Talent AI Profiles
If you want to get started immediately or experiment with a new style, Imagen also offers Talent AI Profiles. These are AI profiles created by world-renowned, industry-leading photographers. Think of them as super-powered presets. Unlike a static preset, a Talent AI Profile still edits each photo dynamically, adapting to its specific needs to achieve the photographer’s signature look. It’s a great way to get professional-grade results from day one.
Key Features and Benefits for Photographers
- Unmatched Speed and Efficiency: By reducing editing time by up to 96%, Imagen frees you up to focus on other parts of your business.
- Ultimate Consistency: Because the AI adapts to each photo, you get a level of consistency across different lighting scenarios that’s nearly impossible to achieve with static presets.
- Truly Personalized: Your Personal AI Profile is your style, and it evolves with you. As your aesthetic changes, you can continue to fine-tune your profile with new edits.
- A Full Suite of AI Tools: Beyond color and tone, Imagen offers additional AI tools to automate other tedious tasks, including:
- Crop: Intelligently crops photos for better composition.
- Straighten: Automatically corrects tilted horizons.
- Subject Mask: Applies targeted adjustments to your subjects.
- Smooth Skin: Provides natural-looking skin smoothing.
- Integrated Workflow: Imagen works directly with the software you already use, making it a seamless addition to your post-production process.
Who is Imagen For?
Imagen is built for professional photographers who value their time and brand consistency. It’s an ideal solution for high-volume shooters like wedding, event, portrait, and real estate photographers who need to deliver large galleries quickly without sacrificing their signature style. If you’re tired of the limitations of static presets and want a smarter, faster, and more personal editing solution, Imagen is the clear choice.
2. VSCO
What is VSCO?
VSCO is a well-known name in the photo editing space, popular for its mobile app and its collection of Lightroom presets. The company specializes in film emulation, providing presets that replicate the look of classic film stocks from brands like Kodak, Fuji, and Ilford.
How it Works
VSCO presets are delivered as traditional preset packs. After purchase, you install the .xmp files into Lightroom Classic. You can then apply these presets to your photos in the Develop module with a single click and make manual adjustments as needed. Many photographers use the mobile app to test out looks before applying the corresponding desktop presets.
Key Features
- Film Emulation: The core strength of VSCO is its extensive library of presets designed to mimic the color, grain, and character of analog film.
- Subtle Aesthetics: VSCO looks are often characterized by their subtle, slightly desaturated, and artistic feel, which has made them popular in portrait, lifestyle, and travel photography.
- VSCO Membership: A subscription model provides access to their full library of over 200 presets and other editing tools.
Who is it For?
VSCO is a good option for photographers and hobbyists who are specifically seeking a modern, film-inspired aesthetic. It’s particularly popular among those who want to achieve a cohesive look for social media and lifestyle or portrait work.
3. Mastin Labs
What is Mastin Labs?
Mastin Labs is a company that creates Lightroom presets with a very specific goal: to help hybrid photographers match their digital photos to their film scans. Their presets are meticulously crafted to emulate the look of specific film stocks as processed by particular film labs.
How it Works
Mastin Labs presets are sold in packs, typically organized by film brand (e.g., Fuji, Kodak). They advocate for a “three-step workflow,” which involves applying the preset, adjusting exposure, and then correcting white balance. This structured approach is designed to produce clean, consistent, and accurate film looks.
Key Features
- Hybrid Photography Focus: The primary function is to create a seamless look between digital and film photos within the same gallery.
- High Accuracy: The presets are known for their commitment to accurately replicating specific film stocks like Fuji Pro 400H or Kodak Portra 400.
- Educational Resources: Mastin Labs provides significant education around hybrid photography, helping users get the most out of their presets.
Who is it For?
Mastin Labs is the go-to choice for hybrid photographers—those who shoot both film and digital. It is also favored by wedding and portrait photographers who desire a clean, timeless, and true-to-life film aesthetic in their digital work.
4. Noble Presets
What is Noble Presets?
Noble Presets are designed with a focus on fine art wedding and portrait photography. They are known for creating bright, luminous, and filmic images, often described as “light and airy.” The presets are developed in collaboration with film labs to ensure pleasing and accurate color palettes.
How it Works
Noble Presets function as standard Lightroom preset packs. They are designed to work well in a variety of lighting conditions, particularly the soft, natural light favored by many wedding photographers. The packs often include variations to handle different lighting scenarios and camera profiles.
Key Features
- Bright and Airy Style: Their signature look is luminous and clean, with soft tones and a fine art quality.
- Optimized Skin Tones: A great deal of attention is paid to rendering beautiful and natural skin tones, a critical factor for wedding and portrait work.
- Film-Inspired: While not strictly emulations, the presets are heavily inspired by the color palette of film stocks like Fuji 400H.
Who is it For?
Noble Presets are extremely popular among fine art wedding and portrait photographers. If your brand is built around a bright, romantic, and ethereal aesthetic, these presets provide a strong foundation for that style.
5. Greater Than Gatsby
What is Greater Than Gatsby?
Greater Than Gatsby offers a wide and diverse range of presets and actions for both Lightroom and Photoshop. Their collections are less about replicating a single style (like film) and more about providing a broad toolkit for creative and artistic edits. Their products cover everything from clean edits to highly stylized, cinematic looks.
How it Works
Greater Than Gatsby sells large collections of presets and, for Photoshop users, actions. These are designed to be stackable and customizable, allowing for a high degree of creative control. The offerings are often bundled for specific genres, such as newborn, wedding, or portrait photography.
Key Features
- Wide Variety: They offer one of the largest selections of styles, from subtle enhancements to dramatic, artistic effects.
- Photoshop Actions: Many collections include Photoshop actions for tasks like skin retouching, light effects, and other detailed work that goes beyond Lightroom’s capabilities.
- Bundled Collections: Presets and actions are often sold in comprehensive bundles, providing a large number of tools for a single price.
Who is it For?
Greater Than Gatsby is suited for photographers who want a diverse creative toolkit. It’s particularly popular with portrait, family, and newborn photographers who enjoy experimenting with different artistic styles and often complete their workflow in Photoshop.
How to Choose the Best Lightroom Presets for Your Style
With so many options, selecting the right presets can feel like a major decision. Here’s a practical framework to guide you.
1. Define Your Artistic Aesthetic
Before you even start shopping, you need to know what you want your photos to look like. Are you drawn to:
- Bright and Airy: Luminous, soft, with pastel-like colors?
- Dark and Moody: Dramatic, high-contrast, with deep shadows and rich tones?
- True-to-Life Color: Clean, vibrant, and timeless?
- Filmic: Emulating the nostalgic look of analog film?
- Warm and Earthy: Featuring golden tones and muted greens?
Write down a few words that describe your ideal style. This will be your compass.
2. Analyze Your Work and Shooting Conditions
A preset that looks amazing on a landscape photo shot at sunset might not work for an indoor portrait. Consider your primary work:
- Subjects: Do you shoot people? If so, skin tone accuracy is non-negotiable. Look for preset creators who showcase a diverse range of skin tones in their examples.
- Lighting: Do you primarily shoot outdoors in natural light, or do you work indoors with strobes or mixed lighting? A good preset pack should be versatile enough to handle different lighting scenarios.
3. Look for Versatility and Consistency
The best preset collections don’t just offer one look. They provide a base preset and several variations (e.g., cooler, warmer, higher contrast) to help you adapt to different scenes while maintaining a cohesive feel. This ensures your entire gallery, from getting-ready shots to the reception, looks like it belongs together.
4. Read Reviews and Scrutinize Before-and-Afters
Don’t just look at the polished final images. The most helpful examples show the straight-out-of-camera original next to the one-click preset application before any manual tweaks. This gives you a realistic expectation of what the preset does on its own. Look for reviews from photographers who shoot in a similar style and with similar gear as you.
5. Understand the Difference: Static Presets vs. Dynamic AI Editing
This is perhaps the most important criterion for a modern professional.
- Static Presets apply a fixed set of adjustments. They are a great starting point but will always require you to manually correct for differences in exposure, white balance, and lighting from photo to photo.
- Dynamic AI Editing (like Imagen) applies an intelligent, adaptive edit. It analyzes each photo and adjusts the settings to achieve a consistent outcome that matches your style.
For a professional who values efficiency and consistency above all, making the leap from a static tool to a dynamic one is a game-changer for their business.
A General Guide to Using Presets Effectively in Lightroom
Once you’ve chosen your presets, using them effectively is key. A preset is rarely a one-click solution.
1. Start with a Well-Exposed Image
Presets work best on photos that are properly exposed and have a correct white balance to begin with. They are meant to enhance a good photo, not rescue a bad one. Make any major corrections to exposure and white balance before getting too deep into stylistic edits.
2. It’s a Starting Point, Not a Final Edit
Think of a preset as the first 70-80% of your edit. After applying it, you will almost always need to make fine-tuned adjustments. The most common and impactful adjustments are White Balance and Exposure.
3. Adjust White Balance and Exposure First
These two sliders have the biggest impact on the overall look of your photo. After applying a preset, the first thing you should do is adjust the Temp and Tint sliders until the colors look natural, and then adjust the Exposure slider until the brightness is perfect.
4. Fine-Tune HSL and Tone Curve
If certain colors aren’t quite right, dive into the HSL panel to tweak the Hue, Saturation, or Luminance of individual colors. For example, if the greens are too vibrant, you can specifically desaturate them without affecting skin tones. The Tone Curve is another powerful tool for refining contrast.
5. Save Your Tweaks as a New Preset
If you find yourself making the same adjustments to a preset over and over again, save your changes as a new preset! This is how you can evolve a purchased preset into something that is truly your own.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the difference between a Lightroom preset and an Imagen Profile? A preset is a static, saved set of editing settings that is applied identically to every photo. An Imagen Profile is a dynamic editing model that has learned your personal style; it analyzes each photo individually and applies a unique edit to achieve a consistent result that matches your aesthetic.
2. Can presets damage my original RAW photos? No. Lightroom uses non-destructive editing. Presets only change the editing metadata associated with your photo. Your original file is never altered and you can always revert back to it by clicking the “Reset” button.
3. Why don’t my photos look like the preset examples? This is a common issue. The final look depends heavily on the lighting, colors, camera model, and lens used in the original photo. A preset designed for backlit, golden-hour photos will look very different when applied to an image shot in midday sun. Always adjust exposure and white balance first.
4. How do I install Lightroom presets? In Lightroom Classic, go to the Develop module. In the Presets panel on the left, click the ‘+’ icon and select “Import Presets.” Navigate to the folder containing your .xmp preset files and import them.
5. Are free presets worth using? They can be. Free presets are a great way to experiment with new styles without a financial commitment. However, they are often less versatile and refined than professional, paid presets. For professional work where consistency is key, investing in a high-quality system is usually worthwhile.
6. Can I use these presets on my phone? Yes. If you have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, presets you install on Lightroom Classic on your desktop will automatically sync to the Lightroom Mobile app, allowing you to edit on the go.
7. What is an XMP file? An .xmp file is the current standard file format for Lightroom presets. Older presets used the .lrtemplate format, but most have been updated to XMP.
8. How many presets are too many? While it’s tempting to collect hundreds of presets, this can lead to a cluttered workflow and an inconsistent style. It’s better to find one or two high-quality preset packs or an AI profile that truly matches your vision and master it.
9. Can I create my own presets from scratch? Absolutely! The best way to develop a unique style is to edit your photos manually and then save your favorite settings as your own presets. This is a great exercise for any photographer looking to define their brand.
10. Do presets work on JPEG files? Yes, but they work best on RAW files. RAW files contain much more image data, giving you far more flexibility to adjust settings like exposure and white balance without losing quality. Applying a preset to a JPEG can sometimes result in artifacts or unnatural colors.
11. Why is my editing style inconsistent even when I use the same preset? This is the core limitation of static presets. Because lighting, location, and colors change from shot to shot, a single preset will produce slightly different results on each photo, forcing you to make constant manual adjustments to maintain consistency. This is the exact problem that dynamic AI editing solves.
12. Is AI photo editing difficult to learn? Not at all. A tool like Imagen is designed to be incredibly user-friendly. The main work is upfront—providing your edited photos to train the AI. After that, the process of submitting photos for editing is simple and automated, requiring far less manual work than traditional editing.
13. How much time can I really save with a better editing tool? The time savings can be dramatic. Professional photographers using AI solutions like Imagen regularly report cutting their editing time by 90-96%. For a wedding photographer, this can mean getting back 5-10 hours of their life for every single wedding.
Conclusion: Investing in Your Time and Your Art
Lightroom presets are a fantastic tool in any photographer’s arsenal. They provide a solid foundation for building a recognizable style and can significantly speed up the initial stages of editing. For many, a well-chosen preset pack from a reputable creator is all they need to elevate their work.
But for the working professional, where time directly translates to profit and consistency is paramount to brand identity, the conversation is shifting. The limitations of static presets—the constant need to tweak and adjust for every new lighting scenario—create a ceiling on efficiency. The future of professional photo editing lies in smarter, more adaptive solutions.
AI-powered editing with a tool like Imagen represents that future. It takes the core promise of presets—speed and consistency—and elevates it to a level that was previously unimaginable. By creating a system that edits for you, in your unique style, it allows you to reclaim your most valuable resource: time. It empowers you to spend less time clicking sliders and more time doing what you love—being behind the camera, connecting with clients, and building a thriving business.
