I often get asked if new photographers should use Presets? Or I’m asked if I use Presets?
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I’m not a fan of using presets and I don’t use presets from others on my photos.
And if you ask me if you should, I will tell you no as well.
This is all a very personal decision. I know and admire many photographers use and sell presets.
All I can offer is my reason for not using them. Actually there are two reasons.
Let me back-up, though, in case you are unfamiliar with the term. You might be wondering - what is a photography preset?
When editing an image in a tool such as LightRoom you can change or enhance many characteristics of the photo to help it better reflect what you see as you snap the image. Brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness.
Once you make all these changes to one photo, you can save these changes as a preset. Then you can take that preset and apply these edits all the other images in your set.
This is actually how I do use presets - I use those that I create myself.
So if I have a shoot of a pasta dish for a client and I have 10 images of different orientations and angles. I can edit one and then apply those same edits (since my lighting and environment was the same for all) to all the 10 images. It saves time and creates a consistent look.
But a Preset is also something you can buy from other photographers who have created them. Then you upload them to Lightroom and apply them to your own photos.
This is where my personal big NO comes in.
Okay, the reasons.
One, I am a big advocate of creating images that are signature to you and your style. Even if you don’t feel like you have a style yet, you will get there. Trust me. I did not think I had a style. At all. And now people tell me they know exactly which photos are mine. It can happen naturally. Do not let it stress you out (like it did me for so long!).
When you buy another person’s Presets and apply them to your own photos you rob yourself of the opportunity of being your own artist with your own unique likes and dislikes in terms of saturation, brightness, and all the things that make your photos YOUR photos.
Two, you miss the opportunity to learn basic editing skills that will help you grow as a photographer. You don’t have to be a full blown photo editor, but knowing the little tweaks to make to improve an image and improve it in a way that makes you like it more is invaluable. It builds your confidence and it’s something you can take back to your photo shoots. For example, if you are always brightening a photo in editing, you learn how to brighten your set or use your camera settings to do so. It translates to time saved in editing overall.
I don’t think using Presets makes anyone less of a photographer. I just believe there are skills you don’t learn when you rely on them. Skills that will make you better at the craft over time.
If you use them for speed and ease of editing, try creating some yourself that reflect your style. Really play with all those buttons in LightRoom and see what they do. To this day (after 10 years at this) there are still things I discover in LightRoom from YouTube videos and instructional courses. You don’t have to be an expert. Just experiment.
When you create your own presets, it can accomplish the speed you seek and create images signature to you, but you also become educated in necessary photo editing skills. A big win-win.