As a professional photographer with over 14 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how advancements in editing software have revolutionized the creative process. One of the most valuable tools in programs like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or Bridge is the ability to create custom presets. These time-saving gems can significantly enhance your workflow while ensuring consistency and creativity across your portfolio.
Here’s why creating your own presets is a game-changer for photographers.
1. Save Time Without Sacrificing Quality
Editing can be a labor-intensive process, especially when you’re working with large batches of images. Custom presets allow you to apply your signature style with just one click. Whether it’s a wedding shoot, a portrait session, or landscape photography, you can automate your most-used adjustments—contrast, exposure, white balance, color grading, and more.
Imagine importing a hundred RAW files and having a preset instantly bring them to life. This doesn’t mean you won’t fine-tune individual images, but it provides a strong foundation that saves hours in post-processing.
2. Maintain Consistency Across Projects
As a photographer, your style is your brand. Custom presets help ensure that every image you deliver aligns with your vision. This is especially critical for photographers who work with clients, as consistency builds trust and professionalism.
For instance, if you specialize in wedding photography, your clients will expect a cohesive look across their albums. With presets, you can replicate your signature tones and mood across hundreds of images seamlessly.
3. Foster Creativity While Reducing Redundancy
Contrary to popular belief, presets aren’t just for cookie-cutter editing. They serve as a creative starting point. By creating presets tailored to different styles or lighting conditions—golden hour, low light, studio—you’ll have a palette of options ready to explore.
From there, you can tweak individual settings to suit the unique mood of each image. This allows you to experiment and innovate without starting from scratch every time.
4. Adapt to Different Software
Whether you prefer Lightroom, Bridge, or Photoshop, the process of creating and using presets is straightforward. In Lightroom, presets can be applied during import, saving even more time. Photoshop actions serve a similar purpose for more complex edits, while Bridge’s batch processing is perfect for handling large collections.
The beauty of presets is that they’re platform-agnostic. Once you understand how to create them in your chosen software, you can adapt and apply the concept across tools.
5. Develop a Personalized Workflow
The presets you create are unique to your preferences and workflow. Over time, you’ll develop a library that reflects your artistic voice, making your editing process not only faster but also more enjoyable.
Getting Started with Presets
Begin by analyzing your most common edits. Do you frequently adjust shadows, highlights, or color tones? Save these adjustments as a preset and experiment with applying them to different images. Don’t forget to name and organize them for easy access!
In conclusion, custom presets are an invaluable tool for photographers. They streamline your workflow, preserve your creative voice, and let you focus on what truly matters—capturing moments and telling stories. If you haven’t started creating your own presets, now is the perfect time to elevate your editing game.
Here’s an example of a custom preset I’ve made to match my style being applied to a raw image, then made minor exposure and warmth adjustments by hand afterwards:
