300 free Lightroom presets: what they do, where to get them, how to install them!
These free Lightroom presets can be used on a wide range of genres, from portraiture to landscape to still life. We've rounded up our favorite free presets here for you to explore.
There are plenty of photographers who love to spend hours poring over an image and editing it to perfection. However, there are many others who can't stand having to spend a minute more at the computer than they absolutely have to. If you fall into this camp, or you're simply looking for some fresh editing inspiration, why not download one of the free Lightroom presets we've rounded up here?
Free Lightroom presets are the perfect quick editing solution for those that want to save a little time, but don't want to spend mega bucks on the presets for sale on the internet. While some can go for as little as $10 / £10, others can easily be hundreds of dollars, but if you want professional quality, you do sometimes have to pay – see our guide to the best premium Lightroom presets for more.
However, free Lightroom presets are a great opportunity to test the waters before committing to a paid preset – or, are just a fun way to try a different way of editing in the best photo editing software.
What is a Lightroom preset?
Lightroom presets are a one-click solution for your editing, instantly applying pre-set effects and adjustments to your photos. This means that you don't have to spend your precious time fiddling around with all the different Lightroom options to get the look you want. You can try out different styles for your photography without having to spend hours trying to guess which combination of contrast, saturation and exposure will achieve what you want. The best thing about Lightroom presets is that they're all customizable as well. This means that if you like an effect, but it's making your image slightly too dark, you can simply use the Exposure slider to perfect the look.
So, if you're ready to severely cut down on your editing time, we recommend that you dive into these 59 free sets of Lightroom presets – which in total give you some 300 free Lightroom presets for you to explore. They've each been handpicked to help you take your photography to the next level – no matter whether you shoot portraits, landscapes or anything else.
If you want to expand your Lightroom knowledge, you might want to check out our free series of 32 Lightroom tutorials. Alternatively, if you like these presets and want to find out what looks you can get if you're willing to splash a little cash, we can also help you find premium Lightroom presets and plugins here.
Haven't got Lightroom yet? You can find out how you can subscribe to it here as part of Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan.
How to download and install Lightroom presets
- DOWNLOAD THE PRESETS
Presets are just processing instructions, so the files are quite small, even if they are grouped together in sets. You may need to sign up to a newsletter first before you can get the download. This will typically be a small .zip file containing the preset files and often some instructions or upgrade information. - OPEN THE LIGHTROOM PRESETS PANEL
You will need to be in Develop mode (Lightroom Classic) or editing an image (Lightroom CC) to see the Presets panel. This has a button for importing new presets. Click this and then navigate to where you've downloaded the presets. Here you can import a whole .zip archive (see above) to import the presets as a new group, or import them individually. - IMPORT THE PRESETS
Lightroom can import presets direct from .zip files, unless there are other files in the .zip archive too. If Lightroom says it can't import the presets (next step), try unzipping the download first and importing the presets as individual files. If you do this they will appear amongst your regular user presets, but you can organise them once they are imported. - ORGANIZE YOUR PRESETS
You can do this from the Presets panel too. If your presets have imported individually you can create and name a new presets 'group' and move them into that.
Free Lightroom presets for portraits
1. Altphotos presets
With presets that dull and darken, presets that brighten and warm, presets that increase contrast and blue tones, and presets that give warm, retro finishes to your images, you'll be sure to find something you like with Altphotos set of 10 free Lightroom presets.
Download Altphotos presets
2. Shutter Pulse presets
Shutter Pulse creates amazing presets of the highest quality – and, luckily for us, it has whole collections of them free on its site. There are presets for just about everything, too, so if you like what you see then you can purchase full packs.
Download Shutter Pulse presets
3. Deep Matte
Creating a nice, smooth matte effect in your portrait photographs needn't be too difficult with this useful plugin. It leaves you with solid definition and great toning to your shots, which can add extra dimension and texture.
Download Deep Matte
4. Sepia presets
From soft HDR to clear skin and cold shadows, this pack of presets is useful for applying all kinds of options to your pictures. For a quick burst of nostalgia, any of these presets are really useful.
Download Sepia presets
5. Color Pop
There can be a fine line between beautifully vibrant colors and a garish, unsightly mess. However, with Color Pop you never need overstep that mark. While so many presets will turn down the natural saturation in your photos, this effect will give a pleasant boost to photos that might be a little lackluster straight out of camera.
Download Color Pop
6. Grace preset
This Grace preset by Silky Presets is adept at lightening shadows without washing out your picture with a lack of contrast. It's refined, controlled and a good effect to use on a portrait.
Download Grace preset
7. Warm Retro
Warmth can be tricky to add to your pictures. Too much and you run the risk of an orange overdose, but too little can make your images look washed out. Luckily, this is a preset that fits just between the two.
Download Warm Retro
8. Cole's Classroom presets
With added haze, crispness, summer and black-and-white presets included in this pack, Cole has covered all bases with a fun set of presets. Our personal pick? Big Bold Color. Check them out.
Download Cole’s Classroom presets
9. Skin Tone
All portraits need a little bit of editing and tweaking here and there, and getting the skin correct can be one of the hardest things to do. Luckily, this preset does all the hard work for you.
Download Skin Tone
10. Silver Lining
If you're looking for a black-and-white preset but want to avoid high contrast, this glassy, silver lining preset might be just what you need. It takes the color out of your photos and leaves a classy monochrome finish.
Download Silver Lining
11. Hollywood presets
If it's glamour you're seeking, these presets are the ones for you. With gorgeous toning in a range of styles, you'll feel like a Hollywood superstar in no time. The paid-for Pro version contains 70 presets in total, but you can grab two for free to start you off.
Download Hollywood presets
12. Blood Brothers
If you're looking for deep dramatic blacks, subtly purple-toned highlights and nice warm skin tones, you may want to give Blood Brothers a download. This preset gives you plenty of room to get creative with your colors without going overboard.
Download Blood Brothers
13. BeArt presets
Available on the Adobe website, the BeArt collection is great for beginners but it also contains some great effects that enthusiasts might want to call upon from time to time.
Download BeArt presets
14. Insta Look
These presets give a lovely bright and airy effect by effectively erasing shadows, lighting highlights and brightening the image as whole. Blues are transformed into light cyans and greens are nicely desaturated in this staple Instagram look.
Download Insta Look
15. Urban Presets
If you're not really looking for HDR but you're still seeking a clarity boosting preset, this might just be the one for you. This set of 10 grungy urban presets do a great job of making the gritty pretty, and is ideal for edgy street portraiture.
Download Urban Presets
16. Lightgram
This suite of 15 crisp, punchy presets is ideal for just about every kind of portraiture. From muted, matte-look tones to moody mono treatments and crunchy color boosts, it’s sure to add some pep to whatever portraits you throw at it.
Download Lightgram
17. The Ultimate Fighter Look
The agonized comic book look that was popularized by the movie 300 was quickly adopted by mixed martial arts organizations such as the UFC as the aesthetic for fighter portraits. If you want to give your images the Leonidas look or touch of TJ Dillashaw, this trio of presets is for you.
Download The Ultimate Fighter Look
18. Free Portrait Photography Lightroom Preset
This preset adds some serious bite to your portraits. With subtle desaturation, sharpening and contrast boosts in the midtones, your images gain a gritty vibe without succumbing to that overly HDRed look.
Download Free Portrait Photography Lightroom Preset
19. Photoshoot Preset
This soft, faded, dreamy look adds a hint of vintage elegance to any image. It is particularly suited to portrait photography, though, with its muted contrast and soft colors that recall the look of the old camera lenses that your parents used to shoot with.
Download Photoshoot Preset
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