Preset Guide

installing presets to lightroom mobile

01. Download the Lightroom mobile app to your phone.

02. Either open the downloaded preset folder on desktop and send the .dng files to your phone or open the file directly on your phone using iCloud or an app like iZip.

03. From there, save the .dng files to your phone either directly to the camera roll or to cloud storage. If you save them to your camera roll, they might appear as blank images. This is totally normal!

04. Open the Lightroom app, and click on the ··· symbol in the top right corner. Click add photos, and then click either from camera roll or from files depending on where you saved your files. Select the .dng files, then click open.

05. Click on one of the newly imported files (you should now be able to see the image,) and click on the ··· symbol in the top right corner of the image. Click create preset. To keep things organized, I recommend naming your preset according to the text on the image and creating a new preset group called Sun People Presets. Do the same thing for each .dng file, making sure to add each one to the same group.

06. Now for the fun part! Click on a photo you’d like to edit, then click presets in the tools panel. Click library, and then scroll to find the Sun People Presets group. You should see all the presets now listed within the group. Click through the presets until you find one that suits your image. Done! Read my tips below on common tweaks to adjust the presets to your image. 

preset tips

Before tweaking any settings, I would first recommend applying each preset to your image and deciding which best suits the look you’re trying to achieve. I find that there are often no further adjustments that need to happen. However, since each image will vary in lighting, colors, and composition, you may need to tweak the following settings to get the preset to look its best:

Light

01. Temperature — Look at your photo after applying the preset. If you think that the coloring is too blue, then slowly slide the temperature scale towards the warmer side. If the coloring is too orange/yellow, then slide the scale towards the cooler side. If you’re ever unsure or need a good reference point, set the scale to 0. I often find myself leaning on the warmer side between +2 to +12.

02. Exposure — If your image is too dark, slowly slide the scale to brighten the image. If the image is looking overexposed, slide the scale to darken it. *Important to note: some of the presets were designed to mimic film and were specifically created with a slightly overexposed look.

03. Contrast — You likely won’t need to adjust this scale, but you may find yourself wanting an even more soft, dreamy look to your image. If that’s the case, decrease the contrast. If you want an even more bold, vibrant look, then increase the contrast.

04. Highlights/Shadows — You likely won’t need to adjust these scales either. If the brightest parts of your image (such as the sky) are way too bright and hide too many details, then decrease your highlights. If your image is too shadowy (especially on faces or points of interest), then brighten up the shadows by sliding the shadow scale to the right.

Color

01. Vibrance — If your image is too colorful/overly saturated, lower the vibrance. If you want your colors to pop even more, increase the vibrance. *Important to note: because some of the presets were designed to mimic film, some colors were specifically selected to pop like they would in film photos.

effects

01. Grain — To further add to the film quality of some of the presets, slide the grain scale to increase the amount of grain in the image. For a cleaner, smoother look, decrease the amount of grain.

detail

01. Sharpening — If needed, sharpen the image to make the details more crisp.

As you edit, press and hold on the image to quickly see the before and after. This will give you a reference point of where you started and the difference the preset has made on the image.