How to Install Lightroom Presets (Desktop and Mobile)

Presets are one of the quickest ways to give your photos a consistent look: one click and your product shots, headshots or social posts all share the same style. Whether you've bought a pack, downloaded free ones or been sent your brand's own presets, here's how to get them into Lightroom.

How to install presets in Lightroom on a computer

1. Open Lightroom and select a photo, then open the Edit panel.
2. Click the Presets icon at the bottom of the Edit panel.
3. Click the three dots in the top-right corner of the Presets panel and choose Import Presets.
4. Find your preset files in Finder (Mac) or Explorer (Windows). Select one, several or the ZIP file they came in.
5. Click Import.

You can also go to File, then Import Profiles & Presets, from the menu bar. Either route ends in the same place.

No need to unzip

Preset packs often arrive as a ZIP file, and lots of people waste time extracting them first. Adobe's tutorial says you can select and import a ZIP of presets into Lightroom on a computer without unzipping it. Pick the ZIP, click Import, and Lightroom sorts it out.

How to get presets onto your phone

This is the easy part. Adobe says any preset you import into Lightroom on a computer automatically syncs to Lightroom on your mobile devices. Open the Lightroom app, open a photo, go to Presets and you'll find them there, ready to use.

Bear in mind that syncing between devices needs a Lightroom trial or a Creative Cloud membership, according to Adobe's mobile tutorial.

How to apply a preset

1. Open a photo and go to the Presets panel.
2. Hover over a preset to preview it on your photo.
3. Click it to apply it.
4. Fine-tune the result with the Light and Color sliders if needed.

On a phone, tap Presets, choose a category, tap a preset and tap the checkmark.

The catch: Lightroom and Lightroom Classic are different apps

This causes most of the confusion online. Adobe has two desktop apps with similar names: Lightroom (the cloud-based one these steps are for) and Lightroom Classic. The menus, preset panels and syncing work differently. If the steps above don't match your screen, check which app you're using. A tutorial written for one often won't work in the other, and presets you import in one don't automatically appear in the other.

Why presets look different on different photos

A preset is a set of slider settings, not a magic filter. It looks best on photos with similar lighting to the ones it was designed for. Apply a moody preset to a bright beach photo and it can look wrong. That's why it's worth checking each photo after applying a preset and nudging exposure, white balance or saturation so everything looks natural and consistent.

Building a brand look with presets

• Pick one or two presets that suit your brand and use them on everything.
• Create your own: edit one photo the way you like it and save those settings as a preset.
• Apply the same preset to every photo in a carousel or product range.
• Share your preset with anyone who edits photos for your business.

Consistent photos make your feed look planned. If you're putting together a visual style for your brand, my guide to content creation sites worth using has more tools, and my done-for-you social media images pair well with a consistent photo style.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Presets don't appear after import	Check you're in Lightroom, not Lightroom Classic, and look in the Presets panel groups
Presets not on your phone	Make sure you're signed in on both devices and syncing is on
Preset looks wrong	Adjust exposure and white balance after applying it
Import button is greyed out	Make sure you've selected preset files or a preset ZIP

Organising a growing preset collection

Once you start collecting presets, the panel fills up fast and it gets hard to find the ones you use. Keep only the packs you return to, and remove the ones you tried once and never touched again. Group your own brand presets so they're at the top of your mind and easy to find. When you hover over presets to preview them, it's easy to spend twenty minutes comparing nearly identical looks, so decide on your two or three favourites and stick with them. Consistency matters far more than variety for a business feed.

My verdict

Open the Presets panel, click the three dots, choose Import Presets and select your files or the ZIP. They'll sync to your phone automatically. The biggest trap is following a Lightroom Classic tutorial in Lightroom, or the other way round, so check which app you're in first. For more on getting product and brand photos right, see my notes on buying camera gear from B&H.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add presets to Lightroom?

Open the Presets panel, click the three dots and choose Import Presets, or use File, then Import Profiles and Presets.

Do I need to unzip Lightroom presets?

Not on a computer. Adobe says you can import a ZIP of presets without unzipping it.

How do I get Lightroom presets on my phone?

Import them on your computer and they sync to Lightroom on your mobile devices automatically.

Why can't I find my presets in Lightroom?

You may be in Lightroom Classic instead of Lightroom, or the presets are in a different group in the Presets panel.

Can I make my own Lightroom preset?

Yes. Edit a photo the way you like, then save those settings as a preset.

Do presets work on every photo?

They work best on photos with similar lighting. Adjust exposure and colour after applying one.