How do Lightroom presets work?

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re standing in your kitchen, holding a box of brownie mix. You’re wearing an apron you never use—because who actually bakes anymore—and you’ve just realized you forgot the eggs. You could, of course, make the batter from scratch, but that requires flour, sugar, and some misguided belief that you’ll end up on The Great British Baking Show.

Instead, you reach for the box mix. Why? Because it’s quick, foolproof, and you trust Betty Crocker to know more about chocolate than you ever will. That’s what Lightroom presets are: the brownie mix of photo editing.

Presets: The Shortcut to Looking Talented

If you’ve ever scrolled through Instagram and wondered why everyone else’s life looks like it’s shot through a golden hour filter while yours resembles a dimly lit DMV waiting room, I have good news. Lightroom presets are here to save you. They’re pre-made settings that you apply to your photos, instantly adjusting things like brightness, contrast, color tone, and other fancy words that sound impressive but mostly involve dragging sliders around like a bored kid on a touchscreen.

Think of them as tiny, digital wizards who wave their wands and transform your mediocre photo of a latte into a masterpiece worthy of an influencer’s grid. All you have to do is click a button and pretend you’re a creative genius.

How They Work

Here’s how presets work in three steps, because lists make everything seem official:

1. Apply the Preset: Open Adobe Lightroom (desktop or mobile, your call) and import your sad, unedited photo. Then, apply a preset—like throwing on a blazer to look professional while wearing pajama pants underneath.
2. Adjust for Reality: The preset does most of the heavy lifting, but you may need to tweak exposure or white balance because not every photo is shot in the perfect lighting. (Some of us take pictures in dimly lit restaurants where the only illumination comes from a neon sign that says “Live Laugh Love.”)
3. Export and Brag: Save your photo, post it, and prepare to answer the inevitable question, “What filter is this?” Say, “Oh, I just used a preset,” with the same casual humility as someone who’s “only run one marathon.”

Why Use Presets?

Presets save you time, make you look like you know what you’re doing, and allow you to create a consistent aesthetic. They’re especially handy if you’re one of those people who say things like, “I’m really into storytelling through my grid,” without a hint of irony.

They also provide the illusion of effort without requiring any. Want your photo to look like it was shot at sunrise on a Tuscan hillside, even though you took it in your backyard while yelling at your dog to stop digging holes? There’s a preset for that.

The Dark Side of Presets

Of course, presets have their pitfalls. Apply the wrong one, and your photo might look like it was doused in orange Gatorade. Or worse, you’ll find yourself in the rabbit hole of endlessly tweaking the tweaks, wondering if you should just delete the photo and move to a cabin in the woods.

In Conclusion: They’re Magic, But Also Not

Presets are like the friend who brings a pre-made dish to a potluck and pretends they cooked it themselves. They’re useful, they’re wonderful, and they save you from the embarrassment of showing the world what your “unedited” life actually looks like. But like all things, they work best when you understand the basics. So, next time you use a preset, adjust it a little. Pretend you’re a chef who added just a pinch of salt. You’re not fooling anyone, but isn’t it nice to try?