Frequently Asked Questions - Photography Presets

WHAT ARE PRESETS?

Presets are filters that give your photos a professional and beautiful look in 1 easy click. These presets are designed for Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Adobe Lightroom Desktop and Adobe Camera Raw which are the best coloring programs around for photographers. Presets are an amazing way to quickly edit your photos and these are the same presets I use on my photos, but it’s also important to understand the software so you can get the most out of each preset. Sometimes, a preset will give you the perfect edit with just 1 click, but sometimes you will need to make some adjustments. Because it’s not possible for me to know if you are shooting during daytime, nighttime, under incandescent or LED lighting, etc… it’s important to be able to help the preset by making a couple simple adjustments. This is why I recommend you watch the tutorial that is included with the purchase of every one of the preset collections. 

Why are the presets separated into MOBILE presets and DESKTOP? Are they identical?

The way your phone takes photos is often very different than your average professional camera. Mobile phone photos are often sharpen and increase saturation, where as on a DSLR camera, the photos are less saturated and less sharp so that you have more control to edit them yourself. This is especially true if you are shooting RAW format instead of JPG.

With that said, the mobile and desktop presets are similar but they are not the same. The difference in the mobile and desktop collection is to account for the differences mentioned above.

In addition, to this, the preset format on the desktop version of Lightroom is different than the mobile version. 

Mobile presets are designed for Lightroom CC which is a mobile app that is completely FREE to use from your phone. 

Desktop presets are designed for a computer or laptop and work with all desktop based Lightroom softwares, and Photoshop’s CameraRaw. They will not work on your phone. It should be noted that Lightroom and Photoshop are not free.

These desktop presets are provided in both "XMP" and "LRT" format. The Lightroom Mobile presets are in "DNG" format. If this doesn't make any sense, DON'T WORRY :) The installation guide will show you how to easily install the presets.

Should I get Mobile or Desktop presets? Who are the presets for?

Mobile presets are an incredible tool for photographers who are on the road and want to do their editing and posting from one device. They are designed for JPG images since that is the format your mobile phone will take photos in. The tools available on the Mobile Lightroom have almost all the same features as the Desktop version of Lightroom which is an incredible amount of photo editing power from your phone. Because you already own a cellphone and the app is free, mobile presets are a great low commitment way to get into photography and semi-professional editing.

Desktop presets require a computer, a camera, and the Adobe photo editing software BUT, this is the way to go for those who want to make the most out of their photos. Desktop presets allow you to be much more precise with your editing and they are specifically designed for RAW format images which means you are getting a much higher quality image than you do with the JPG images on your phone. Now, you don’t need to be a professional to use desktop presets, but if the idea of learning and mastering photography sounds appealing, I highly recommend editing with the desktop presets because there is much more room for growth and with time, significantly better edits.

Do I use the same presets on @LOSTLEBLANC?

Yes! These are the presets I use to get my photos close to their final form. If I am not 100% satisfied with the edit, I tweak the preset til I am happy with the look. It's important to recognize that no preset in the world will ever be able to perfectly edit your photos but they are a huge help. Once I'm happy with the overall look of the image, I often edit the final touches in Photoshop. These final touches can include spot removal, adding a vignette or selectively coloring detailed aspects of the image. These changes can be made within Lightroom but I love Photoshop for the very detailed tweaks to an image. My presets will get you the overall look I use in my photos on Instagram.

If I buy a new computer or phone can I transfer my presets?

Yes! Once purchased, you have them for life.

Will I receive the presets instantly? How do I receive them?

Yes! You will receive the presets the moment payment is received. The presets are sent to you by email.

Which currency do you use?

Everything in the store is displayed in USD but the store is international and will accept any form of currency. Your bank will handle the currency conversion.

How many presets come with each collection?

Each element collection comes with 12 presets and the Master comes all 48.

In each collection, the 12 presets have been carefully tested and ranked in order of their likely usefulness. This just means the most commonly useful presets are ranked toward the top BUT the later presets will help you accomplish those more out of the box, unique aesthetics. 

Which Collection should I buy?

There are currently 5 collections available (Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Master) and each collection is available in a Mobile OR Desktop version.  Each collection is designed for a specific use.

-The Water Collection is focused on blues and is designed for your tropical and aqua based images. 

-The Fire Collection is the perfect set for your warm images but it is also designed to take colder photos and give them that golden hour or cotton candy sunset look.

-The Earth Collection is your go to pack for jungles to mountains. Focused on neutral tones and lush greens, this versatile collection will give your photos that professionally graded look.

- The Air Collection is designed for drone photography and will take your landscape imagery to new heights. These strong colors and curves will make your landscapes stand out from the rest. The Air presets are a stronger color grade as they are designed for the very flat DJI RAW profile.  

-And lastly, the Master 4 elements collection includes ALL of the preset collections to make sure you are ready to edit just about any style of photo you take.

Will your photos look EXACTLY like mine?

With the use of the Lost LeBlanc Presets, you will be getting similar colours and tones that I use in all my photo but they will not be the exact same. A preset is an incredible tool but just like any good tool, it also takes a good operator and that is why my presets include a preset tutorial. With my tutorial, you will be on your way to creating beautiful photos. Maybe even better than mine ;)

What will influence the final outcome of the preset?

  • Environment - A preset will react completely differently if you are shooting a green jungle vs shooting a blue water beach. That’s why I created several collections. The Earth collection is more designed for that Green Jungle environment whereas the Water collection is best for the blue water beach. That said, sometimes you will find the best fit preset might be where you least expect it. Maybe the desert photo looks best coloured with a Water preset!
  • Lighting - The reason many photographers wake up for sunrise is because lighting is one of the biggest factors in the overall look of a photo and with that, the lighting you shoot in will change the outcome of the presets. Here are some variations of environments that will affect lighting (indoor VS. outdoor, clouds, angle of the sun, reflections of light, and even the kind of electrical bulb you shoot under.)
  • Camera Settings - When you start off in photography, you will likely be shooting your images using AUTO settings which is a great way to learn but a camera will never be able to adjust as well as a trained photographer which is why you should start learning how to shoot in MANUAL. With that said, your camera settings, from Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO, will alter the outcome of the preset wether you shoot manual or auto. I recommend learning manual so you can start shooting your favourite look consistently across your images. I tend to shoot my images just a little bit dark because it stops things like bright skies from overexposing and you can easily brighten the darker parts of your photos, where as it’s harder to darken bright parts of your photos. If this doesn’t make sense, then no worries! Just start by shooting in AUTO.
  • Make of Camera - Each camera manufacturer has their own colour science and that means that the way a Canon shoots a photo will be different than how a Sony shoots. This is especially obvious if you are shooting in JPG which I do not recommend.
  • Lens - Just as the camera can change the colour and lighting in a photo, so can the lens you use. The difference is less substantial but it all adds up.
  • Skin Tones - Presets are a series of colour settings and they will react differently to different skin types. 
  • Whether you shoot in RAW or JPEG - If you are shooting from your phone and using the mobile presets, then you are shooting JPG and the mobile presets are designed for that! If you are using the Desktop version of the presets, then I recommend you shoot RAW photos in order to get the most out of these presets, but most of all to get the most out of your camera and your photography skills. RAW is a larger file size than the JPG but with that, you have so much more information in the photo. Let’s say I shoot around 1PM in the day. If the shadows are strong and the sky is bright, I often have to choose between brightening the shadows OR darkening the sky. If I brighten the shadows, my sky will lose all detail and information and be nothing but a white sky. If I darken a bright sky to where it is blue and I can see the details in the clouds, I might have completely “crushed” my shadows and lost all the information there. If you shoot in RAW, there is a good chance that the information will still be there. It can handle over and under exposure a LOT better than JPG and how it does this is by shooting a “flatter image”. Basically, the image is less colorful and less sharp out of camera. As an editor, this is what you want because it allows you to have more control over the final look of the image. You can now brighten the shadows and darken your brights and still have details preserved. Long story LONG, I shoot RAW and almost everyone who takes photography seriously does as well. The desktop version of the presets are best used with RAW photos but they will work with JPG. You might find that the Desktop preset will colour JPG images a bit too strong since JPG images are already saturated and sharpened in camera. Luckily there is an easy fix for this as explained in the tutorial. 

Are the presets compatible with photoshop?

Yes! You can use them in Camera Raw which is built in to photoshop to color RAW images but you can also use Photoshop's Camera Raw on JPGs. 

 

Get Full Presets Tutorial and Download Instructions right here.