Lightroom

Lightroom Tutorial: Work with Color and Presets

B.A.W. Kemp

Feb 1, 2024 — 2 min read

Color and presets are two of the most powerful tools in Lightroom. By understanding how to use them, you can transform your photos and create a unique and consistent style.

Color

Color is one of the most important elements of a photo. It can evoke emotions, set a mood, and tell a story. Lightroom offers a variety of tools for adjusting the color in your photos, including:

White Balance: White balance controls the overall color cast of your photo. You can use the white balance tool to make your photos look warmer or cooler.
HSL: The HSL tool allows you to adjust the hue, saturation, and lightness of individual colors in your photo. This is a very powerful tool for creating specific color effects.
Curves: The Curves tool allows you to make more precise adjustments to the color and brightness of your photo. It is a more advanced tool, but it can be very effective for creating unique and stylized looks.

Presets

Presets are a great way to quickly and easily apply a set of color and tone adjustments to your photo. Lightroom comes with a variety of built-in presets, but you can also create your own presets or download presets from other photographers.

To use a preset, simply select it from the Presets panel in Lightroom. You can then adjust the settings of the preset to your liking.

Working with color and presets

Here are a few tips for working with color and presets in Lightroom:

Use the white balance tool to make your photos look more natural.
Experiment with the HSL tool to create different color effects.
Use the Curves tool for more precise color and brightness adjustments.
Use presets to quickly and easily apply a set of color and tone adjustments to your photo.
Create your own presets to save your favorite color and tone adjustments.
Download presets from other photographers to try out new looks.

Here is a simple workflow for working with color and presets in Lightroom:

Import your photos into Lightroom.
Select the photo you want to edit.
Open the Develop module.
Adjust the white balance of your photo.
Experiment with the HSL tool to create the desired color effect.
Use the Curves tool to make more precise color and brightness adjustments.
Apply a preset to your photo if desired.
Adjust the settings of the preset to your liking.
Export your photo.

By following these tips, you can use Lightroom to create stunning and colorful photos.

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