Purchasing Lightroom Presets

[RayD28]

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I did a search but couldn't find an answer in this forum to this question.  Would someone please tell me a couple of good sites to download presets?  I use the Nik suite but it's a pain to go different programs, not to mention the TIFFs taking up a lot of space.  I'm especially interested in noise reduction presets.  

 

My main concerns are site security, quality of the presets, and costs (both initial purchase and updates, assuming updates might be required as LR updates their versions.  Advice on free presets are also appreciated.  Thanks for any suggestions and advice.  

 

Ray

[RayD28]

Same general questions except asking for advice on plug-ins.  

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[Jeff S]

Noise reduction is typically specific to each picture, depending on camera, lighting conditions, exposure, end goals (print vs screen display), etc.  There are many written and video sources detailing use of LR controls to achieve desired effects.  You can easily develop and save your own presets assuming you have fairly consistent needs.  LR incorporates its own set of free presets in the develop module, but noise reduction isn't one of them (likely for reasons I stated).

 

Jeff

[2wk]

Thew VSCO ones can be fun. Use them as a starting point and then dial them back a bit. 

 

https://vsco.co/store

[RayD28]

Noise reduction is typically specific to each picture, depending on camera, lighting conditions, exposure, end goals (print vs screen display), etc.  There are many written and video sources detailing use of LR controls to achieve desired effects.  You can easily develop and save your own presets assuming you have fairly consistent needs.  LR incorporates its own set of free presets in the develop module, but noise reduction isn't one of them (likely for reasons I stated).

 

Jeff

 

 

Thanks Jeff.  I use Nik Define for some noisy photos and I've been happy with the results but it slows workflow by having to open in Define and then the resulting image is saved as a TIFF file.  I understand how each photo has its own specific need but I was hoping to find something like Define, which does the analyzing and then applies the noise reduction and gets pretty good results.  I'd also like to avoid having the TIFF files.  I'll check into making my own presets to use as a starting point.  

[Jeff S]

  I'll check into making my own presets to use as a starting point.  

 

 

These might help....

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's more...    http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/lightroom-training-videos

 

 

 

There are also good books on LR from folks like Scott Kelby and Martin Evening.

 

Jeff

[tobey bilek]

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Make your own and save them.  Good grief!

[jaapv]

I did a search but couldn't find an answer in this forum to this question.  Would someone please tell me a couple of good sites to download presets?  I use the Nik suite but it's a pain to go different programs, not to mention the TIFFs taking up a lot of space.  I'm especially interested in noise reduction presets.  

 

My main concerns are site security, quality of the presets, and costs (both initial purchase and updates, assuming updates might be required as LR updates their versions.  Advice on free presets are also appreciated.  Thanks for any suggestions and advice.  

 

Ray

As each image is unique it is hard to see what benefi a preset could have. I think it would be better if you purchased a book on how to use Lightroom.

"How do I do that in Lightroom?" by Scott Kelby springs to mind, or one of his other books.

 

http://kelbyone.com/product/lightroom/

[LocalHero1953]

I doubt you'll find presets that do the equivalent of analysing a photograph and selectively applying a preset. LR presets are simply a collection of settings of LR controls that achieve a particular effect. If you want analysis, then you will need a third party application like Nik, and so you're back to square one.

[willeica]

As each image is unique it is hard to see what benefi a preset could have. I think it would be better if you purchased a book on how to use Lightroom.

"How do I do that in Lightroom?" by Scott Kelby springs to mind, or one of his other books.

 

http://kelbyone.com/product/lightroom/

 

Jaap, I agree with your general philosophy. Rather than just reading a book, and Kelby's book is very good, it is better to 'play around' with Lightroom to find what works with what according to your own taste. You are right that each image is different and needs individual consideration, including, for example, should the image be left in colour or converted to monochrome. I can see that presets would have some benefit for professionals who might want to prepare a large number of images of a single event but for most amateur use I don't believe they are necessary. I have some 'embedded presets' in Iridient Developer and Nik Filters, eg Silver Efex which I developed myself according to my own taste and which I 'call up' in Lightroom from time to time, but, to tell the truth, I sometimes 'mess around' with these presets and change them. In Lightroom I always give individual treatment (no presets) depending on the imported image and where I want to go with it. The possibilities of the 'digital darkroom' are literally endless.

 

William

[Per P.]

Creating your own makes sense, at the end of the day they should represent your personal vision. Still, I find it inspirational to see presets from others that I may then modify to taste or discard again. In response to the OP I have enjoyed looking at:

- Ilford presets from Mastin Labs and Andre Ruiter

- Kodachrome presets from Gavin Gough

- B&W presets from Piet Van den Eynde and Serge Ramelli (the latter are quite wild but still with some interesting ideas)

- Mikko Lagerstedt for e.g. how to process fog and mist.

[BAASCH]

I tried all the major preset offerings, and stuck with Mastin Labs.