HOW TO INSTALL

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How to install Lightroom presets 


First off, if you have no idea what Lightroom presets are, go to our FAQ page to learn the basics.


This tutorial is only for the mobile version of Lightroom, as our presets are designed for smartphone pictures or JPG/JPEGs.


The installation procedure is different for Android and iOS/iPhone, so first question: what kind of device are you using?



ANDROID iPhone



ANDROID: installation tutorial


For a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to install our presets, watch the video below. 




If, instead, you wish to read a more detailed explanation of how presets work, go on reading the instructions below:

  1. Install the Lightroom app and File manager
  2. Download our preset
  3. Import the preset to your Lightroom app

1) Install the Lightroom app and File manager


The first step is to download and install the Lightroom app from the Google Play Store. Click on the icon below to be redirected to the store and download the app:


To install the presets on Android, a File manager is not necessary but may be useful to sort your files. Normally, ever Android phone has one already installed by default. It could be called 'File manager', 'Files', 'My files' or something very similar. If you can't find it on your phone, search on the Google play store and download any File manager. We suggest using this one:


2) Download our preset


Browse our website, and choose which one of your presets you want to try first. Then, click on the 'Download preset' button at the end of the page. 


You will be redirected to our Google Drive where we keep all our presets. 


In each folder, you can find a PDF with quick instructions on how to install, and the DNG and XMP versions of our presets:


  • The XMP version can be used by desktop and Android phones. If you have an Android phone, we suggest downloading this version. 
  • DNG is the version that can be used both by iPhone and Android phones, but since it's slightly more complicated to use, we suggest only iPhone or iOS users download this (as the iPhone Lightroom version cannot read XMP files). 


You can see the extension at the end of the name of each file: for example, the preset Skyscraper will appear as 'Skyscraper.xmp' and 'Skyscraper.dng', so you can select the right file when downloading. 


To download the preset from our drive, tap on the XMP version of the preset (it has no image attached). Then, click on the download button for each preset. Sometimes, the download button appears in the top right corner. 


Check below for the step-by-step guide:


  1. Tap on the 'Download preset' button on the browser
  2. If you are prompted whether to open the Google Drive app or not, select the icon of your browser as this is easier (so, don't use the Google Drive app)
  3. Tap on the XMP file
  4. Tap on 'Download'. On some browsers, you can select the destination folder of your download. Most times, it just ends up in the 'Downloads' folder. 


Keep in mind that DNG files have to be saved as presets one by one on the Lightroom app, while XMP files can be imported all at once. 


3) Import the preset to the Lightroom app in XMP format


  1. You should have downloaded the XMP file from our drive. 
  2. Open your file manager and locate the position of the preset you just downloaded. Usually, it's in the 'Downloads' folder. 
  3. Open the Lightroom app.
  4. Open a random picture. If this is the first time you use Lightroom, tap on the button on the bottom right corner and import a random image from your phone, then tap on it to open it. 
  5. Scroll the bottom menu all the way to the right. You should see the 'Presets' tab. 
  6. Open the Presets tab. You should see some default presets by Lightroom. 
  7. Tap on the 3 dots in the top right corner of the preset menu. 
  8. Tap 'Import Presets'. 
  9. Navigate to the folder you located in step 1 (usually the 'Downloads' folder). Select the preset you downloaded in XMP format. If you downloaded more than one preset at once, you can select all of them too import them all together. 
  10. Import the preset(s). 
  11. Done! You will find the preset in the 'PresetLizard' preset group. To access the preset groups, tap on the name of the folder (group) at the top of the presets box. 

You may also download and install DNG files on Android, if you wish. However, keep in mind that it's slightly more complicated than importing XMP files. The process is very similar to installing DNGs on iPhone, so read below to learn how. 


iOS/iPhone: installation tutorial


For a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to install our presets, watch the video below. 



If, instead, you wish to read a more detailed explanation of how presets work, go on reading the instructions below:

  1. Install the Lightroom app and File manager
  2. Download our preset
  3. Import the preset to your Lightroom app

1) Install the Lightroom app and File manager


The first step is to download and install the Lightroom app from the official App Store. Click on the icon below to be redirected to the store and download the app:



To install the presets on the Lightroom app, you will also need the official Files app, which you can download by clicking on the button below:


2) Download our preset


Browse our website, and choose which one of your presets you want to try first. Then, click on the 'Download preset' button at the end of the page. 


You will be redirected to our Google Drive where we keep all our presets. 


In each folder, you can find a PDF with quick instructions on how to install, and the DNG and XMP versions of our presets:


  • The XMP version can be used by desktop and Android phones. If you have an Android phone, we suggest downloading this version. 
  • DNG is the version that can be used both by iPhone and Android phones, but since it's slightly more complicated to use, we suggest only iPhone or iOS users download this (as the iPhone Lightroom version cannot read XMP files). 


You can see the extension at the end of the name of each file: for example, the preset Skyscraper will appear as 'Skyscraper.xmp' and 'Skyscraper.dng', so you can select the right file when downloading. 


To download the preset from our drive, tap on the DNG version of the preset (it appears as an image). Then, click on the download button for each preset. Sometimes, the download button appears in the top right corner. 


Check below for the step-by-step guide:


Downloading on iPhone / iOS - with browser (e.g. Safari)

  1. Tap on the 'Download preset' button
  2. You will be taken to our Google Drive browser page 
  3. Tap on the DNG file
  4. Tap on the download button in the top right corner. Your file should be saved by default in the Downloads folder or similar, in the most recent files. 

Downloading on iPhone / iOS - with Google Drive app
  1. Tap on the 'Download preset' button
  2. You will be taken to the Google Drive app by default
  3. Tap on the 3 dots next to the DNG file
  4. Select 'Open with' 
  5. Select 'Save to Files' (you need the Files app to do this - see link to download above)
  6. We suggest creating a new folder called 'PresetLizard' to sort all your files in an orderly fashion
  7. Save the preset to the newly created folder. 


Keep in mind that DNG files have to be saved as presets one by one on the Lightroom app, while XMP files can be imported all at once. 


3) Import the preset to the Lightroom app (DNG)


  1. You should have downloaded the DNG file from our drive. This appears as an image in your gallery. 
  2. Open the Lightroom app. 
  3. Tap on the button in the right bottom corner. This will let you import pictures. 
  4. Tap 'From Files'. You will need the Files app to complete this step. Check above for the download link. 
  5. Select the DNG file you just downloaded. It should be among your most recent files. Usually, it has a 'DNG' or 'RAW' symbol on it when you import it. 
  6. Import the DNG picture and open it. This is a picture that already has some edits applied to it. 
  7. Scroll the bottom menu all the way to the right. You should see a 'Presets' tab. Tap on it. 
  8. Tap on the 3 dots in the top right corner of the screen.
  9. Tap 'Create preset'. Here you can choose the name of the preset (we suggest using our same names, they are written directly on the picture) and the preset group (we suggest creating a new group called 'PresetLizard'). 
  10. Tap on 'Select', and then tap on 'Modified'. This will only select the actual edits of the preset. 
  11. Tap on the check mark in the top right corner of the screen. 
  12. Done! You will now find your preset in the 'Presets' tab. It may be in the 'User presets' group, or in another group (e.g. 'PresetLizard') if you modified that option. 
  13. Repeat steps 5-10 for all the DNG files you downloaded and imported to Lightroom. 

This procedure can be used also by Android users, if they wish, even though it's slightly more complicated than importing XMP files. 


Apply the preset to your pictures


Now you have imported the preset to Lightroom. The next step is to apply it to your pictures. 

  1. Import to Lightroom the picture you want to edit and open it. 
  2. Scroll the bottom menu all the way to the right until you see the 'Presets' tab
  3. Tap on the 'Presets' tab
  4. Navigate the preset groups by clicking on the names at the top of the box, and select the preset simply by tapping on it. You can tap on different presets to try different looks on the same picture. 
  5. Once you find a preset that looks good on our picture, tap the check mark to apply the preset. 

Then you only have to export the picture. Tap on the Share/Export button, and tap 'Save to device' (Android) or 'Export to Camera roll' (iOS). 

Quick edits


The presets we made are created to work on a wide range of photos, but they may not work on all your pictures. This is because every picture is different: some are very bright, others are very dark, others still are very colourful and so on. Therefore, no preset can work perfectly on all pictures without any adjustment, unless it gives very minor and subtle edits (which you can usually do yourself, without using presets). 


This is why I rarely apply the preset and export my picture as it is. Usually, I do some minor adjustments to fix small issues in the picture, such as when it's too bright, too dark, my skin tone is too orange, etc. This is how I make my presets really work: I customise them to every picture. 


Here are some quick fixes you can do after applying our presets:


  • If the picture is too bright, go to 'Light' tab > Exposure and lower the exposure. Sometimes also lowering the Highlights works just as well without darkening the whole picture. 

  • If the picture is too dark, go to 'Light' tab > Exposure and pull the exposure slider right. Or you can pull the Shadows up, or the Blacks.

  • If the picture is too colourful, go to 'Color' tab > Saturation, and pull it down. If you have a picture with people in it and want to make their skin colour less edited while keeping the colourful background, pull the Saturation down and pull the Vibrance up.

  • If the skin tone is too orange or tanned, go to 'Color' tab > Color mix, select the orange dot and pull the saturation down. Note that this will change the orange tone of all the picture. 

  • If the picture looks too warm (yellowish) or too cold (bluish), go to 'Color' tab and adjust the Temperature slider. 

  • If the picture looks cloudy and hazy, go to 'Effects' > Dehaze. Sometimes this will help a cloudy sky become more blue and defined. 

  • If the picture looks too grainy, go to 'Detail' > Noise reduction. This is especially good for night pictures, after having used the Sharpen tool. 


So my workflow goes like this:


  1. First thing is to crop the image and straighten it (seriously, this is a VERY underrated step that makes any picture significantly better - straighten the horizon with that 'Straighten' tool!). By doing this at the beginning, we are getting rid of anything that we don't want in the picture, and that we don't have to worry about in the next steps. 
  2. I use the 'Clone' and 'Heal' tool to remove any unwanted objects from my picture. 
  3. Next, I try various presets on my picture, to see which one works best. I use the same categories in the website for this: on a picture of a city, I would try all the presets in the 'City' category and keep the one I like the most. If instead I am going for an homogeneous feed look, I tend to apply always the same preset, or presets that are very similar. 
  4. Then, I make minor adjustments as described above. 



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