When you apply an “old” preset to an image in LR4 you will get a button an exclamation mark in the lower right corner of the image. It’s a sign that there’s a newer “image processing algorithm” available. This happens every time you’ve installed an update of LR and their image processing have been revamped as well. The little button let you update the old preset to the new version.

When you apply the update with the new version, you will most likely see some difference between the old and new image (preset). Especially images with these adjustments previously applied (on the old preset):

• Exposure
• Brightness
• Contrast
• Fill Light
• Highlight Recovery
• Black Clipping
• Clarity
• Tone Curve

From my experience, a little tweak on exposure will do most of the job.

If you press this little button, you will be able to convert your preset into a newer version (LR4 image processing 2012).
When a dialog opens up: Make sure to have the checkbox for “before/after review” checked so that you can see the difference between the old version and the new.

When done with your tweaking, right click (or create a new preset) on the preset you used and select “Update with current settings”.

That’s the way to update your old presets into new versions of Lightroom.

As you can see below, we’ve also updated our way of showing you the before / after images. This way it will be easier to see the difference between the original image and the processed :-)
My personal favorites are “PH Vintage III” and “PH Vintage VI” :-)

Presets in action

This preset is a freebie from one of 14 professional presets that can be purchased from our Propresets.com shop.
If you think this one looks good, you should definitely check out the rest of this master kit. It’s called “Modern Nostalgia” and can be found here with different before & after images.

Preset in action

SOOC/ORIGINAL

It was only a dream

Credit goes to ex-Tyler. Big thanks for this one!

Our new Lightroom Presets Online Store can be found here: http://propresets.com
We’ve also updated the web store with a new set of great presets called “Film Master Kit” which you can read more about here.

Take the opportunity and get 20% OFF during this weekend on ALL Products (The deal Ends on 4th Dec, this Sunday) .

Use coupon code: NEWSTORE in your shopping cart before checkout. 

Oh, and presetsheaven.com will still be free and continue to deliver presets ;-)

Here’s two great presets that Brant Smith submitted to share with the rest of you. He calls them Faded film look and if you have a peek at the preview images below I think you understand why.  I like the way they creates a vintage feeling. The applied soft and gentle tones makes these two presets great for its purpose. Will probably be in my fav-list of presets :-) Thanks Brant.

ORIGINAL/SOOC
 

Faded film look - S Curve Color
 

Faded film look - S Curve B&W

Please remember to visit Brant Smiths own web site :-)

1. PH The Weddings (146295 downloads)
   This one have been around for a long time, still it’s the top most downloaded preset/presets we got here.
   Download it from here
2. Intensive Heaven (107051 downloads)
   Funny, but I really didn’t think this one was going to be so popular as it is. I thought it would might be a little to much for most of you, but I was apparently wrong :-)
   Download it from here
3. PH Fashion Shot (97657 downloads)
   I know that when I was making this post, many people was requesting a preset for making photos with a “fashion” look. It’s fun to see it’s still so popular.
   Download it from here
4. PH Dark Light BW (89822 downloads)
   Wow, It’s amazing how a trip to Paris and a quick black & white preset can generate so many downloads :-)
   Download it from here
5. Wedding Look (86107 downloads)
   Well, Weddings are apparently very popular to  shot and to edit in Lightroom since we both have number 1 and 5 in this list containing wedding presets.
   Download it from here

If you read my last post about popular presets that I wrote in March, you’ve probably already noticed that the stats hasn’t changed much. Except for the numbers of downloads :-)

What about the ones people don’t download?

So now when this post is out, I believe  these top 5 downloads will keep their top position for a long time. With this in mind I just came up with the idea of posting the TOP 5 most ignored Lightroom presets too! :-). Let’s start from top again shall we? The most ignored presets are:

1. Cross process Lightroom presets #2 (617 downloads)
   Well, the numbers for this one might be incorrect since the real source is not on our server. We only counted the downloads collected from our mirror link before the author told us to remove the link. :-( Still it’s #1 on the list.
   Download it from here
2. Color pops out – #01 (941 downloads)
   Same goes for this one. Misleading value for the downloads.
   Download it from here
3. Lawrence Diver (2071 downloads)
   This “underwater preset for divers” is pretty new but after this post it will probably step up a bit to compete with the rest :-)
   Download it from here
4. PH Infrared Colors (2580 downloads)
   Haha, this one really sux. I can’t believe it even got over 2000 downloads! :-)
   Download it from here
5. Cross preocess Lightroom preset #1 (4348 downloads)
   Same as with the two first ones in this list. The numbers are misleading since the download source has been changed.
   Download it from here

Note: By the time I post this, I’m pretty sure the download numbers for each preset have grown to a bigger number.

It’s like standing on a scene having 10.000 people in the audience in front. Pretty cool, so today we will throw a nice deal to that audience, but the deal is only valid for 24 hours!

Visit http://pro.presetsheaven.com and get the “4 IN ONE” for $55 instead of $110! 

The 4 IN ONE kit includes the following Master preset kits:

Wedding Master Kit

This set of 20 Lightroom presets really boosts your photos and make great impact on your clients. It includes all kinds of styles you’re looking for a wedding session.
See the presets in action

Black & White Master Kit

If you’re into black & white photography this kit is for you. includes a combination of 10 (+1 bonus) black & white presets. These presets can make your photos look antique or modern. It’s your decision and you make it with just a click in Lightroom.
See the presets in action

Portrait Master Kit

As a portrait photographer you probably want to make subtle changes to your photos since theses photos often are family portraits. But occasionally you get a chance to show your clients what a portrait “really” could look like instead of the regular ones they are used to see. Take the opportunity and impress your clients with extravaganza.
See the presets in action

Fashion Master Kit

Fashion photography is probably the the style most photographers want to achieve or work with. If you have the correct light, model and setup the job is easier made. But if you’re in lack of that for some reason, a preset could help you out more than you think! Put some glamouring style to your photos.
See the presets in action

This is a wrap-up of older posts and collections of Adobe Lightroom presets for making your digital camera photos look vintage.

With all mobile phones out there and their camera apps, more and more people are taking photos that look “old-style” and have a vintage look.

You’ve probably seen them on Facebook, Twitter and blog posts everywhere. These camera apps creates a similar photo look like the old cameras does by default.

I’ve tried a bunch of these camera apps on my own iPhone, but the one I use most frequent is the Instagram app which also let me publish my photos instantly to a blog. I think it’s a nice way of making a point-and-shoot diary where all of my iPhone camera photos are saved with a time stamp and with a vintage portraits look. Other people can follow me and comment my photos too. It’s also fun to go back in time and look at these photos from the past, like a photo album with a big mix of all kinds of photos.

Lightroom presets in your mobile phone?

Imagine that Adobe Lightroom would be available for your mobile phone and you where able to use your own presets on all photos you take with it. How cool wouldn’t that be? I’m not talking about a full software solution here, just a basic camera app that makes it easy for you to put a Lightroom preset on your photos on the fly and then send them to a friend or publish them on your blog etc. Hm… I’m getting interesting ideas on the functionality of this one as we speak (Adobe, contact me!) ;-)

Transferring new presets to your phone would be as easy as it is to export them to your desktop today; Right-click on a preset and select “Export to mobile”.

While I keep dreaming of this app you can make some vintage portraits using any of these previously posted Lightroom presets.

Even if this site is all about Lightroom presets I’ve added a little bonus for those of you who also have Adobe Photoshop installed. I’ve included some links to pages with Photoshop actions that simulates the vintage portraits look.

As always, a Lightroom preset look different on different photos so don’t get disappointed if you’re not satisfied with the result. Try the preset on a different image.

Here is the collection of presets to get some vintage portraits looks:

1. Vintage Preset kit for Lightroom part 1/3
2. Vintage Preset kit for Lightroom part 2/3
3. Vintage Preset kit for Lightroom part 3/3
4. Fashion Darlings Lightroom presets by Megan
5. Fashionable look with a little Lightroom preset
6. 5 great presets from Dustin
7. 8 Epic Lightroom presets for weddings

For those of you who are interested in trying out the Photoshop actions:

• +80 Photoshop Actions for giving your pictures a vintage look

Here comes another preset made by request, from Ole at our Facebook page. This is the story behind it…
Each camera has one or more profiles that controls the colors etc. when you shoot in JPEG. All this data is embedded into the JPEG file. When you shoot in RAW-mode, In short terms – that data is attached (not merged into the images) and you are able to adjust all settings before you export your photos to JPEG (or any other format) without destroying the quality of your images.

Ole was not satisfied with the output of his RAW-images. They look flat and not as colorful/sharp as the JPEG version from his camera look.

I gave him a few tips on how to use the built in “Camera profiles” that comes with Lightroom. They are developed to mimic the cameras look of your photos as if you were shooting in JPEG-mode, sort of (You can read more about Lightroom camera profiles in another post I’ve made).

Unfortunately the camera profiles didn’t make his RAW photos look like the JPEG ones, so I made a special preset that just makes your photos a little brighter, more colorful and with a little more contrast. A perfect preset to start with when you’ve just imported your photos into Lightroom. (Note: If you’ve set your camera to overexpose +1 step, I suggest you change the exposure adjustment value in this preset to “zero”. Otherwise you’ll probably end up with photos that are way to overexposed).

Preset in action

SOOC/ORIGINAL:

PH Start With Me convenient name don’t you think? :-)

Photo: Ole Martin Bjørnli Günther

Free Download (40319 Downloads) Purchase PRO presets

Lawrence Lim recently asked for a Lightroom preset that could enhance his underwater photos. Since my own underwater photos look terrible (well, using a cheap disposable underwater camera didn’t quite meet the standard I was looking for when I was scuba diving in Thailand some years ago :-/ ) I asked for some sample images to work with. The image below is credited to Lawrence Lim and not me.

Most common thing about underwater photography is that light is the key to success. I’f you’re not a Pro and do underwater photography for a living, the equipment might not be affordable. Another thing is that almost everything look blue/green down “there”. So what I did in Lightroom was to adjust the saturation of the colors and added some contrast and clarity to make the photos look more crisp. Without proper light the photos tend to look dull.

This preset works best when the object, a fish perhaps? :-), is surrounded by blue water or any blue tones.

Preset in action

SOOC/ORIGINAL

Lawrence Diver

Free Download (9490 Downloads) Purchase PRO presets

Oh, Don’t forget to join the rest on our Facebook fan page (it’s just a click away) :-)

Recently I had a fun photo session with a 7 month young kid. During the session the sky was all covered with foggy clouds. Perfect light conditions for a photographer. All I did in Lightroom was to add some fill light, brightness and sharpen to the images. Finally I also did some adjustments with the adjustment brush to lighten up the eyes a bit. This is the result and the preset that came out of it…

Preset in action
ORIGINAL/SOOC

PH KidAlbin:

Free Download (33868 Downloads) Purchase PRO presets

You’ve probably already heard about what Holga is but if you haven’t, I’ll give you a quick brief.
Holga is the name of a Chinese camera that has a history from 1981. It’s a medium format 120 film toy camera known for its low-fidelity aesthetic. Nowadays you can find apps for your mobile phone that tries to copy the same look. It’s been so popular in the last few years that people even buy old toy cameras like this one, just to get the natural old look on film.

You can read more about Holga at Wikipedia

Dustin Leader sent me 10 presets that simulates the look of a Holga camera. Now you can play with them too!Presets in action
SOOC/ORIGINAL:

Holga:

Holga B&W:

Holga in Blue:

Holgamania 1942:

Holgamania 2011:

Holga My Dear:

Holga On The Scene:

Holga Queen:

Holga Queen:

Holga With A Side Of Pancake:

As always… Don’t forget to visit Justins place!

I hope you’re having a great summer wherever you are. I got a preset submitted by mail from Darya recently. It’s a black and white preset called “Historian” that makes your photos look like if they’re taken with an old camera.Try it out!
Thanks Darya!

Preset in action
SOOC/ORIGINAL:

Historian:

Free Download (9196 Downloads) Purchase PRO presets

It’s time to deliver again! This time Dustin Leader is the contributor. Dustin has helped us out before with some nice presets. This time he sent us a preset called “Magic Hour Power”.

This is Dustin’s own words about the preset:

“Magic Hour Power is best used with photographs taken during the ‘magic’ or ‘golden’ hour. Apply this to your dull dusk photos for an amazing golden hue that makes sweet lovely-love to your senses. This rocks harder than a Megadeath concert at an all inclusive honey moon for newlywed metalheads!!!!”

Preset in action

SOOC/ORIGINAL:

Magic Hour Power:

Free Download (38860 Downloads) Purchase PRO presets

Don’t forget to visit Dustin’s own website before you go to bed tonight :-)

The two last presets in this kit will frame your photos with a nice black or white frame with rounded corners! The best is that it can be applied to any photo with or without preset applied on it. The frame presets will not remove/change any settings on your photos, except for adding the frame :-)

This is one of the presets that are included in the PRO kit:

SOOC/ORIGINAL:

PH Bloggers 1

Click here If you want to go PRO and get the whole Bloggers Master Kit.

This is what it looks like when shoot in JPEG-mode

The color information of that photo is mainly filled with skintones (at least that is what the guys at the office thinks). If you’re shooting in JPEG-mode, this calibration setting is embedded into the file, so Lightroom or Photoshop Camera Raw won’t be able to apply a new one. The drop-down menu in the Camera Calibration panel will only give you one choice: Embedded.

If you shoot in RAW you have more possibilities…
Let’s go back to that photo of your mom (shoot in RAW-mode).
When you select the Camera Profile named “Camera Portrait”, you are applying the color settings that the vendor thinks will give you the best result for portraits with colors of skintones. The same goes for “landscape” photos etc.
Adobe is continuously adding new camera profiles for new cameras.

Now, you might wonder why these settings not are applied as default when you open your images in Lightroom? Well, it’s up to you and not your camera since it doesn’t know what kind of photo you have taken, unless you have told it by selecting a “mode” on it (most pocket cameras have a wheel/setting so you can select the kind of photo you want to shoot, portrait, landscape etc.)

Camera profiles for Nikon users (RAW-mode)

I have a Nikon camera but what does “Camera D2X mode” mean, mine is a D3!?

Despite the name, the D2X Mode 1, D2X Mode 2, and D2X Mode 3 profiles aren’t actually profiles for the D2X camera. These are profiles designed to match the corresponding Nikon Picture Controls of the same name. To make this easier to understand, open Nikon View NX (or Capture NX) and examine the Picture Controls menu. There are six built-in settings: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, D2X Mode 1, D2X Mode 2, and D2X Mode 3. Those last 3 contain the “D2X” name even for non-D2X cameras. In other words, this is Nikon’s naming convention.

Depending on what camera you have, these settings (the camera profiles in the drop-down menu) change accordingly to your image’s embedded camera settings. If you’re using a Canon camera, this list will be populated with other profiles to chose from.

The best way to use these camera profiles is simply to try them out. If you like what you see – keep it, if not – dump it :-)

You can read more about Camera Profiles here

Some of the panels might never be used for some photos. Perhaps you don’t need to adjust the sharpness and remove noise etc. If those non-used panels still are open, they are just taking up space and makes it harder for you to find the ones you really want to work with.

An easy way to fix this is to use something called “Solo Mode”. This feature is deactivated by default in Lightroom so you manually have to activate it.

When you’re using the “Solo Mode” for panels, each panel you expand will make the rest of the panels collapse! A much more convenient way to work, since most of the time you are just focused on one panel at the time right? If you work on a laptop, scrolling in Lightroom is really something you don’t want to do, so try this small but effective solution and you’ll probably never go back :-)

Here is a video clip showing you how to activate the Solo mode in Lightroom 3:

Watch this clip in HD!

This way you can keep your catalogs clean and smaller which will lead to better/quicker performance in Lightroom. Another great positive thing using smaller catalogs is that they will be much faster to backup.

Lightroom is pretty good at taking care of big catalogs (tens of thousands images) so if you prefer to use one big catalog instead of smaller ones, keep doing it :-)

No matter the size of your catalog, you still should “optimize” it at least once a month.

Optimizing your catalog can take some time depending on how big it is (how many photos/videos it includes), but it’s definitely worth the time when you know it can increase the performance of Lightroom a lot.

TIP: When you back up your Lightroom catalog, you can also optimize it at the same process.