So you’ve just purchased your first Lightroom Preset package? Let me start off by saying congratulations, you’re on your way to getting some amazing looking edits. I bet you’re excited, but you’re also asking yourself… “how do I install these?”
NEW: How to Install Lightroom Mobile Presets
Wonder no more photographer! In this short tutorial, I will walk you through the process of installing Lightroom Presets. This guide is applicable for all versions of Lightroom (new or old).
Step One
Download Presets
First things first, download your presets! If you purchased on my website, open up the purchase confirmation and click the “Download Now” button on your order Thank You page.
Next, click “Download Now” in the top right hand corner of the screen. If you have a Dropbox account, you can save the file directly to your Dropbox.
Step Two
Open Lightroom Develop Tab
FOR NEW LIGHTROOM VERSIONS – 7.3 and Newer (older versions scroll down)
Open up Lightroom and Navigate to the Develop Tab.
Next, click File and scroll down to Import Profiles & Presets…
This will open up a finder window.
Navigate to your Downloads folder or wherever you have stored the presets you downloaded.
Next, unzip the preset package you purchased. Open the folder and select the folder with .xmp files.
Click Import to import the .xmp presets into Lightroom.
FOR OLDER LIGHTROOM VERSIONS – Older than version 7.3
The process is similar for older versions of Lightroom, but a bit different. Open the Lightroom Develop tab and look for the Presets dropdown menu on the lefthand side.
Right click anywhere within the Presets window and click New Folder.
A box will pop-up asking you to name the folder. Name the folder the same name as the preset package you purchased. In this case I will name the folder “Sean Dalton Classic Portrait Presets” because those are the presets I will be uploading in this tutorial.
After you create the folder, it’s time to import the presets.
Right click the folder you just created, and select Import.
This will open up a finder window.
Navigate to your Downloads folder or wherever you have stored the presets you downloaded. Next, unzip the preset package you purchased.
Select the folder with the .lrtemplate files and click Import. It is important you select the folder with the .lrtemplate files and not the .xmp files, as older versions of Lightroom do not support .xmp files.
Step Three
Try them out!
Open up any photo in Lightroom and navigate to the Develop tab. Select the Preset dropdown menu on the left, find the folder that contains the presets you just imported, and click one!
If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below. We will respond to you within 24 hours. Happy editing!
Looking for Premium Presets? Check these out.
