How To:
Download + Import Presets In Lightroom Mobile
A step-by-step tutorial on how to download and import custom presets for Lightroom Mobile.
If you’re unsure on how to download, import and store your presets on Lightroom mobile, follow this guide! This guide demonstrates how to import presets for Apple iPhone and iPad users, however these steps will be similar for others using an Android phone. If you need any help at all, drop me a message on Instagram and I’ll do my best to troubleshoot with you!
Want to skip the written version? Tap here to watch the video tutorial!
Before You Start To Download the Presets
Check that you have the FREE Lightroom App installed on your phone and it’s updated. Make sure you’re also logged in as this will make the next steps much easier.
Download Presets onto Your Phone First
Once you’ve purchased the content, it will be sent to you via email as a downloadable file. Usually, if there’s more than one preset, it comes as a .zip file, but if it’s just one preset, it will most likely be a .dng file. If you have any other file type in your download, it mostly likely isn’t a preset and in this case, you’ll need to contact the seller to correct this.
If you purchased multiple presets, you’ll need to unzip them. But first, download them onto your phone’s files. To do this, open the email containing the presets. Then, tap on the file (or link to send you back to the download) and tap ‘download’ (depending on the platform or website, the download button may look different) This will begin the downloading of the presets onto your phone.
Access the downloaded content either by searching ‘Files’ on your phone OR by tapping the blue downwards arrow on your Safari browser (then tap ‘Downloads’ to take you to your downloaded files). Now you’ll want to unzip the files if you are downloading multiple presets. Do this by tapping the .zip file and it will create a folder with the same name as the .zip file. This folder contains the presets!
Import .DNG Files (presets) into Lightroom Mobile
Once you have located your presets in your Files app, you’ll want to import each preset. To do this, tap into the folder containing the presets and tap on each image. Then tap on the blue box-and-arrow icon on your screen (the export button, usually in the bottom left corner) and scroll along to find the Lightroom mobile app. Tap the app icon and then tap ‘Got It’. The first preset has been sent over to Lightroom. Do these exact steps to the rest of the presets and then launch the Lightroom app to begin saving the presets to your app.
Locating the Presets in Lightroom Mobile
To save each preset, you’ll need to locate the files we just imported in Lightroom.
CAN’T FIND THE IMPORTED IMAGES?
If for some reason they aren’t at the top of your screen in Lightroom, make sure you are in the ‘Edits’ section of Lightroom (check the bottom of your screen where it says ‘Device | Edits | Discover’ and make sure you tap Edits) and if they still aren’t visible, tap on ‘My Edits’ at the top and search for the ‘Imports’ folder. It may be hidden under ‘Lightroom Albums’ so tap the arrow next to this to drop down the other albums and tap on ‘Imports’ – it’s very likely the presets will be under this album instead. If you’re still struggling, contact me!
The .dng file has been correctly imported when you can see the images that the presets are attached to. This will look different depending on the image the creator has chosen to stick the presets to, but usually it’s an image with text, outlining the preset pack name, and the individual preset name. Here’s what mine look like:
If you have a blank image, you have most likely not imported the preset correctly, so contact the creator for help. If everything looks good, continue to the next steps.
Saving The Presets in Lightroom Mobile
To save the presets, simply load up one of the preset images and then tap the three-dots-and-circle icon in the top right. Then tap ‘create preset’.
BEFORE YOU SAVE THE PRESET
take a second to remember the name of the preset and the name of the preset collection printed on the image because you’ll need this.
Then make sure you create a new Preset Group before saving the individual presets to locate them easily later on. Do this by clicking: User Presets > Create New Preset Group > write the name of the preset pack > tap the tick icon. Now move on to saving each preset.
The new preset group you just made should be visible under ‘Preset Group’, just below where you’ll be entering the individual preset name. This is how you’ll know which group they’re saved to, so make sure it’s the correct one. Go ahead and name the preset the exact name printed on the image. This is why I said to remember the name of the individual preset because now you can’t see the image. Great UI design right? Anyway, I really recommend naming it exactly what the creator called it just in case you ever need to reference it later on. Once you’ve correctly saved all the presets, you can now use these on any image in Lightroom
Using The Presets in Lightroom Mobile
Tap the ‘preset’ button on the bottom slider of the Lightroom app and locate your Preset Group containing the presets. Watch your image transform with one single tap!
Of course, most presets will need some minor tweaks depending on the image they’re used on. If you edit a pre-existing preset, remember to make another version by saving the newer edit like before. Make sure you add a ‘2’ next to the name so you know which is the original version and which is the newer, edited version.
Still stuck and want some visual help?
watch the video tutorial below!
If you have unanswered questions about how to download and import presets into Lightroom mobile, make sure you contact me directly via Instagram.
