Want to know why we recommended our Lightroom presets for darker skin tones such as myself? Read this to post to discover why we recommend them!
Something I realized that since sharing our presets online we have not done was adequately explain what makes each one different and what photographs we find ourselves using them for. While many of these presets are similar in terms of the purpose of them, I curated each pack with a location and theme in mind.
For instance, one preset I pictured being used in environments that were dimly lit and where I wanted a feeling that was airy, but warm. Therefore, when creating the preset I made sure to test it on photographs that fit that bill. For another preset, I wanted it light, airy, and summery, so I used photographs from our trip to New England last summer. These presets are ones that I’ve actually used (and still use) on the photography I edit for our blog, but you might be wondering why.
Why we use them and why we ultimately recommend them to others?
While as with all presets, you will probably have to make some minor adjustments for certain photographs depending on the lighting, these are our most-used presets from our shop and why we love them.
Lightroom Presets for Darker Skin Tones
CITY STREETSCAPES
This particular preset was inspired by the various photographs we’ve snapped while exploring cities. I wanted something that when editing photographs helped to maintain the natural hues in the photograph without making it appear too bright or colorful. This preset is one that I used primarily for photographs we snapped during our explorations in Philadelphia, Boston, and Providence. I also used in the photograph above, which while is an indoor shot, has some of the same colors I was hoping to enhance that I would in a shot snapped in the city. I adjusted some of the settings such as the lighting to achieve the look you see in the photograph above.
CAFE IN PHILLY
Personally of the ones I’ve shared, this one is actually the one I probably use the most. Since in our travel posts we frequently share cafes and restaurants, this preset is practically my go-to because it’s warm, light, and airy. Whether I am photographing people or objects, this one works well with my husband and I’s skin tone pretty well with some minor adjustments.
The tones are warm, with the exception of a very cool-toned one, which is that way to accommodate for settings where it’s very, very warm in color. For instance, the photographs we snapped whilst visiting Felix Roasting Co were all edited using this preset with the blue hue.
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY
For a lot of my New England and/or beach photography, I like to use this one. It’s bright, creamy, and you can easily customize the hues to enhance what you want from it. Since most of the summer days are full of sun, these have a little more saturation in the color than some of our other presets, but if you’re shooting in lowly-lit areas, feel free to play with the exposure or “whites” to soften it a bit more. You can find out more about how I edit our photographs here.
FALL IN PHILLY
This preset is great when editing photographs from shoots in the fall or in settings where there are a lot of oranges and reds. It enhances those colors, which in exchange enhances both the color of the leaves and the colors of the subjects who may have red or orange undertones. What I love personally about using this preset is that depending on the lighting in the photograph, it can turn a photograph that appears pretty dull into one that’s full of color, without necessarily compromising the skin tones of the subject. I primarily use the photograph on myself, but if I am shooting photography with my husband in it or someone who’s lighter than me, I’ll play around with “whites” and the “exposure” in the photograph to make sure that I am not washing them out in the process as well. You can find out more about how I find the undertones and hues to pinpoint which colors to edit here.
While there are a lot of wonderful presets out there available to purchase and perhaps I am biased since I made these, but I feel that because I made them (and use them myself) I can confidently recommend them to others as being worth the money. I was tired of feeling disappointed after purchasing some and feeling like they still weren’t what I was looking for and realized that I should probably just create my own. Since deciding to do so, I carved out so much time out of my editing process and I know that as I continue to grow my photography skills, I’ll be able to spend less time trying to edit each photograph. Before you go, though, we have a little gift we’d like to share with you.
A DEAL FOR YOU…
For this month, we’re offering a discount to our store! If there’s a preset you like in particular and would like to purchase, you can receive 15% when you subscribe to our newsletter, Freshly Brewed where we share photography-related tips, new posts, and freebies as they’re made! All you need to do is subscribe using the form below and you will receive an email sent to your inbox with the code sent directly to you!
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What are some of your favorite presets to use?
