How to Install and Update Lightroom Presets
The following are installation instructions for presets in Lightroom v7.3 through the current versions. The included download contains both Presets and Brushes which must be installed in two different places. Scroll to see how to install Brushes or go to this link for detailed instructions.
There are three different variations of Lightroom Applications:
- Lightroom Classic
- Lightroom CC
- Lightroom Mobile
- Installing LensLab Brushes
If you have an older version of Lightroom (v5.0 - v7.2), then use the installation instructions at this link: http://bit.ly/install_presets_older
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1. Lightroom Classic
Lightroom 7.3 introduced a significant change in the way Lightroom works with presets. The old .Irtemplate preset format were exchanged with a new .xmp format. The .xmp format was originally used for Camera Raw while Lightroom used the .Irtemplate format. Now, Camera Raw and Lightroom both use the same .xmp format. When you updated to 7.3, Lightroom probably converted your old presets. But how do you install or update new .xmp presets going forward?
Recommended Installation
- Open Lightroom.
- Go to Lightroom Classic in your main menu and select "Preferences..."
- Click on the button, "Show Lightroom Develop Presets" in the Presets sub-menu
- Open the folder that is selected after you clicked the button (it is most likely the Settings folder inside the Camera Raw Library)
- Find your new Lightroom Preset folder from your download (make sure it is uncompressed), and copy it (CTRL + C on PC, ⌘ + C on Mac, or right click it to select Copy)
- Now go back to the Settings folder and Paste the new Preset folder into this folder (CTRL + V on PC, or ⌘ + V on Mac)
- If you are updating from an older version of a LensLab Preset, trash the old version's folder to prevent a conflict
- Restart Lightroom and enjoy your Presets
Now you should be able to see all of your imported Presets in Lightroom and Camera Raw!
Fast (Alternative) Installation
Note that this approach can give you a problem with updating and/or organizing your presets.
- Open Lightroom Classic
- Select Develop
- Click the "+" dropdown in the Presets control:
- Select "Import Presets" from the dropdown
Okay, done! The presets can be used in Lightroom now, and you will find it when you open click the Develop module and click the Presets tab under User Presets (you may have to click the triangle that corresponds to the new preset folder. That was the quickest, but not the best way to install presets - especially if you want to have a clean folder structure for your Lightroom Presets and more importantly, if your presets get updated and you want to clean-install fresh updates.
2. Lightroom CC:
The following are installation instructions for Lightroom CC.
Step 1. Open Lightroom CC
- From the menu bar, choose File > Import Profiles & Presets
- In the Import dialog that appears, browse to the required path of the folder containing your downloaded Presets and select all that you want to import.
- Click "Import"
Step 2. Using Installed Presets in Lightroom CC
- From the tool menu, click the Edit Tool
- Click Presets
- Select and use installed presets
3. Lightroom Mobile:
The following are installation instructions for Lightroom Mobile.
Lightroom Mobile requires the desktop version of Lightroom CC (version 1.4 or later) and Lightroom Mobile (version 3.3.0) or later in order to correctly sync the presets to the mobile app. Once you have properly installed the LensLab presets into Lightroom CC the presets will automatically sync to your mobile device(s). Note, you may need to click on the cloud icon at the top right of desktop Lightroom CC to make sure that Lightroom CC is properly syncing with your account and mobile devices.
4. Installing Local Adjustment Brushes
FYI! Please DO NOT put Brushes into the same folder as the Presets! It will mess things up if you do!
The following instructions are how you install the included Brushes: (more details can be found at this link.
- Select and copy all files contained in the included folder, LensLab Brushes:
- Open Lightroom and go to Preferences
- Click the button "Show all other Lightroom Presets"
- Open the folder "Local Adjustment Presets" and hit paste:
- Restart Lightroom
Lightroom Preset Troubleshooting Guide
Downloading Issues:
- If the download doesn't work, try a different browser.
- Do NOT choose “open” the file after download. Simply hit save, then close that dialogue box. If you're on a PC, open a Windows Explorer window and locate the zip file, which is most likely in your Downloads folder. Extract the file using according to these instructions.
- Can't Unzip? If on a PC right clicking does not offer “extract files”, then you may need to download an external program to unzip. We recommend trying as 7-Zip, a free unzipping program.
- If when trying to unzip you get "Path too long" error, use a decompression utility such as 7-Zip, that can handle long file paths. https://www.7-zip.org
- Still having trouble? Contact us at support@lenslab.com for further assistance.
Presets Not Showing Up in Lightroom
- Try to shut down Lightroom and then restart it.
- If the preset collection name is showing up in Lightroom but not the individual brushes, then click the triangle to the left of the collection name and the templates will drop down.
- Double check to make sure you copied the contents of the folder you downloaded into the "Develop" folder and not a different folder.
- Make sure what you copied the correct presets into the correct folder.
- Do NOT check “Store Presets With Catalog.” This setting will appear to the left of "Show Lightroom Presets Folder" in your Preferences menu.
- Make sure that you EXTRACTED the zip file. If you simply double-clicked on the folder (on a PC), you will get access to the presets, but those will NOT be extracted files and will NOT copy or paste correctly or show up in Lightroom for you.
For additional help from Adobe about how to install Presets in Lightroom visit: