Lightroom Import Presets

We all have different habits and workflow preferences. I will share how I create and use Lightroom import presets and repeat something I said before; it is a tool, not a rule! Use it if it makes sense to you.

Why Use Import Presets

Lightroom has its default import settings unless users override them. It prefers to use Adobe profiles, to begin with, and you may like that. Over the years, I realized that I make some adjustments to all my images, maybe a little more vibrance here or less there but I add a touch of vibrance to all. That habit goes back to the Raw Shooter Premium days! The first preset I will present will apply the same adjustments to every image. Later, I will mention a file transfer preset that manages a consistent destination for the image files.

Processing Preset

Instead of repeating the same adjustments, some of which may not change at all, years ago, I decided to use import presets that would apply a collection of settings to the images as they are imported to Lightroom. It involves simple steps that we eventually save and introduce to Lightroom. Remember that these settings are camera specific and apply only to images you import taken with that camera.

Select an Image Taken With the Target Camera

If you have made some adjustments and do not want to lose them in this process, create a virtual copy by pressing Control single quote. Press the Reset button at the bottom of the develop module panels and let the image revert to default settings. At this point, the adjustment panels below should have no adjustments. The rest are specific to each frame, like transform adjustments. We will skip over them at this stage. In the Basic panel, the profile setting may show something else on your computer.

Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.

Select Common Settings in Each Panel

Starting in the Basic panel, I may change the Profile setting to Standard or Camera Neutral depending on how each camera renders color. These are Canon settings, and your camera may offer different choices. Select the one you tend to use for most frames. It is easy to change it to Landscape or Portrait if that suits the image while editing it.

Then, I add some Texture and Clarity, followed by Vibrance and Saturation. These all remain as starting points, and I may increase them if the image calls for it or do the opposite.

Moving on to the Tone Curve, I select my Medium Contrast with Highlight Protection curve. That reduces the risk of highlights getting blown. In the Detail panel, I generally set the amount at 50 and set the radius according to the camera resolution and image size the camera yields. Larger dimensions may start at 1.2 or 1.3, while smaller sizes remain at 1.0. All may change in actual processing, of course. I also add a low amount of noise reduction in the same panel.

In the Lens Corrections, I select Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections. Lightroom generally identifies the lens if you choose the Default setup. Depending on the camera and lens combination, downloading some new lens profiles may be necessary.

Create a Preset

Now that this frame has all the settings we would like to apply to all the new imports from this specific camera, we need to create a preset. I have a presets group called Camera Defaults Presets and put all similar presets for different cameras there. Click the plus sign on the Presets panel on the left to start a new preset. In the pop-up window, put check marks for the settings we have changed. See the image on the left, and when done, click Create.

Assign The Preset To The Camera

In the final steps of the import preset creation, we need to assign the new default adjustments preset to the specific camera. After that, all images imported from that camera will have these settings automatically applied to them. Using the top menu in Lightroom, follow Edit/Preferences to open the pop-up window. If not selected, click on the Presets tab where the action will happen.

Note the checkmark next to the setting to Override global settings for specific cameras. The target camera for this import preset should be visible since the image we worked on is still selected. Make sure the target camera is in the drop-down menu.

Using the drop-down next to the Default setting, navigate to Preset/Preset group/Camera defaults as indicated with red arrows. When you select the new preset we created, the menu will collapse but stay there. You next need to click on Create Default button. Now you will see the new preset assigned to the camera. Finally, click on OK in the lower right corner to complete the process.

File Transfer Preset

The above steps will handle the standard adjustments. I also set up where the images should be stored, and my ownership metadata are added to them. That is even simpler than the above steps.

Where to Store the Files And Copyright Info

Start an import process and go slow! I prefer all the images to into one folder with the camera name. When the image numbers reach XXXX9999, I create a new folder with that camera name followed by sequential numbers, say R7-02. Some users prefer year-based folders, with each import going into month and date folders. Since I can find the images taken on a date range, I prefer not to use this structure; it is too cumbersome.

Wherever you want your images to be copied, select it on the right-hand side in the Destination panel. If you created a copyright notice, select it in the Metadata panel. If not, you can choose to create one. My metadata information is above, with contact information grayed out. After you fill in these fields, save it with your name and choose it now.

I want to avoid accidentally importing multiple copies of image files. So I chose the “Don’t import suspected duplicates” option at the top. When the destination, metadata, and Copy options are selected, click on the import preset window at the bottom that probably reads None. You will see a pop-up menu with the selection to name and save these settings. I call this file transfer preset to separate it from the file adjustment preset we created above. I use the camera and model.

In Use

When you import images from that camera from now on, these settings will automatically apply to all of them. Additionally, you can reset any image from this camera to quickly apply the new settings. Remember that resetting an image already edited will remove all the other adjustments.

Next time I import images, I choose the import preset corresponding to the camera, and all the files go to the correct folders with the appropriate metadata added to them and all of them with a set of adjustments applied.