Lightroom Presets Not Working? How to Fix Them

You found a preset you love, you apply it to your own photo, and… it looks nothing like the examples. Skin goes orange, the photo looks muddy, or there's a strange green cast. Don't worry, this happens to everyone, and it doesn't mean the preset is broken.

A preset is a set of slider values. It was built on photos with a certain light and white balance, so when your photo starts somewhere different, the result will look different too. The good news is that it usually only takes a few adjustments to fix. Here's exactly what I do.

Why presets look different on your photos

• White balance. Indoor lights, candles and sunsets make photos very warm. Shade and overcast days make them cool. A preset adds its colours on top of whatever white balance you started with.
• Exposure. If your photo is darker or brighter than the photos the preset was made on, the colours and contrast will shift.
• Harsh or mixed light. Bright windows, strong sun and deep shadows push a preset's contrast too far.
• Location colours. Lots of grass and trees can reflect green onto skin, and the preset will exaggerate it.

Every fix below follows the same order: white balance, then exposure and tones, then individual colours.

Fix 1: Photos shot under warm indoor light

Indoor tungsten light makes everything orange, and if there's a bright window behind your subject they'll often be in shadow too. After applying the preset:

1. Lower Temperature to cool the photo down, and lower Tint if the skin looks too pink.
2. Raise Shadows to bring light back into the face, and lower Highlights to even out the bright window.
3. Now that you can see your subject properly, revisit the white balance. It often needs another small nudge.
4. If the skin is still too strong, lower Orange saturation slightly and raise Orange luminance in the HSL panel.

Fix 2: Candlelight, sunsets and very orange photos

When a candle, fire or low sun is your main light, faces glow orange. Start the same way: Temperature down and Tint down. Then work on the tones. Lift the Shadows and Blacks to brighten the image, and raise Exposure a little. If the photo now looks flat, add some Contrast and pull the Blacks back down slightly, which only affects the very darkest areas.

If the photo is also underexposed, raise Exposure first, cool the Temperature, add a tiny bit of pink with Tint, and lift the shadows in dark areas like hair.

Fix 3: A green cast from trees and grass

Shooting in parks and forests can leave skin and hair looking green or muddy once the preset goes on. Here, raise Shadows rather than Exposure, so you brighten the face without blowing out lighter clothes. Then fix the skin in the HSL panel: raise the Orange luminance, lower the Orange saturation a touch, and shift the Orange hue very slightly towards pink. Pushing Tint towards magenta also helps.

Fix 4: Lips or other colours that stand out

Sometimes one colour looks off after a preset, for example lips that turn pale or too bright pink. Use the HSL panel to target just that colour. For lips, try lowering the Red luminance to bring life back, and lower the Red saturation if they look too vibrant compared with the rest of the photo.

Fix 5: The preset is simply too strong

In recent versions of Lightroom, presets have an Amount slider. Drag it below 100 to blend the preset with your original photo. It's the quickest fix when you like the look but want it softer.

Choosing presets that adapt to your photos

Some presets are more forgiving than others. Natural, softer presets adapt to more lighting situations, while heavily stylised film looks are more sensitive to white balance. If you shoot in lots of different light, it's worth having a couple of looks to choose from. Here are some of mine, with before and after examples:

Dulce

Dulce adds a warm, nostalgic look and especially shines on photos with lots of green, so it's a good one to try on those park photos.

Unedited

Edited with Dulce

Meadow

Meadow keeps colours clean and skin true to life, so it's very forgiving across different kinds of light.

Unedited

Edited with Meadow

Amalfi

Amalfi adds warm caramel tones for a vintage feel. If your photo is already very warm, cool the white balance first and it'll look much closer to the examples.

Unedited

Edited with Amalfi

Hibiscus

Hibiscus gives a warm, soft, low-contrast film look that's gentle on skin, so a small white balance tweak is usually all it needs.

Unedited

Edited with Hibiscus

Presets not showing up at all?

If your presets aren't appearing in Lightroom, that's an installation issue rather than an editing one. Every download includes an installation guide, and you'll find step-by-step help for Lightroom Classic, Lightroom (CC), Lightroom Mobile and Camera Raw on my FAQ page.

Browse every pack, and filter by look, in my Lightroom Presets for Portraits collection. You can also buy any 3 presets and save 10%.