I know some of you are rolling your eyes because you keep hearing the term ‘preset’ and you’re like ‘who even needs those?!’ and ‘why do people keep talking about them?!’
In this blog I want to break down why Presets are so cool, especially for influencers like me and why they make life so much easier.
Before it became cool to use presets, photographers around the world have been using them for decades. Here is the definition for all of you still in the dark:
“set or adjust (a value that controls the operation of a device) in advance of its use”
Basically you can save in Lightroom ( my photo editing device ) how you want a photo to look. Or you can purchase a pack of presets from your favourite blogger.
I purchased Jenna Kutchers presets a while back and I’m so happy with how authentic, natural and professional they are. Later on in this blog I’m going to explain to you why it’s important to purchase presets from an actual photographer or someone who knows what they are doing because if you don’t, the presets can actually end up distorting your photo.
Below are a few photos with Jenna Kutchers Presents.. and They have me obsessed!
Then with one click of a button, the below. I also tweaked the exposure, contrast and clicked “auto” on geometry which straightens your photo. The difference is pretty staggering.
Here’s the picture with one of her other presets on it. The above preset is my favourite as it highlights colours so beautifully and brightens darker photos
Do you see now why people are going crazy over presets? With a click of a button and sometimes a few tweaks, you can have ugly dark photos turn into these beautiful photos.
Now, lets get into why it’s important to evaluate what you love in pictures and what you want your feed to look like in the future.
I’ll be the first to say that I like people to think I’m trendy. It hurts my feelings when I follow a blogger with the same amount of followers as me and they don’t follow me back. I always take it as I’m not “cool” enough. That’s for a completely different blog.. but you get my drift.
Over the past year I’ve purchased over 15 preset packs. I’ve tried to be trendy.. but at the end of the day, I’m never happy with my feed.
I made the choice a few weeks ago to finally purchase a preset that might not look very trendy, but it’s 100% me and that is Jenna Kutchers presets. They’re beautiful, sharp, a bit grainy and oh so airy. She does an amazing job at making her presets look natural. So often I buy a pack of presets only to have them make my photos look way too over exposed or my skin tone looks like I’m an alien. Maybe that is your jam, but my goal for my feed to is to look professional to brands, yet authentic and “me”.
So, when you look at someone’s feed or you are dreaming of your own feed, how do you imagine it looking?
Do you like brown tones and moody vibes?
Do you like light, beachy and creamy vibes?
Do you like pastel tones?
Do you like bright and color enhancing vibes?
Whatever it may be, make sure that the preset you purchase lines up with what you want. There is nothing worse than buying a preset pack after preset back and being stuck with all these presets and not being able to use any of them. Yep, that’s me… right over here 😉
Whatever your jam might be, flow with it. Do you and don’t stray. I’m the worst at this so I’m talking to myself. But I like to follow the trends. Right now, it’s moody vibes that are ‘in’. But moody isn’t me and it never has been. When you aren’t being true to yourself, you’ll never be happy with yourself. That can be applied to so many areas of your life, but apply it to presets. 😉
How to adjust a preset to make it look:
Hope this helps, let me know what preset you’re using in the comments!
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