I think this has already been said by millions before but I would still go ahead. Creating your own Presets does have huge benefits and since I foraged into Asthetics and Still life Photography only last year I actually never thought of creating Adobe Lightroom Presets before when I photographed landscapes for a good 7 years. Coming to the point here are some benefits I can list that I experienced first hand.
A Cohesive Feed
Have you drooled over those perfect looking synchronised Instagram feeds or how does someone have so much synergy in each of their Photos. Well here’s one way to achieve it though this is not the only factor but it definitely helps. Also goes without saying it looks more professional and can attract more Work. Human eye likes Organized spaces , stuff that’s easy to look and navigate through and instantly has a more calming effect on us. That’s why from Apparel Stores to Stores Selling Consumer Goods they all specifically work on layouts , Color Blocking, Merchandising for a Visual appeal and impact. From using specific colours , fonts, Imagery Brands try to weave their stories that have a much higher recall value. Its as simple as that.
Saves Time
I never realised this until I started posting pictures consistently with an aim in mind to grow my audience. Restart this blog etc etc. Posting consistently meant shooting consistently which in turn meant conceptualisation of creative ideas and their execution my means of collecting props, setting up the scene , getting the lighting right, clicking the shots , tidying back the space to name a few and then doing all this on repeat every single day. Professional Photography is not all that Spontaneous and on the spot. It really is like any other job you do for 9 hours that involves a lot of commitment and time and that too without a pay check initially. Trust me you have to be highly resilient and self motivated to pursue such dreams (Ok let’s not digress here). Post processing a very important part of professional photography and its as important as the above steps and then you gotta also make time for marketing yourself on social media , design a blog strategy, research hashtags , learn SEO and make a pinning strategy just to name a few, the list is endless. With Presets a lot of precious post processing time does get saved. Infact sometimes its just click and I am done and sometimes a few more tweaks to achieve the desired look. All said and done I am usually done under 2 minutes. Now multiply this by the number of pictures one takes and edits.
Sell Your Presets
If you have a great following on any of your social media accounts you can actually sell them to your Audiences too. Lot of people are not so comfortable with editing or don’t want to invest into professional software memberships either. Your audiences could actually be interested in buying your presets if they love your work and desire to achieve a similar look and feel with their pictures. You could make some extra buck for the month too with all that hardwork you do and don’t we all have bills to pay whether we like it or not.
A Great Learning Tool
I can’t emphasise enough and this probably is my most favourite bit. Clicking and Editing are too different things requiring equal skills if not more and you learn both with hours of patience and practice put into each. I still have a long laundry list of Skills and Techniques I want to learn about in this incredible medium. But I have to say this, I learnt Photography of whatever little I know by many resources combined but most of all by shooting round the clock (yes from dawn to dusk and sometimes way beyond that) Nothing trains you like the light itself and getting out of that Auto Mode on the Camera. From a 6 a.m. Sunrise to 9 a.m. Breakfast in bed, to shooting under the direct Sun at 12 noon , to shooting at the oh so famous golden hour and then shooting past midnight on a bitter cold night under the famous star filled sky of Ladhak I went Berserk I shamelessly admit. Different lighting conditions have been one of my biggest learnings which eventually made me upgrade to 3 lenses from the Kit. But when it came to Editing I knew not much honestly until last year , Saturation and Contrast to begin with and at max adjusting the shadows (Ha Ha Ha I am laughing hard on myself right now), I actually didn’t know how to even highlight those stars or Pop that Coffee Cup initially. So ladies and gentlemen besides hundreds of Tutorials on Editing as a subject, one of the best ways to learn is also through Presets. Yupp hear me out ! At one point I bought few presets by some Photographers to actually learn the settings involved in the edited styles I admired most. Just like online Tutorials and Blogs taught all the details these presets gave me a hands down good practical knowledge on the exact settings involved in a type of a picture (lets say a Portrait , a grey Sky or a Rainy Day) , How to achieve a particular mood/feel myself and eventually be able to develop my own Presets then became a cakewalk. I dont need to buy anymore but when I started out this was one of the best way I learnt. Besides the fact Adobe Lightroom also has tons of Demos for you to learn from too which are incredibly helpful. You can aimlessly scroll on my Instagram page tonight to see my learning graph and decide for yourself.
Now that you know this I think you should definitely give it a try. If you are planning to buy a few Lightroom Presets and try yourself can I recommend Crella. They have some great selection of Presets, Fonts and Graphics at pocket friendly pricing. What are your favourite editing softwares, I would love to know. Also learning Adobe Photoshop is on my skill list for this year. Just like we all have wish lists I also have a skill list, am I weird no just Human right.
Cyaa !
Kamakshi
