Editing

Should I use presets?

1 minuteWednesday 18th, November 2020

When it comes to editing your photos, many people ask, should I use a preset? Is it cheating?

It's cheating isn't it?

The short answer is that no, it's not cheating. A preset is a set of pre-defined settings that you can save, and use time and time again. You can apply a single preset to a set of photos. Many photo editing applications allow you to create your own presets from settings you've applied to a photo.

You can also purchase preset packs online which other photographers have created and shared for others to use.

They're a starting point

Presets are really a starting point where you can then tweak the settings for your specific photo and getting it looking how you want. Presets can help you get a similar look and feel for a set of photos.

Speed up the editing process

Presets are great for speeding up the editing process, which we all love! After a photo shoot or adventure you come back with hundreds of photos, you can simply find a preset that works for the look you're wanting and then apply and tweak for each photo individually.

In summary presets are great and can help you with editing your photos and speed up the process.

Meet the author

Tom Howard

Tip by Tom Howard

Tom is an up and coming photographer, who loves to go out on photography adventures with friends and family when he can. He's a full time software engineer by day for a technology company in Brighton and the founder of Snaphints.

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