How to Share a Lightroom Preset

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After creating a stunning design on Lightroom, you may need to share your secret resource(i.e., presets) with others so they can also create their designs using them. For this reason, knowing how to share a Lightroom preset is essential for you to ensure smooth creative collaboration.

How to Share a Lightroom Preset 

Sharing your presets on Lightroom is crucial to smooth work collaboration. So, you might need to pay extra attention to know how to do this. Sharing your presets is not as straightforward as it may sound, and there are several ways of doing this.

An image a woman teaching how to share Lightroom preset

Depending on the type of Lightroom version, you have different options for sharing your presets with friends and collaborators. You can share presets via the desktop version of your Lightroom or the Lightroom mobile app. Let’s discuss the methods of sharing your presets on Lightroom:

Sharing Your Presets on Lightroom Using Your Computer

Sharing Lightroom preset on your computer is pretty simple, and all you need to do is follow the step-by-step guide written below:

1. Import Your Downloaded Presets to Lightroom

  1. Navigate to the presets panel
  2. Then, click on the three dots icon in the panel
  3. Select the Import Presets option
  4. After that, select the preset that you installed/downloaded

2. Save the Presets

  1. Navigate to the presets panel
  2. Select the plus icon titled “Create Preset”
  3. Then, save the preset file or folder with the desired name.

3. Proceed to Export the Presets

  1. Locate your preset in Lightroom and right-click on it
  2. Choose the “Export” option from the option menu
  3. Then, save the preset file in an XMP format

4. Confirm the “Export” Settings

From the options menu, confirm the export option for your file. Whether to:

  • Share on social media
  • Share in the form of an email with collaborators
  • Share as a cloud-based file

5. Share the Preset File

  1. After setting the export format accordingly, click on the share option to share this file as instructed.

Sharing Your Presets via Lightroom Mobile

Doing this is not as simple as clicking a share button on Lightroom to automatically transfer your presets. You need to put some settings in place before your presets are shared. Here are the steps to follow for you to share your presets on Lightroom mobile successfully.

1. Apply Your Desired Preset to a Photo

  1. Before you think of sharing your presets on Lightroom, you first need to use them on a particular image
  2. If you want to transfer only one preset, this is pretty simple. However, when transferring multiple presets at once, you’ll need to do this for each of the presets

2. Choose the “Share” Option

  1. After applying your desired presets on Lightroom, navigate to the “Share” icon at the top corner of your dashboard
  2. Then, click on the “Share” icon, which is represented by a box and an upward-facing arrow.

3. Select the “Export As” Option

  1. After clicking the “Share” icon, a list of different sharing options is displayed
  2. Select the option titled “Export As”
An image of a laptop and camera

4. Adjust the File to a DNG Format

  1. The preset file that you want to export should be stored in a DNG format so that all the information on the file remains intact while exporting
  2. To do this, select the option titled “File Type” from the file menu of your Lightroom and choose DNG as your file format 

5. Confirm Export Settings

  1. After setting your file in a DNG format, navigate to the top corner of your screen and select the checkbox to confirm your export settings on Lightroom
  2. Hold on for a while as Lightroom processes your export settings
  3. After this, a dialogue box is displayed with a list of different sharing options for your presets file

6. Choose a Sharing Option for the Preset File

On the dialogue box, there are several options for sharing your preset such as:

  • Storing the file on cloud storage(e.g., Dropbox, iCloud, GoogleDrive)
  • Saving the Image to your camera roll
  • Sharing Via social media
  • Transferring the file directly to your contacts

If you want to freely share your presets with less restriction, you might consider using the Cloud sharing option. The cloud storage option provides a transfer link that enables you to share your presets with others easily.

Using the cloud share option, you can easily choose a preset or your entire preset folder to share with others using your unique transfer link.

7. Share the Preset File

  1. After choosing the sharing option for your preset, select the “Share” button from the dialogue box to confirm your settings and share the file as indicated.

How to Share a Lightroom Presets From Your Phone to a Computer

While you can share your presets in any of these ways, there is a more straightforward solution. It is possible to sync your presets between your mobile device and desktop computer using Lightroom’s built-in cloud storage.

Knowing how to share your preset from your phone to the computer is a game-changer, especially if the person you want to send your preset to uses the desktop version.

How do you share your presets from mobile to your computer?

Here are the steps you need to follow to do this quickly and without any hassle:

1. Proceed to Create a Preset on Your Lightroom Mobile

  1. Go to the Preset panel on your dashboard
  2. Then, navigate to a three-dot icon
  3. Then select the “Create Preset” option from the option menu

2. Name Your Preset

  1. From the dialogue menu displayed, choose a name for your preset file or folder
  2. Then, set the preset group to “User Presets”

3. Confirm the Settings and Create Preset

  1. Go to the top corner of your screen, then select the checkmark to confirm your setting and create presets
An image of a laptop with a photo manipulation app

4. Start Syncing

  1. Navigate to the top corner of your Lightroom mobile app
  2. Select the “Cloud” icon in the menu
  3. Ensure that the “Sync” option is activated
  4. If not, navigate to the “Resume Syncing” option in the cloud menu
  5. Select the “Play” icon to enable the syncing option

5. Open Lightroom on Your Computer

  1. After syncing, go to the computer where you want to transfer the preset to and load up Lightroom

6. Find the Preset on Your Lightroom

  1. Navigate to the “Library” module and open up an image
  2. Go to setting and open the “Presets” tab
  3. Doing this displays all your Lightroom presets, including the newly synced presets

Note: If some of your presets are not displayed in the presets panel, wait a while, as the presets may not have been completely transferred from your Lightroom mobile app. However, if you still can’t find them, you can find other ways to locate Lightroom presets.

Related Questions

What Are the Benefits of Knowing How to Share a Lightroom Preset?

When you need to collaborate with other creators and designers, knowing how to transfer your presets will streamline the workflow and allow others to access your presets with zero hassle. Besides, it makes your work easily accessible to friends and families.

Sharing your presets from your mobile version to your computer is another way to backup your preset files and folders. When you share your presets across multiple devices, you’re preventing them from getting lost, even if you lose your current Lightroom version.

Conclusion

There are several ways to share your presets, such as on your mobile, computer,  or from your mobile to your computer. Spending a little extra time on how to transfer your Lightroom preset is worth it. Doing this makes your work easier to access by others.