The popularity of Instagram has grown immensely since its initial release in 2010. It has evolved from a camera app that successfully combined some pretty filters and a photo sharing website to a giant social network and publicity machine.There are even professional Instagrammers now – yes, you can get paid for posting photos on Instagram, although you may have to sell your soul to a commercial giant to do so.When I first used Instagram I was intrigued by the way that so many photos looked better when you applied a filter to them.The only downside is that you have to run your photos through the App to apply a filter. It would be much easier if you could just use Develop Presets and make it part of the Lightroom workflow.Well, thanks to some enterprising preset makers, now you can. Here are some reasons why you should. You don’t have to take the photos with a smartphone. You can use a good quality digital camera and decide whether you’d like to apply an Instagram filter afterwards. You don’t have to join Instagram’s social network, which automatically posts photos for other people to see.
You have the choice – you can post to Instagram from Lightroom if you want to. It’s up to you. You can apply the effects to photos you have already taken. Lightroom presets are ideal for reworking and bringing fresh life to images taken in the past. You don’t have to crop to the square format, as you are encouraged to do in Instagram.
In Lightroom, the filter is a starting point. You can tweak it, make major changes, and get as sophisticated as you want with local adjustments and other post-processing techniques. Your photos aren’t resized. If you upload a photo to a tablet or phone and use Instagram, it resizes and compresses the image, giving you a much smaller file.Lightroom Develop PresetsLet’s explore some of these Develop Presets and see how well they work.Before we start, please bear in mind the best way to use tools like Instagram filters or Lightroom Develop Presets is to use them to enhance good photos, not to try to make bad photos look better. ON1 Instantastic Develop PresetsON1 Software has created a set of Develop Presets for Lightroom that mimic the effects created by Instagram’s filters. They are part of the.
Just click the link to go download them. These presets are not perfect, but they are free, and that makes them an excellent place to start.There are several sets of presets in the Signature Collection, and the one you’re looking for is called OnOne Instantastic LR5. Don’t be put off by the name – they work just as well in Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC.Install the presets (instructions are included, leave a question in the comments if you get stuck) and open Lightroom.You’ll see a list of names similar to those used by Instagram.
You’ll notice that the presets are a little limited – there are only 13 (compared to the 23+ currently available filters in the Instagram app).It’s important to note that the Instantastic presets are several years old and are more like the filters used in the Instagram app at that time, rather than the latest set.They are also Instagram inspired rather than intended to emulate specific Instagram filters. That means that they are not as useful as Develop Presets that emulate the latest Instagram filters (and do it more accurately), but as you can see from the examples below the presets are still quite beautiful. Considering they are free, there is not much to think about – go and get them!My favorite Instantastic preset for this portrait is Daisy.Which looks like the Nashville Instagram preset.I used the Daisy preset as a starting point and this is what I eventually came up with. I lifted the highlights and darkened the background to emphasize the tonal contrast in the image.
I’ve done this to show you how you can use these presets as a starting point in your processing.Casey Mac Insta Vintage Develop PresetsPhotographer Casey Mac has come up with a set of that replicate the Instagram filters more closely. They are available from his website (the link above will take you there).
You get 28 Lightroom Develop Presets and 28 Photoshop Actions for $6. Before we look at the Insta Vintage Develop Presets, I want to show you some Instagram filters. These are screenshots taken from my iPhone, and will help us see just how accurate the emulation of the Insta Vintage presets are.Now let’s look at the same photo processed with the Insta Vintage Develop Presets. In these examples they have been applied directly to the portrait without any further adjustments. One of the Instagram filters, Clarendon, isn’t available in the Insta Vintage presets, so I’ve left it out.The comparison reveals that the Insta Vintage Develop Presets are not as close in color and tonal treatment to the original Instagram filters as they could be.
Like the Instantastic presets they are best thought of as Instagram inspired, rather than a precise emulation.There are some beautiful presets here and at $6 they are fantastic value. Lightgram Insta-Filters 2016 Develop PresetsLightgram have the – 23 Lightroom Develop Presets that emulate the latest Instagram filters (cost $29).These photos show you some of the Develop Presets in action. No extra adjustments have been made.The Insta-Filters 2016 Develop Presets are much closer to the original Instagram filters than the Insta Vintage presets.
Lightroom Presets
At $29 they are the most expensive option out of the three sets of presets we have looked at, but they are definitely the best if accuracy is your measurement.I liked the effect of the Clarendon Develop Preset best. With a few tweaks I came up with this. An original interpretation, created using the Clarendon preset as a starting point.Lightroom Develop Presets are really useful for processing, and if you like Instagram’s filters you should certainly consider downloading some of the presets tested in this article. If you have any questions about Instagram or Lightroom then please let us know in the comments.Would you like to learn how to get more followers on Instagram? Then read our article Further reading.
Fun sponsor to introduce today–one I think a lot of you will love as I know there are many camera toting friends out there. Introducing, a collection of beautiful editing presets, fairly priced, for photographers who use Lightroom (that’s all I use!).
Presets are a great way to speed up your editing workflow and subtly (or more dramatically for those who like some major “POW”) transform your images to highlight your subjects.Jessica is the designer and photographer behind as well as the mother of six. In an effort to speed up her editing process and utilize Lightroom, Jessica began developing Lightroom presets for her images and was soon being asked about her editing techniques.
She created One Willow Boutique in response and one preset collection soon grew to five.currently offers five preset collections for Lightroom 2 and 3 and three collections for Lightroom 4 as well as adjustment brush packages. Presets are available both in RAW and JPEG formats and each collection offers something unique from soft, warm vintage editing to bright and boldly contrasted. Check out her galleries of before and after images–quite beautiful.There is a wealth of information on re: how to use these presets as well as in depth tutorials.More behind the business with this talented mama:1.) In both your photography and editing presets, I love the warmth and softness in the images. What is your ultimate goal in creating preset collections? Do you have a certain look or feeling of images that you aim to convey when creating your presets?Thank you!
Each One Willow Preset collection is creatively designed and fine tuned to provide beautiful and effective photo enhancements in Lightroom. I’ve designed them to help streamline photo editing with lovely, unique finishes. The presets provide a wide range of edits; some subtle, some simple and some a bit more dramatic, but all are fully adjustable to suite various images and photography styles.Each preset collection is designed with a specific inspiration and feeling behind it. I aim to keep One Willow Presets consistent with what they are known for: versatile, subtle and effective but also creative with various photography editing styles.2.) Do you have a favorite preset collection or particular preset(s)?My favorite collection seems to rotate with the mood and lighting of the season. Each collection brings with it a different inspiration.
For example, the Fairytale Collection was inspired by warm summer evening with lots of sunlight; the presets in this collection work wonderfully on summer-y images while the Timeless Collection was designed with rich tones to enhance the colors of the fall and winter. The Beautiful Things Collection was inspired by lifestyle images and Retro Candy is perfect for creative retro toned images.
All the collections are unique, and I love rotating between them depending on the style of edit I am aiming for. The most versatile collection is the Palette Collection; it is a workflow Collection and I find myself using that one quite often right now.3.) I’m a big Lightroom user and love when I find good Lightroom presets. What do you feel is the main benefit of LR editing?The huge benefit of editing in Lightroom (and the very reason I began designing presets) is the amount of time I save on editing. We are a busy family of eight and I am a Wife and Mom first so I strive to save as much time in my editing workflow as possible. And after arriving home in January from adopting our sixth child, I appreciate this more than ever! I do my best to get the best photo I can in camera and get super excited when I can import in to Lightroom, click on a preset or two, and finish an edit. Batch processing using presets is also an incredible benefit too!4.) Favorite part of your job/creative process?My favorite part of photography is capturing life inspired moments.
I love seeing and capturing the small details of everyday life but I also love capturing the emotion and inner beauty of a person through portraiture. I enjoy having a balance of both in my portfolio.
My creative process starts with the image and then moves to the computer where I do my best to enhance each image with processing. I know so many photographers (and busy Mamas and Papas) who share this same love, and I am thrilled that I can share a bit of creativity with them through Lightroom Presets.Check out as well as Jessica’s beautiful to find some photo inspiration and tools to enhance your images. Use Code ENJOYSMALL for 15% off your order.Filed Under.