Lightroom/PhotoShop purchasable presets

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AstroEd

AstroEd

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Do any of you folks use lightroom/Photoshop presets that you can buy online like Jared Polin’s Fro Packs? For someone new to editing are they worthwhile? And do you know of any specifically aimed at wildlife photographers?

So far the only preset I have ever used is the image sizer to make images smaller for facebook posts and such from here.
 
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I use a few... VERY few. They can be helpful to get you thinking creatively but they rarely work as a "one click" solution. I have Matt K's wildlife presets (modestly helpful), Michael Shanblums Landscape pack that came with a course of his I purchased, and I think I have a couple from Woodland Presets... tbh, I rarely use presets on anything but landscapes, though I will often check them out on images to see what they do and then, if I like a certain effect, I will do something similar.

I used a "woodland preset" yesterday on a turtle image I shot... Living in the PNW I get tired of the super saturated greens pretty quickly and sometimes want a more dark/moody/subdued look.

Standard edit:
untitled shoot-0325-NIKON D850-IMG_00724-Edit-Edit.jpg
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With a preset:

untitled shoot-0325-NIKON D850-IMG_00724-Edit-Edit-2.jpg
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I don't know if I like it, I'm letting it set a few days before I work on it more, but I do get tired of the saturated greens in every image I make during the spring here, so its something different I guess. It really just depends on your creative vision and what goals you have for the image. Presets don't usually render the most "true to life" image, but that might not be your goal for any certain image.
 
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Presets can be handy when you first start to learn Lightroom, but now that I have been using it for a couple of years and have read dozens of articles and dozens of videos I find that I know how to get the results I want on my own as fast (maybe faster!) than using the presets.

When I was really deep into the learning process I would use a preset and write down all the settings it changed and then reset the image and do each myself to better understand what each did for the image.

But I am an obsessive/compulsive (so to speak) on understanding the why's of things vs. just getting results. Not that it is a good thing necessarily !!

I do use a number of the AI programs like Topaz DeNoise primarily because it is fast, and does a lot better job than I do!
 
I was looking at the prosets from Jan Wegener. Haven't tried them since I feel I know enough to roll my own, but still interesting.

 
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Presets, all different types, can be helpful at times to get a certain look and maybe to help beginners. I've set up presets for sharpening that mostly work fine. But, learning what each tool does and how it affects your image is the ultimate way to process an image to what you want it to be. You learn this by simply processing images and playing with the tools in the application to see what they do to the image. Knowing the tools in your application will also help you to process a problem image, such as an image with a high dynamic range. Learning to use not just global tools but local tools will also help you to create the best image you can. The local masking in LrC is fantastic and works great in particular for wildlife shots if the background is clean. Just dig in and process since there is no loss of the original image in LrC, practice in processing is what will help you to learn the tools.
 
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I too have hardly ever found them useful as, as has been said, they are rarely, if ever, a 'one-stop' solution. They may give a 'base' from which to work but they always seem to need a lot of fiddling. I have also made a few of my own when a series of photos look like they need a similar handling, but I have also rarely used them again as the next series usually/probably needs a different approach - or, maybe more often, forgotten about them. Sharpening, profile corrections etc - maybe, but I generally prefer to edit images individually. Another way to look at it is, I suppose, try to be original...
 
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My issue with LR presets is that your starting image is required to be a near-perfect exposure before they are applied since they override the Develop module settings. So while I strive for good exposures straight out of the camera, I've learned to shoot slightly dark in many situations to avoid blown out details. So sure, I could apply one and then boost the exposure and shadows as needed, but I've just learned to get the look I want on my own.

When I started with Lightroom I was able to acquire a bunch of presets as a part of various educational bundles I purchased or got for free and if there was value in them it was being able to apply them and then, when I saw something I liked, explore the develop settings to see what they'd done. Then I'd tweak those and see how that impacted the look. In ways that was a better education into the Develop module (ACR) than most videos I watched on the subject.
 
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I have purchased some from Trey Ratcliff. I have found them to be helpful, especially at the beginning. I looked at the settings and then tried to recreate the effect on my own. Once I had the basic skills down, I created my own presets. Sometimes, you find a really great deal that will save you time and accomplish your goal. I'm not interested in selling my work, I just want my photos to have nice color, great focus and the right depth of field. Sometimes, purchased presets are great teaching tools.
 
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Pretty much what everyone else is saying. I've bought preset packages in the past, but I rarely used them. I bought into the hype. Some people love them, but other than a little learning in the beginning I did not find them useful. They are only a starting point.

You might find them more useful in PS actually as by then you would have already balanced your basic settings.
 
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I still have not tried presets yet but I am finding that I tend to do the almost exact same workflow for each photo though time consuming, adding a few unique tweaks per photo as I see fit for my own visual pleasure. My main concern is my adjustments while I am used to them may not be optimal and I am just perpetuating bad editing to all my images.
 
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I have purchased some over the years.....and never used them. I could see they might be handy for weddings, especially if shot by more than one person. Or sports photogs that need to submit images immediately to wire services. Things like that. But I don't use them for wildlife or architecture or travel, as I'm proficient enough at PS to get the results I want pretty quickly.

I DO think that Tony Kuyper's TK panels are great for landscapes, macros, etc.
 
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I tend to watch YouTube videos live while learning new edits techniques but sadly I tend to forget a lot until I have done them several times. I need to lean to make macros and stuff to just one click the basic adjustments I do to every photo and maybe do all at one time then tweak the end result per photo, should save me a lot of time. I have spent 7-9 hours just editing 10-20 photos good enough to post on FB I just feel I am wasting so much time.
 
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