How to install presets in Adobe Lightroom Classic (Windows)

By Matic Broz, editor-in-chief of Photutorial covering stock media, Adobe, and design. He founded Photutorial while finishing his PhD in computational biosciences.

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Lightroom Presets - Windows thumbnail

Are you looking to install presets in Adobe Lightroom on a Windows computer? Awesome, let’s do it together!

The majority of presets that you find online (and download from Photutorial) are compatible with Lightroom 4, 5, 6, CC, and Classic as well as the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR 10.3+).

Additionally, you can sync the presets to the Lightroom iOS and Android mobile apps, however, you need to install them on a computer first in order to sync them.

Installing the presets in the latest version of Lightroom Classic is very easy. Here’s how:

  1. Download the ZIP file from your website of choice. Alternatively, you can get 32 Lightroom free presets by subscribing to Photutorial newsletter.
  2. Make sure that you don’t unzip the file (some browsers unzip them automatically). You must import a zipped file into Lightroom, not a folder.
  3. Open Lightroom Classic and go to the Develop module.
  4. On the left panel, look for the Presets panel and click the small + icon next to it.
  5. Select Import from the dropdown menu.
  6. It will open a window for you to find the ZIP file.
  7. Simply find the ZIP file and select it and Lightroom Classic will import the presets.
  8. Once the import is complete, you should see all the preset folders in your Presets panel.

Note: if the + sign next to the Presets panel does not allow you to import presets, please ensure that you have at least one image imported into your Library module. Once you do, Lightroom will allow you to import presets using the “+ sign” method.

I hope the installation went well! You are now ready to start using the presets. Of course if you have questions, please let me know.

Detailed instruction with images

How to install presets in Adobe Lightroom Classic (Windows)

Total time: 2 minutes

  1. Download Lightroom presets.

    Download the Lightroom presets from your favorite distributor. I recommend that you start with free presets gifted by Photutorial upon subscribing to the newsletter.

  2. Make sure to not unzip the file.

    Some web browsers (Safari) automatically unzip the downloads. Make sure this does not happen, because you need a zipped file.

  3. Open Lightroom Classic and go to the Develop module.
    Lightroom Presets Windows - Develop module

    Open the Lightroom Classic and let it load. Then, go to Develop module.

  4. Click the “+” icon.
    Lightroom Presets Windows - Plus symbol

    Click the + icon to open a dialogue.

  5. Choose “Import Presets…”.
    Lightroom Presets Windows - Import Presets

    In the dialogue, choose Import Presets…

  6. Locate your ZIP file with Lightroom presets.
    Lightroom Presets Windows - Choose the right file

    Explorer will open up. Now, you have to locate your ZIP file with Lightroom presets.

  7. Enjoy your new presets!
    Lightroom Presets Windows - Imported presets

    Enjoy your new presets!

Final thoughts

Lightroom presets are an easy way to achieve pro-like edits. However, installing them is not always very intuitive – and this guide is aimed at helping you fix this.

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