Hey guys, Ryan here at Signature Edits and today I'm going to show you why your
presets suck. That's right, we're gonna dive in and I'm gonna show you why they
aren't working the way that you thought they would when you bought them. Let's
dive in!
Have you ever had this happen to you? You find some awesome photographer who sells
presets, so you buy those bad boys, find a photo to develop and you hit those
presets, and they just look... like crap?Has that ever happened to you? Because if so
you're not alone. I've been there, and spent way too much money on presets that
didn't work. Let's jump in and look at a few photographers work and see why those
presets aren't working for you. And I'm gonna give it away right now
the reason your presets aren't looking the way you want them to look is because
the photo that you're working with isn't what those presets were designed to work
with and so let's head over here to some photographers let's take a look at their
work and see what I mean so this is mr. Daniel honey takes awesome landscapes
and I want you to look at the lighting and the composition of these photos
you're going to notice something it's consistent every single photo we have a
brilliant composition and fantastic lighting and that doesn't change the
photos where the lighting is less than Pleasant you're going to find the tones
are less unpleasant the Edit doesn't look quite as consistent it doesn't have
that wow factor of a well composed and well lit image that makes every every
difference guys and you're gonna see that no matter what genre we go into
let's go over for an India Earl let's look at her stuff she does weddings
portraits those of you who do the same thing you're going to notice in her
photos 99% of them were taken with fantastic light and they were well
composed so by that I mean the light is not harsh we don't see any dark shadows
on the ground beside this couple why because we got this nice fog bank behind
them or other photos we've got taken at sunset or with overcast skies they're
all taken at sunset sunrise or on a cloudy day when the light looks awesome
and you'll notice the photos that don't look as awesome well it's because the
light wasn't as great or the composition wasn't as great let's head over to
another photographer Dylan first he's the master of Moody Blues okay so this
guy is crazy consistent in his insta feed it's on point and you will notice
one thing he only features two colors blue and green and occasionally a pop of
orange and I want you to notice something about these images it's not
looking this way because he has some balla preset he puts on there and it
magically fixes things no it's because when you actually think about this image
before it was edited we had green trees with a green blue lake and we have an
orange dog and what happens after he edits it there's a
green trees greenish blue lake and orange dog and you're gonna see his work
is so consistent and the photos that aren't super consistent where we do have
these other tones other images and other lighting going on this is a little bit
harsh we've got some harsh shadows here and it just doesn't have the same vibe
so if you're looking to get your photos a specific look or vibe you've got to
think about the composition and about the lighting what colors are present
what distractions are there because when you look at these awesome photographers
you'll find that they get rid of distractions at all costs we've only got
this couple in this photo couple in the photo couple in the photo we don't have
you know a man selling ice cream in a truck in the background that's taking
away focus when we go to Daniel hunt stuff we have one central focus most of
the time in his images and the photos that don't have that central focus well
those aren't the wow shots let's head over look at queen of jet LAG's photos
and hers are awesome she's a very talented photographer but you'll notice
something very important here some of her photos don't have that wow factor so
for instance let's take a look at this one wow what a beautiful image and why
because we have a very consistent color theme here we've got pinks
oranges reds that's about it and her in the front okay there's no distractions
taking away from this photo everything is pointing towards her and adding
meaning to this photograph now if we look at a photo there's taken more a
little bit you know blogger style just something random hanging out photo this
does not have the same effect why because we've got competing colors in
the background we've got greens oranges blues purples reds we've got this napkin
fork knife cups all these things are detracting from the photo there isn't
the same focus and symmetry and composition and color in addition we've
got really harsh light this was taken probably in the middle of the afternoon
when the background is very blown out we've got some harsh shadows and it just
doesn't have the same look so that's it guys if you were in Lightroom and you're
finding that your presets just look like crap it doesn't work well the first
thing you should look at is what photo are you working with to begin with
does your photo have really harsh light or was it taken on a flattering day do
we have tons of different colors going on and really dark darks and greens that
are going to make the skin tones look funny or do we have a beautiful
flattering photo so let me just show you this we've got these presets here and
they all look like upon this photo why because it was taken
with really harsh light and so we're going to have to play around a lot to
fix this and get it to a place where we liked the way that it looks okay so I
could do some different things here play with the contrast maybe bring my shadows
up it's not looking awesome I'm gonna be honest just doesn't look that great now
if I head over here to another photo very similar I mean it's a portrait at
the same time but you'll notice look at their skin tones we don't have the harsh
shadows going on in this image that we did in our first
shot it's taken on a sunny day however they're in the shade so the photo is so
much less busy we don't have the distractions of the flowers all around
them and we also don't have those green leaves reflecting on their skin so their
skin tones are a lot better now when I apply presets look at that they all look
great same presets totally different result so
if you are wondering why your presets suck take a look at the photos
themselves work on mastering the basics of your photography your color your
lighting your composition you'll find once you start mastering those things
and improving those things your presets magically start to get better who would
have thought so that is my tip for you if you are editing in Lightroom you want
to take your editing to the next level the first thing that you should focus on
is are my photos at the top level that they can be I hope this was helpful for
you please if it was hit that like button don't forget to subscribe and if
you want some free Lightroom presets check them out in the link below I'll
see you in the next one