Video: Why lightroom presets aren't all that great

These days it's not hard to find one photographer or another trying to sell their 'unique' Lightroom presets. And while they can be useful if you want to try and emulate the work of a photographer you admire, they can also be limiting, especially when the results applied to your images look nothing like the work you're hoping to emulate.

In this great video by Evan Ranft, he takes a look at why Lightroom presets are typically not the right choice for editing your images. As he explains, the truth is that photo edits are relative: every image has a million-and-one variables like lighting, exposure, colour and more, and as a result there is no absolute adjustment that works universally across all photos. 

Ranft looks at three images with the same preset applied, and finds he gets totally different results with each. In the end, he needs to make adjustments to each image, when it may have bneen easier to just start with a blank canvas.

Of course presets do have their place in some instances - especially if a consistency of style is more important to you than  editing for the individual variables in your images.

You can see more of Evan Ranft's videos on YouTube.