photo by The Jar Photography

Presets are changing the photography industry and it seems like everyone is selling them and/or buying them. Seriously, though. When someone posts an image online, one of the most popular comments is “this is so beautiful! What preset is it?” It’s almost expected that people are using someone else’s preset and photos are no longer being edited 100% from scratch. So what is with all the hype and is it actually worth buying presets? Whether you’ve purchased editing presets in the past or are contemplating on buying some in the near future, this post is for you!

photo by Pablo Laguia Wedding Photography

Yay!

Presets can be a serious game changer for your editing. Purchasing presets gives you an editing base to start from so you can tweak and change it in order to work best on your images and reflect you as an artist. But please, for the love that is holy, tweak the presets that you purchase. This is not Instagram where you can slap on a filter and call it a day. The images that you take are different from those of the photographer’s presets that you bought, so you will likely need to tweak and make adjustments for proper exposure and tones in your images. Once you have worked on adjusting a preset, you will be able to expedite editing and make it a faster process for you.

Another major pro? Buying presets allows you to directly support other photographers – this is major community over competition. You are financially supporting another artist because your enjoy their work done in post and want to create something similar to it.

photo by Allie Appel Photography

Nay!

Although there are some major benefits to purchasing presets, there is an equal number of cons to consider. If you and everyone you know is buying the same packs of presets, chances are your work is going to look like many other photographer’s work – not only the photographer you purchased presets from, but also everyone else who is buying those same presets.

Also, buying presets could make you lazy in your editing. Presets are a quick bandaid fix to edit an image quickly, especially if it’s not properly tweaked and adjusted. As a wedding photographer, it’s crucial for you to master your craft and be familiar with editing software and procedures. Don’t let presets make you lazy and unskillful in your trade.

photo by Eden Strader Photography

We hope this shed some light on whether you think presets are or aren’t for you. For more tips and advice, here’s some insight on how to talk wedding day timeline with your clients.