This tutorial will show you how to create and sell your own Lightroom Mobile Presets step by step.
What Do You Need To Create Lightroom Mobile Presets?
In order to simply create and save presets in the Lightroom app for your own use, Lightroom Mobile is all you need. But if you are planning to export them from the app and sell them, you will need the Desktop version of Lightroom Classic CC. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no way to export and sell Lightroom Mobile presets using the free mobile app only.
To subscribe to Lightroom Desktop (and get Photoshop as a bonus) click here. Choose the Photography plan, which costs about $19.99 per month.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you install Lightroom Classic CC and NOT Lightroom CC. Although the Photography plan includes both, Lightroom Classic is more advanced. It has more extensive editing options and it is easier to create and export presets with it. If you are not finding some of the menu options in the tutorial below, check your software and make sure it’s Lightroom Classic CC and that you have the latest version.
What Is A Lightroom Preset?
Lightroom is a professional photo editing program that allows you to edit your photos very precisely. You can edit each color separately, as well as the highlights, shadows, tone curve, and any other metric you can think of. Since there are so many different settings you can adjust, Lightroom allows you to save a set of settings as a “preset”, which you can later use on other photos.
So a preset is similar to a filter because you can apply it to different photos in one click. But it’s also a little better than a filter, because after you apply it you can still adjust parts of it without having to change the whole preset.
That’s what makes Lightroom Presets a great way to edit but it also requires a little more knowledge and practice. Check out our custom Lightroom Presets for Mobile and Desktop here.
Step 1: Make Your Edits On Cover Photos
To sell your Mobile presets you need to create them by editing a cover photo in Lightroom and then exporting that cover photo in DNG format. The DNG file preserves the edits you’ve made to the photo and allows the person who downloads it to save a preset out of it.
What Cover Photos Should I Use For My Presets?
We use our own photos and we make sure they don’t have any extreme colors and the light distribution is even before editing. That ensures that your presets would not be over or underexposed.
If you don’t have high-quality photos of your own, you can use stock photos.
Make sure you only use photos you have the rights to, purchased from photo stock sites or license-free ones. DO NOT just take someone else’s photos off the internet and use them without permission to showcase your own presets. This is illegal around the world and the photo creators can come after you and even sue you for damages for unauthorized breach of copyright.
We have done this many times with people who use our photos without asking and have even won settlements for thousands of dollars!
How To Make Your DNG File Size Smaller
To make sure your customers don’t have to download huge DNG files, resize your photos down to a small size using Photoshop’s Save For Web option. Start with this step BEFORE you upload your photos into Lightroom for editing and preset creation. That way when you export them as DNG files they will end up smaller in size. You won’t be able to resize the DNG files once they’re exported.
To do this, open your cover photos in Photoshop and go to:
File -> Export -> Save For Web
Next you will see the Save For Web panel. You can play with the settings here but this is what we use. Set the file type to JPEG and quality to 50. We usually lower the image size to 1500 px width and change quality setting to Bicubic Smoother.
Then click Save and repeat this for all of your cover photos.
You will notice that the file size is way smaller than what you started with. In our example the photo went from 6mb to 216kb.
Once you’re done with this with all of your cover photos, import these reduced JPEG files into Lightroom and make your edits on them.
Edit Your Photo
To create a preset you need to know how to edit a photo in Lightroom. Learning how to edit takes a long time of practicing and mastering each setting. It also takes quite a bit of time to develop your own style. But that’s a whole different topic so I won’t get into it here.
Select a photo you want to edit in Lightroom Mobile and make your edits.
Step 2: Export Presets As DNG For Lightroom Mobile
Now that you’ve created your mobile presets in Lightroom Classic, you just need to export them so you can sell them.
Export Presets As DNG
For each cover photo containing your preset edits, export as DNG to your computer:
Click on File -> Export with Preset -> Export to DNG
Select where you want the files to be exported.
NOTE: If you don’t see this option, you most likely don’t have the right version of Lightroom installed. Make sure you have Lightroom Classic CC (not Lightroom CC) and make sure your version is up to date.
Sell Your Presets!
That’s it, your new Lightroom Mobile presets are ready to go 🙂 To sell them, you just need to get the DNG files to your customers.
Step 3: How To Sell Lightroom Mobile Presets
If you already have an existing blog on WordPress, you can simply get an ecommerce plugin, which will allow you to create a store on your site and sell digital products. We use WooCommerce plugin on our WordPress blog to sell our presets.
But if that’s too complicated or you don’t have an existing site, Sellfy might be a better option for you. Sellfy is an ecommerce platform that will help you set up your own store quickly. They have store templates, payment processing, reviews, and everything else you need to sell digital products. It’s easy to use and the best solution if you are starting from scratch and want to get your store up and running fast. We are currently running a promotion for 10% off your Sellfy plan if you sign up through this link.
For instructions on how your customers can install the DNG files and save them as presets, click here. You can refer your customers to this link to help them install their new presets.
Let us know if you have any questions in the comments.
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HI there!
I am looking to export some presets and sincethe new update to lightroom i cant figure out how to export them. Do you know how to now?
Author
Hi Ashley, make sure you have Lightroom Classic CC and not Lightroom CC. If that doesn’t work let me know 🙂
Hello. What should I purchase on desktop if Lightroom Classic CC is not an option? When I go to buy it only has Lightroom CC.
Author
Hi Erynn, if you get the Photography plan you will have Lightroom Classic CC included. That plan is $9.99 per month in the US. If you follow the link in the article just go to see all plans and it will be the first option. Hope this helps xx
hello again! I have successfully downloaded the photography pack. I opened Lightroom Cc and imported photos and choose a photo. On some pictures it’s says “please update your operating system”. Do you know how to do that??
Author
I’m not sure actually, but it might mean the operating system on your computer is too old for the version of Lightroom you are running. Also make sure you have Lightroom Classic CC, because with Lightroom CC you won’t be able to export presets
Hey there,
If I already have lightroom CC, how do I export?
Author
It’s described in Step 2 above. Make sure you have Lightroom Classic CC, not Lightroom CC, because otherwise you won’t be able to export the presets
Hi girl,
Hope you can help me. I want to sell my presets on my WordPress site via Woocommerce, but i have no idea how to add the DNG files to my page/shop. Hope you can help me with that.
Also, when I downloaded the DNG files, are they automatically for mobile and desktop?
Thanks xx
Are the DNG Files named as screenshot? And how do I send it to my customers afterwards. Thanks!
Author
Hi Pat, the DNG files would be named however you named the photo files you used to create the presets. If yours are named “screenshot” you might have downloaded them wrong.
To send them to your customers, it really depends how your site is built. We recommend you setup a plugin that will send the files to your customers automatically. Our site is created with WordPress and we use a plugin called Woocommerce to sell our presets.
Hope this helps 🙂
Hi by any chance do you know of any other platforms besides WordPress that dont’ support DNG formats I have come to realize that for some reason sites like Groove Funnels and Mailchimp won’t let you sell DNG files or attach them in any way. Any information is helpful!
Hey Girl!
Quick question,
What if you have a preset made in your Lightroom mobile but want to use that in Lightroom desktop. How do I do it?
(My question is because I want to sell it but I don’t want to make it from scratch in desktop to then export it and sell it – if this makes sense) …
let me know 🙂
Author
Hi, the second section in this post (How To Sell Your Presets) is exactly about this :)) You just need to sync your mobile photos with edits from the mobile app to the desktop Lightroom and from there you can export as DNG and sell them.
Hey girl. Under your Pro Tip you said to make your DNG files on smaller images. Should I change my image size before I do my edits? And what size do you recommend?
Author
Yes, you should resize your images before you do the edits. It’s up to you how small you make them, I personally use Save For Web in Photoshop and make the photo width 1500 pixels. That way the quality stays pretty good but the file size remains small.
Hey just curious after saving you DNG file with the preset settings how do you create a cover to make it look more professional like for example a blank pink backround with the preset name and my website
Author
You should actually create the cover first, import it into Lightroom and paste your preset settings on it. Then go to Export With Preset and create a DNG preset file out of that cover image.
That way when the person downloads the preset it will already be on a nice and clean cover image 🙂
IS that okay if you can show us how to do it? Im having a little hard time doing it 🙁
It tried as you said but it still doesn’t come out with the cover image.
Hi Katerina! I was able to follow all of your steps including the Export. When the file downloads to my desktop as a DNG file and I try to message or email it to myself, my desktop and phone say that the file format isn’t supported (in its “raw” form I guess). So, I’m unable to even view the photo on my desktop or in my camera roll like I would for presets that I’ve purchased from other people. Any way you know how to address this? Thanks!! 🙂
Author
Hi Delaney. I was having issues with email as well. That’s why it’s best to transfer the files to your phone using Dropbox in my opinion. I think email tries to compress the files and that’s not good.
Hi There! I am just curious where I can access a variety of photos to use if I don’t have high quality ones of my own. Do you have any suggestions on where I can buy some or how other companies go about getting such a diverse group of pictures if they aren’t taking them themselves?
Thanks!!
Author
Hi Mandy, I’m not sure but I think you can use a stock photo site like Unsplash or Adobe Stock 🙂
Mandy, I find photos on Pexel and practice editing on them!
Thank you so much for sharing 😍😍
Are presets that are made on lightroom mobile compatible for customers to use on lightroom classic desktop? I ask this because I see bloggers and influencers sell mobile and desktop packs so I’m wondering if presets created in LR mobile are only compatible for use in LR mobile and are presets created in LR classic desktop only compatible for use in desktop?
Author
Technically they are, but it’s not super straightforward to move them between mobile and desktop. The other issue is that for mobile you would usually want to create your presets a little differently. Mobile cameras are not as high-res as DSLR so you want your mobile presets to not be as strong as your desktop ones. Otherwise the photos would look over-edited.
Those are the main reasons why most bloggers separate mobile from desktop.
Great article! When I was trying to sync my Lightroom Desktop and Lightroom Mobile, the system gives an error that sync is possible only by using WI-FI.
If any of you have a trouble of sync, it can be one of the solutions!
Hello 🙂
Where can I sell the presets?
Author
If you already have a wordpress blog you can just get a plugin like Woocommerce which will allow you to create a store. Otherwise, you can use Sellfy
Hi Katerina,
I have Woocommerce but when trying to add the preset as a product, it’s not allowing me to upload a DNG file. Are you able to tell me how you added yours to sell it please?
i need this answer too!
Hi,
im understand English lil bit, your article is Great to understand about Lightroom, if you answer to my question i’ll appreciate to you,
if this is possible, i can create Desktop version of lightroom i can create Mobile version Lightroom Preset via Classic version ?
Thank You.
Author
Hi Usman, yes it is possible. You just need to follow the steps above starting with How To Export Lightroom Mobile Presets.
You need to sync your Lightroom Classic CC with your Lightroom Mobile and from there you can save the settings as presets in your app
Hi Katerina,
I have Woocommerce but when trying to add the preset as a product, it’s not allowing me to upload a DNG file. Are you able to tell me how you added yours to sell it please?
Author
Hi Mona, I added a plugin called WP Extra File Types, which allows you to add different file types to your WordPress (because otherwise WP has restrictions). You will need to set up DNG files in that plugin.
And I also have another plugin called Add From Server, which is needed because you can’t upload DNG files directly to media library but you have to add them to your server folder first and then use this plugin to import them into media library in WP.
Now that I’m writing this I’m realizing how complicated it is.. I probably should do a guide as it took me a while to set it up properly!
Hey hey! Thanks sooo much! I think a guide would be beneficial to others. I really appreciate your response and hopefully I can figure it out.
Hey hey!
So I was able to follow your directions to get the dng form on my website. Everything is done however, now I am having trouble with woocommerce not sending automatic emails after a customer purchase the preset. I am trying to have an automatic email sent with the links to download the preset and user guide but no email is being sent. Not even one that let’s the customer know and confirm their purchase.
Did you have this issue at all?
Author
Hi Mona, I think you have to go into your Woocommerce plugin -> Settings -> Emails
There you can set up what automatic emails are sent and to whom
Hey,
So I’m trying to upload a DNG file to my WordPress side and I already have the plugin extra file type
. But I don’t get it how I can upload DNG files with it??? Can anybody help?
How do you create the cover image??? Do you get an image and apply preset then put caption on it? Can you do an article on how to create cover image ?
Hi
I found your blog while searching “how to create a Lightroom preset.” The information is layout out very simple and easy to understand.
Your every reply to comments has provided more value to the post. However, I am looking for set photographs that I can use for my presets that will make it to Etsy.
Can you guide me on where to find the photos and make the cover image for my listings?
And excuse my English.
Author
You can use a site like Unsplash to get license-free images. Although usually they are somewhat edited, but you might be able to find some that are not 🙂
Hey There!
I’m just curious if you have a good system in place for sending out the presets to customers once they’ve purchased. It would be great for customers to automatically receive them via email as soon as their purchase goes through, without me needing to do it manually each time.
Any recommendations?
Author
Hi Kandice, yes it depends on whether you have an existing site/blog or not. If you have a site, you can use Woocommerce plugin (I wrote below to some other commenter how to set it up so you can refer to that)
And if you don’t have a site, it’s easier to use Sellfy
I use shopify currently to sell prints. Was planning on selling the pack on there. Do you know if it would have the same capabilities.
Hey,
So I’m trying to upload a DNG file to my WordPress side and I already have the plugin extra file type
. But I don’t get it how I can upload DNG files with it??? Can anybody help?
The best way to upload the DNG file is to zip it up and upload the zipped file with WooCommerce. This worked for me.
Author
Did you add DNG to the plugin extra file type? By default it’s not there
How do you save the preset and make the preset main image?? To sell?? To put the word on their like what kind of preset it is and how much it is and etc
Hello 🙂
I have a problem with exif metadata. Do you remove it somehow? Because when I exported my preset, and tried to use it in mobile version it showed me a pop up window with some kind of error. Because the photo still had camera/lens info.
Hey Katerina!
Loved this tutorial! Super helpful 😀 I’ve created all of my presets and exported them as DNG files, but when I send the files, the icons show up as the original, unedited photos. They’re dark and not quite as pretty, and I was wondering if there’s a way to change the preset image/icon. Thank you!
Cait
Hey there! I have created my presets but am having a hard time trying to figure out how to resize my image, for email. Do I need to resize it before I apply the preset? Also, can I resize it in Lightroom? And what do I resize it too? Sorry for all the questions! I’ve been trying to figure this out for days lol.
Thank you!
Author
Hi Hayley,
Make sure your preset images are in JPG format and not RAW. And make those JPG files small before you import them into Lightroom and make your edits on them. I resize mine in Photoshop and make them around 1500 x1800 pixels, then import into Lightroom, then make my edits and only then I export to DNG.
hi! I’ve read your post and have been good up until uploading the files as it’s saying dng is not permitted for security reasons. Do you know how I can upload the files so that they will be sent when someone purchases?
This makes me a bit confused. When you create mobile presets are you not supposed to use a raw image and then use your preset on that image and then press ‘export’ as a DNG file? I have tried exporting presets that I have just used on images I have taken on my iphone (so I am assuming they are JPG)and the files are so big (40-50MB)?
So which is the correct way?
Also, how do I create my presets with a particular photo (name of creator) that shows up when costumers export their presets into lightroom, instead of just a blank image?
Author
You can do the edits in RAW, however then you will have no control over how big your files are, because you cannot resize RAW files. Once you click export as DNG, you cannot resize the file and if the original file you made the edits on is big to begin with, the final result will be even bigger. That’s because DNG files hold a lot of information that your customer can save a preset out of.
That’s why it’s better to use JPEG, resize it down first, then import into Lightroom and make your edits, and then once you export as DNG you will have a smaller file size. If you read carefully Step 1 in this article, you will find all of this information explained, as well as how to use custom cover photos.
Hi! I have WooCommerce set up and am working through test orders. How do I get the download link to come up on their purchase confirmation page? Or, how do I get the email to automatically be sent out to them? As I see now, I have to go and mark an order as complete, then it will trigger the email – which seems like a frustrating workflow as the customer doesn’t instantly get the items they paid for. Thank you!
Author
Hi Meg, in your WordPress dashboard go to WooCommerce -> Settings -> Emails and there you can set up your emails to send out automatically when an order is placed and you can connect them to your website’s email account.
I believe your problem might also come from your product setup though. You need to make sure your presets are marked as “Digital Products” and “Downloadable” and not a physical product. That way a confirmation email with the downloads will be sent out automatically.
Hope this helps!
I’m about to start selling presets. How is it going for you in terms of download numbers escpecially how was it in the beginning – was it a slow start? I’m worried I’ll sell only 2 in a whole year… 🙁
Author
Hi Slawa, you just need to make sure you send traffic to your website, either by working on improving SEO, or through social media traffic like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram etc. People need to discover your page somehow in order to buy your presets.
You could also sell your presets on Etsy where you will get some organic traffic from Etsy users even if you don’t have your own audience
hope this helps!
Hey there! I have found your blog post and found it very great! I am currently creating my own filters. I already have the desktop filters but now I have some problems with the mobile version. When I create the filters in Lightroom Classic I have the calibration section which is not available in the mobile version. This means that if I edit my image with calibration for the mobile version, it does not take over the selection? I want to have the presets I created for the desktop also for the mobile version so that they look more or less exactly, what do I have to pay attention to? Thank you so much for your help.
Author
Hi Ramona,
Even though you can’t see the Calibration section in Mobile, the edits you make there will still be saved and applied with the preset on Mobile. Only issue is that the user cannot play with these settings after they apply the preset. I still use them on my Mobile presets but I just make sure the edits there are not too extreme so they don’t produce too harsh results
Thank you so much for the answer this was so helpful Katerina! How do you pay attention when someone shot with the Phone pictures and wants to edit with your presets?
Where you converted your desktop version to mobile version, what did you pay attention to so tehy don’t produce too hash results?
Author
We make two sets of presets – one for DNG (mobile) and one for XMP (desktop). To make sure results are not too harsh, just make your adjustments more subtle when you create the DNG preset for Mobile. Don’t move the sliders too much to one side or another and keep the edits small. That way the presets will look more natural even on a phone
Hi there,
Firstly I would like to congrate you for your great work. This article was very very usedfull! Loved it!
I still wanna ask you something about exporting the presets as DNG. How is called the proper program which I need? I found few and don’t know which one os right. I can’t do it without a zipfile?
Thanks a lot!
Author
Hi Anca, to export the presets as DNG you will need Lightroom Classic CC. In the article above I’ve linked it so you can download it directly. You do not need to put the DNG files in a zip, you can upload them directly to your site as is for people to download
Thanks a lot Katherina. Very helpfull, I have the Lightroom CC but I just got confused with the part 3 of instructions for customers and with the fact that I can’t open the pictures in DNG on my computer after exporting them. Probably I just can’t see them on the pc
Author
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, you can’t open the pictures as DNG and that’s normal, they are not meant to be open by your PC, only Lightroom can open these files.
The files just need to be imported into Lightroom and saved as presets inside the app, that’s it 🙂
Hi Katerina, i have clicked on export to DNG. after that, looking at the thumbnail of my DNG files, ive’ noticed that my DNG file is practically my cover picture + the edited settings i did. isn’t DNG supposed to be the settings only? why does it include my picture? is it normal?
Thanks in advance! 🙂
YES that is normal,
When they download your file, they upload the photo with the preset settings onto lightroom and save it. That way they saved the settings and can just use it on their photo 🙂
Hi. I’ve been trying for days to figure out how I can share my exported DNG files so they look good. I can export them to my computer – and the photo they are contained in looks great (edited with the presets). As soon as I try to share these in dropbox or google drive, the photos appear in their unedited version – it basically looks awful!
How do I share the dng /preset file inside a photograph that looks like its had the preset put on it?
What am I doing wrong?
Author
Hi Coleen, does the photo look awful just in Dropbox or also when it’s imported into Lightroom Mobile? From my experience in Dropbox or camera roll you don’t see a preview and even if you do, it doesn’t really matter how it looks.
The important thing is that the photo looks good once it’s imported into Lightroom Mobile and that it carries the preset settings so the user can save them. So just test and make sure you are able to save them as presets, the previews anywhere outside of Lightroom don’t really matter 🙂
I’m so close to being able to launch my preset collections – thank you for all of the helpful information! How can I add text/title to each photo after I’ve applied the preset but before saving as a DNG file? In the past I’ve purchased and downloaded presets, and each had a title on it of the name of the preset. I am seeing that adding a watermark is my only option, but I can’t select the watermark when saving with the preset as a DNG file. Help!
Thanks so much!
Rebecca
Author
Hi Rebecca, I don’t think you can add anything to the photo when it’s in Lightroom already. I think you have to do it in Photoshop before you import into Lightroom and apply your preset.
Hi! Thanks for the article!
I want make a Shopify website and sell presets. Do you need any licenses to sell presets?
Ich kann die vorab über Photoshop verkleinerte Datei nicht in lightroom Importieren bzw bekomme sie dort im Album nicht angezeigt, woran kann das liegen? 😞
Hi! Thanks for the article!
I want make a Shopify website and sell photo presets. Do you need any licenses to sell presets?
Ok
Hi thanks really helpful but I have one problem. When I export as dng and use it on Lightroom mobile the colors are different what am I doing wrong. It says something about partially picture.. I hope you can help
Hello. Thank you so much for clarifying some things for me. I still have a few questions. I created some presets on my phone and do not see them in lightroom. Once I get them into lightroom, is there a way to export to lightroom classic in order to export for sale? I also would like to know about the store set up. How do I set up an automatic download, once payment is processed?
Author
Hi Rose, at the moment there’s no way to export presets directly from LR mobile to LR Classic. But what you can do is sync your mobile photos with your LR Classic and apply your mobile presets to those photos. Then once you open the synced photos in LR Classic, you can save their edits as Presets in LR Classic. Or you can directly export as DNG as described in the article
Hello! Thanks so much for such an amazing article!! I’m needing some help when it comes to resizing the images on photoshop. No matter what I do, or what image i use, when i follow along your article and use your recommendations for sizing and such, my images are insanely zoomed in and you can hardly see the full image when it’s pulled up. The steps i take are
File> export > save for web.
then when the second screen gets pulled up, I changed the settings to what you suggested
Jpeg>progressive > quality 50% > bicubic smoother
but when i go to change the px size, the image that’s pulled up is SO zoomed in. How can i show my entire photo so i can use it as my preset cover photo?
Author
Hi Meghan, that’s ok! Photoshop zooms in for you so you can see the quality of the final result and how much you’re losing/preserving. Did you try clicking Save? When your photo is saved after this it should look normal.
Please photo editing please
Hi there!
Do you have any websites you recommend for free licensed photos?