Gorgeous & Cheap Lightroom Mobile Presets: How to Get the Aesthetic of Your Fave Instagrammer

Technically, yes, Lightroom Mobile is a free app on both iPhone and Android.

But there’s a catch here when it comes to presets, and it’s one that many influencers cheerily gloss over when they’re trying to sell you their photo presets. Without a Lightroom subscription, you won’t be able to utilize the Presets function in Lightroom Mobile. There’s a workaround for this that involves copying the settings from another photo, then applying them to the photo you’re editing each time. But frankly it’s a pain to keep going back and forth, and not worth the money you’re saving by using the free version of the app.

If you’re serious about photography and upping your Instagram game, we do wholeheartedly recommend paying for the Lightroom subscription. The current price is $9.99 a month for the Photography Plan, which includes the mobile and desktop versions of Lightroom, Photoshop, and Adobe Spark.

But if you can’t justify the cost of a subscription, just be aware that using your new presets will require extra steps each time.

The largest difference between Lightroom Mobile and popular photo editing apps like A Color Story and VSCO is the power and flexibility of the editing tools. Lightroom is so much more than a way to apply a filter, and is better for detailed editing.

I could devote an entire post to the capabilities, but basically, if all you want to do is brighten up a photo a bit, and slap on a filter, you can generally get along fine with something like A Color Story. But for spot fixes, more nuanced editing, RAW photo editing, and real control over color balance, Lightroom is what you want. It’s hard to go backwards after having that much control, and even if you don’t use advanced features every time you edit, some of these features can be what salvages an otherwise unusable photo.

Also, I’ve noticed that A Color Story’s filters look different–and generally better– on iPhone photos. I ditched the app after switching to a Pixel phone because their filters never looked quite right on my photos after that.

If you’re an advanced user, you probably don’t need to purchase presets, though many pros like wedding photographers still will, because it’s easier than putting in the work to create their own presets.

It’s also worth noting the Lightroom Mobile comes with a selection of basic built-in presets. You mileage may vary with these, but they’re worth taking a look at.

But for those who are still learning, presets are convenient, and actually present an awesome learning opportunity. Here’s why:

When you apply a preset to your photo in Lightroom (mobile or desktop), every single setting that went into creating that preset is now right there for you to see. Using presets is a great way to learn how different configurations of settings create each style of edit. You can play around and tweak the settings to tailor the edit to your taste, and develop your own distinct style.

With Adobe Lightroom CC’s new sync feature, there’s actually multiple ways to do this!

Any reputable preset seller should provide you with instructions on how to install your presets. Usually this involves downloading the preset zip files to your phone and adding each to your presets in-app, which can be a little time consuming.

However, if you’re already using Lightroom CC on your desktop, you should able to import your new presets into your desktop Lightroom app, then simply make sure your desktop app is sycned with your mobile app. Your new presets will now be available on your mobile Lightroom app, and you’ll have saved a ton of time!