To make Lightroom presets to sell, build one look, stress-test it on varied photos and expand it into a pack of eight to twelve presets. Ship two sets from the same look: XMP files for desktop and DNG files for Lightroom on mobile, which Adobe says is free for most editing. Leave exposure out, test both installs on a clean account, and show honest before-and-after pairs.
To make Lightroom presets to sell, edit one photo to a look, prove the look on fifteen or more different photos, save it as a preset, and build a small family of variations around it. Then export two sets from the same pack, XMP files for desktop and DNG files for Lightroom on mobile, and install both on a clean account before a buyer does.
Checked October 2026 against Adobe's help pages for Lightroom on mobile on importing DNG presets and importing and exporting presets (both updated 5 June 2026) and its mobile FAQ, for Lightroom on desktop on editing with presets, and for Lightroom Classic on applying presets and its presets FAQ. Every step is one Adobe documents. The pack structure is our recommendation, and we publish no sales figures because we have none to cite.
Making one preset takes a minute. Making a pack that works on a stranger's photos, installs without a support email and looks in real use the way it looked in your listing is the actual product. This tutorial covers that build. It is one of the product types in our guide to creating a digital product, which covers validation and licensing for all of them.
How to make Lightroom presets to sell: the pipeline
You finish with a ZIP holding a desktop folder, a mobile folder and a short install guide. Six stages get you there.
- 01Find the look
One edit on one of your own photos
- 02Stress-test it
Fifteen or more photos unlike the first
- 03Save and vary
A base preset and its variations
- 04Export XMP
The desktop set
- 05Export DNG
The mobile set, from the phone app
- 06Clean install
Both routes, on an account that is not yours
Mobile DNG presets vs desktop XMP packs: the 2026 split
A preset pack is two deliverables, because buyers edit in two places. Photographers at a computer want XMP files. People editing phone photos want something they can install without a computer, and for years that has meant DNG files.
- Small settings files, one per preset
- Exported from Lightroom on desktop or Lightroom Classic
- Imported in one go, as files or a ZIP
- For buyers who edit raw files on a computer
- Reaches their phone through sync, if they subscribe
- Image files with the edit settings stored inside
- Exported from Lightroom on mobile
- Added as photos, then saved one at a time with Create Preset
- For buyers who edit on a phone
- May show a file load error on opening, which Adobe says to continue past
| Format | Written by | What it is | How the buyer installs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| .xmp | Lightroom on desktop and Lightroom Classic | A settings file, a few kilobytes | Desktop import menu, or Import Presets on mobile |
| .dng | Lightroom on mobile (Export as, Settings: Preset) | A photo with the edit settings inside | Added as a photo, then Create Preset |
| .lrtemplate | Older versions of Lightroom Classic | The legacy settings file | Still importable, but do not ship it as your only format |
The 2026 detail most tutorials miss: Adobe's current help says Lightroom on mobile imports .xmp, .DNG and .lrtemplate files directly, through Import Presets in the Presets panel. XMP alone would now work on a phone. Ship the DNG set anyway. It is the format the mobile app itself exports, and many buyers arrive having learned the add-a-photo route from other packs.
The mobile set matters because of who can use it. Adobe's mobile FAQ says capture, organization, sharing and most editing tools are free, and lists the premium features as cloud storage, sync across devices, healing brush, masking, geometry tools, batch editing, raw editing and search. A pack that installs in the free app is open to anyone with a phone, not only Adobe subscribers. Two cautions follow from that list. Sync is premium, so a free user installs on each device by hand. Masking is premium, and Adobe's pages do not say how a mask-based preset behaves for a free user, so keep the mobile set to global adjustments.
Before you start
- Lightroom on desktop or Lightroom Classic, for building and exporting XMP
- Lightroom on mobile, for exporting the DNG set
- Twenty of your own photos: sun, shade, indoor, night, several skin tones
- A mix of raw files and phone JPEGs in that test set
- A second Adobe account on the free tier, or a friend with one, for the install test
- One plain photo you own and are happy to hand out inside every DNG
- A name for the look, used on the pack, the presets and the folders
Make Lightroom presets, step by step
The menu names below are from Lightroom Classic. Lightroom on desktop does the same jobs with fewer clicks; the table after the steps maps the three apps.
- 1Edit one photo to the look
Use global adjustments only: tone curve, color mixer, color grading, grain. Skip masks, healing and crop. Expected: one photo you would post as it is.
- 2Apply the edit to the test set
Copy the settings to your twenty photos. Expected: it holds on most and fails on a few. Note which ones and why.
- 3Pull back until it travels
Reduce whatever broke the failures, usually contrast or saturation. Expected: nothing in the test set looks wrong, only different.
- 4Create the base preset
In the Presets panel select the + icon, then Create Preset. Check None, tick only the settings that make the look, name it and pick a group. Expected: the preset appears in that group.
- 5Build the variations
Apply the base, change one thing (brighter, warmer, black and white), and save each as its own preset in the same group. Expected: eight to twelve presets that are clearly related.
- 6Export the XMP files
Right-click a preset and choose Export, or right-click the group and choose Export Group. Expected: one small file per preset in your desktop folder.
One option in the Create Preset dialog is worth ticking. Adobe's notes for Lightroom Classic describe Support Amount Slider, which lets the buyer turn the preset's strength up or down; in Lightroom on desktop that slider runs from 0 to 200. If the box cannot be selected, the settings you chose do not support it. A buyer who can dial a look back to taste has less reason to call it too strong.
| Job | Lightroom Classic | Lightroom on desktop | Lightroom on mobile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a preset | Develop module, Presets panel, + icon > Create Preset | Presets panel menu > Create Preset | Options icon > Create Preset |
| Export a preset | Right-click the preset > Export, or a group > Export Group | Right-click the preset > Export | Share > Export as > Settings: Preset, File Type: DNG |
| Import a preset | + icon > Import Presets: files or a ZIP | File > Import Profiles & Presets | Presets > Yours > Options > Import Presets: unzipped files |
The preset pack structure: one look, a small family
A pack sells one look. The variations exist because your buyer's photos are not your photos: darker rooms, different skin, a cheaper lens. This is the structure we suggest; it is a working pattern, not an Adobe rule.
| Slot | What it does | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Base | The look at its most neutral | Every other preset is a variation of this one |
| 02 to 04 Light | Brighter, softer, deeper contrast | Covers photos shot darker or flatter than yours |
| 05 to 07 Color | Warmer, cooler, muted | Covers mixed light and a range of skin tones |
| 08 Black and white | The same contrast with the color removed | A version buyers expect to find |
| 09 to 10 Indoor | Gentler contrast for low light | Indoor and night phone photos are the hardest test |
| Optional tools | Grain, fade or vignette as one-setting presets | Buyers stack an effect without changing the color |
Prefix every preset with the pack name and a two-digit number, so the set sorts in the order you intended in every app: "Harbor 01 Base", "Harbor 02 Bright". Put the same name on the preset group. Buyers who own several packs find yours by name, and your support replies can say "use 09" instead of describing a thumbnail.
Make the mobile set and test the install
The DNG files come out of the phone app, so the presets have to get onto your phone first. With a subscription they sync from desktop. Without one, send the XMP files to the phone and use Import Presets.
- 1Open your plain photo and apply preset 01
In Lightroom on mobile, open the photo in Detail view and apply the preset from Presets. Expected: the look, on an image you are content to distribute.
- 2Export it as a DNG preset
Select Share, then Export as. Set Settings to Preset and File Type to DNG, then Done. Expected: one DNG file. Rename it to match the preset.
- 3Repeat for every preset
Reset the photo between exports so settings do not stack. Expected: a mobile folder with the same count and names as the desktop folder.
- 4Install the DNG route on a clean account
Add the DNG with the Add photos icon, open it, select Options, then Create Preset. Expected: the preset under User Presets. A file load error on opening is expected, per Adobe.
- 5Install the XMP route too
In Presets, select Yours, then Options, then Import Presets, and pick the unzipped .xmp files. Expected: the same presets, without the photo step.
- 6Apply each one to a phone photo
Tap through the set on photos taken with that phone. Expected: every preset changes the image and none looks broken.
Two things from Adobe's instructions belong in your install guide word for word. The mobile app cannot import a ZIP, so buyers must extract the files first. And the Create Preset panel offers a Default selection that leaves out masking, lens blur and geometry; tell buyers to choose it, and to untick Light if they want to control exposure themselves.
- Desktop folder: one .xmp per preset, numbered
- Mobile folder: one .dng per preset, same names and numbers
- Install guide PDF: desktop import, mobile DNG route, mobile XMP route
- One line on the first page: set exposure and white balance first, then apply
- A note that the file load error on a DNG is expected
- License PDF: personal and client work allowed, resale of the files not
- A support email address and the pack version or date
The before-and-after demo that sells a preset pack
A buyer cannot try a preset before paying, so the demo is the product page. The format that works is the plainest one: the same photo twice, unedited on one side and with one preset applied on the other.
- Same photo, same crop, preset only. If you also adjusted exposure, say so under the image. A demo the preset cannot reproduce is how refund requests start.
- Show six or more pairs. Include an indoor photo, a backlit one and at least two skin tones, because those are the photos buyers will try first.
- Name the preset on each pair. "Harbor 05 Warm" under the image tells the buyer where to start.
- Use a draggable slider on your own site. Marketplaces show still images, so build split images for those and keep the slider for a page you control.
- Record the phone. A short screen recording of tapping through the presets in the mobile app shows the one-tap result and the install in the same clip.
Use your own photos wherever you can. Stock images are only an option when their license allows it; our guide to selling LUTs walks through what one free stock license permits for previews, and explains how a LUT differs from a preset if video editors ask you for one.
Troubleshooting before buyers find it
- The DNG shows "cannot load file". Adobe says DNG preset files may display a file load error when opened, and to continue with the steps. Create Preset still works.
- A preset is missing after import in Lightroom Classic. Adobe's presets FAQ says a preset is hidden when not all of its settings can apply to the selected photo. Turning on Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets in Preferences reveals it. Build on settings every photo supports and the question does not come up.
- The look is far heavier on phone photos. Expect a preset tuned on raw files to hit a phone JPEG harder. Tune the mobile set on phone photos, not on your camera files.
- The presets are not on the buyer's other device. Sync needs a subscription. The guide should say that each device is installed separately without one.
Create presets to sell: what comes after the build
The pack is finished when a stranger can install it from your guide alone. Package it as a ZIP, since marketplaces such as Etsy do not take preset files directly; our page on file types you can sell on Etsy has the limits, and how to sell presets on Etsy covers the listing, the image order and the install guide in full. For the number on the listing, how to price Lightroom presets reports what 18 established sellers ask. Write the license from our terms of use template, and compare storefronts in where to sell digital products.
What a build tutorial cannot tell you is whether anyone wants this particular look. Our Digital Products program covers that side: pre-selling a pack before you finish it, the landing page, and the launch emails.
Making Lightroom presets to sell: FAQ
How do I make Lightroom presets to sell?
Edit one photo to a look using global adjustments, test it on fifteen or more varied photos, then save it as a preset and build a small family of variations around it. Export the presets as XMP files for desktop, export a DNG version of each from Lightroom on mobile, and install both on a clean account before you package the pack with an install guide.
What file format are Lightroom presets?
Current Lightroom and Lightroom Classic presets are XMP files; Adobe's help says a preset exported from Lightroom on desktop is saved as an XMP file. Lightroom on mobile exports a preset as a DNG file, which is a photo with the edit settings stored inside. Older presets used the .lrtemplate format. Adobe says the mobile app imports all three. Checked October 2026.
Can buyers use presets in the free Lightroom mobile app?
Adobe says the mobile app's capture, organization and sharing features and most editing tools are free. Its premium list names cloud storage, sync, healing, masking, geometry, batch editing and raw editing. Importing presets is not on that list, but sync is, so a free user installs on each device by hand. Test your pack on a free account before you promise it. Checked October 2026.
What is the difference between XMP and DNG presets?
An XMP preset is a small settings file that Lightroom imports straight into the Presets panel. A DNG preset is an image file with the edit settings stored inside; the buyer adds it to Lightroom on mobile as a photo and uses Create Preset to save the look. Lightroom on mobile now imports XMP files too, so DNG is a second route, not the only one.
How many presets should be in a pack?
Adobe sets no rule and no marketplace publishes sales data that settles it. A workable structure is one look built out to eight to twelve presets: a base, a few light and color variations, a black-and-white and an indoor version. Buyers need to find the right one in seconds, so a small pack that holds together beats a folder of fifty near-duplicates.
Should exposure and white balance be saved in a preset?
Adobe's own tip is to deselect the Light group when creating a preset, because exposure and lighting typically need adjusting for each photo. White balance is a judgment call: saved in, it forces your color temperature onto every photo. A common answer is to leave both out of the main presets and tell buyers in the guide to set exposure and white balance first.
Can I sell presets based on Adobe's built-in presets?
Sell only looks you built. Adobe's help notes that built-in Lightroom Classic presets and preset groups cannot be exported, and another seller's pack is their work, not raw material for yours. Starting from your own edit also gives you what buyers pay for: a look that matches the photos in your portfolio. This is general information, not legal advice.
The pack installs cleanly. Now find out who wants the look.
All Access includes the Digital Products program, which covers pre-selling, competitor analysis, the landing page and the launch emails, plus Instagram Ignited for building the audience that buys presets, AI Influencers and AI SaaS Builder, live coaching and the private community.
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The free Creator Starter Kit covers picking a first product and getting it in front of buyers, which is the half of a preset business that Lightroom cannot help with.