Prague+ presets

How to install a preset

You've downloaded a file with the .xmp extension — that is the preset itself for Adobe Lightroom. Nothing gets installed or unpacked; you just show it to Lightroom once and it stays there for good. The procedure is the same for all Prague+ presets and takes less than a minute.

What Lightroom is and why Lightroom

Lightroom is Adobe's program for editing photos. It exists for the computer and as a mobile app, and it's the most widespread tool in which photographers tune colours, light and contrast — unlike Photoshop it doesn't deal with retouching and montages, but with how the photo looks as a whole.

A preset is a saved set of these adjustments. With one tap you give a photo the same look you see in the samples on the website, and then you fine-tune it to the light you had on the spot. Prague+ presets come in this format because Lightroom can read it both on the computer and on the phone — one file, the same result everywhere.

If you don't have Lightroom yet, start with the mobile app. You download it from the App Store or Google Play, and the free version is enough to try the presets — importing presets and exporting a photo both work in it.

01 On the computer

Lightroom Classic

  1. Switch to the Develop module.
  2. In the left column find the Presets panel and click the + in its header.
  3. Choose Import Presets.
  4. Find the downloaded .xmp file and confirm.

Lightroom (the newer, cloud-based one)

  1. Open any photo for editing.
  2. In the right panel click Presets.
  3. Tap the three-dots icon in the panel header and choose Import Presets.
  4. Find the downloaded .xmp file and confirm.
The preset appears in the User Presets group. If you don't see it right away, look there — not among the presets from Adobe.
02 On the phone
  1. Download the file to your phone. On an iPhone it ends up in the Files app in the Downloads folder, on Android in Downloads.
  2. Open Lightroom and tap any photo to open it for editing.
  3. In the bottom bar choose Presets and at the top switch to the Yours tab.
  4. Tap the three-dots icon and choose Import Presets.
  5. Find the downloaded .xmp file and confirm.
On an iPhone the file has to be in Files, not in Photos — Lightroom won't find it anywhere else. If you downloaded the preset in Safari, it's there automatically.
03 How to use it
  1. Open a photo for editing and click the preset — it takes effect immediately and can be undone at any time.
  2. Fine-tune the exposure. This is the one step nobody can do for you: every photo has different light and the preset doesn't know it. Nudge the exposure up or down a little until it sits right.
  3. Feel free to bend the rest to your taste. A preset isn't a finished thing but a springboard — that's why I give you the settings, not just the result. What exactly to touch in which preset is in the next section.
A preset always looks better on RAW files than on a JPEG. RAW has more information in the shadows and highlights, so there's something to work with. You can use it on a JPEG, just be a little more forgiving of the result.
04 Make it your own

A preset sets the colours, contrast and tone — but it doesn't know the light in your photo. It can't know whether you were shooting at midday or in the gloom under the trees. That's why it almost never hits the mark first time, and that's fine: it's expected that you'll fine-tune it. These three sliders solve the vast majority of cases.

  1. Exposure — the photo is too dark or too bright overall. The most common adjustment of all. Move it in small steps; even a tenth shows.
  2. Highlights — the sky or a sunlit façade has lost its detail and is just a white area. Pull them to the left.
  3. Temperature — the tone is too warm or too cold for your taste. Left towards blue, right towards orange.

Amber

  1. It's built for sharp sunlight. On a photo from the shade or an overcast day it can look darker than you expect — raise the Exposure.
  2. The amber tone is its essence, but it can be toned down. Temperature to the left takes it away; more gently, Color Grading → lower the saturation.
  3. Greens are deliberately lighter and more saturated. If they jump out too much in a park, pull the green down in the Color Mixer.

Patina

  1. It's built for mood, not for light — which is why it suits autumn as well as a sunny day. If your photo comes out darker with it, raise the Exposure; the preset deliberately leaves it alone.
  2. The matte feel comes from lifted blacks. If you want solid black back under the photo, pull Blacks to the left — this changes the look a lot, so go in small steps.
  3. Greens are deliberately muted so the leaves don't shout. If you need them back, add green saturation in the Color Mixer.

Azure

  1. It's built for open scenes with light — water, sky, views. Indoors or in the shade it can come out washed out, because it lifts the shadows a lot. Pulling Blacks to the left helps.
  2. Blue is its essence. If there's too much of it for you, reduce Vibrance or the blue saturation in the Color Mixer.
  3. This preset doesn't touch sharpening or noise reduction — your own settings stay as they are.

Noir

  1. Don't worry about colour, it's gone. The strength of the image comes from contrast — if the photo is flat, pull Blacks to the left and add Whites.
  2. Grain is part of the look. If there's too much of it for your taste, reduce it in Effects → Grain → Amount.
  3. On a photo with a prominent sky, play with the Color Mixer — even in black and white it still affects how light the blue sky will be.
Once you've tuned the settings into a shape that suits you, save your own version — in Lightroom via "Create Preset". Next time you'll start right from your own.
05 When something gets stuck

I imported it, but I can't see it anywhere.

Look in the User Presets group. Lightroom doesn't mix new presets in with its own; it puts them to one side.

I can't select the file when importing.

It's most likely not where Lightroom is looking. On the phone it has to be in Files, not in the gallery. Downloading it again directly in the browser helps.

The photo looks different from the sample on the website.

That's fine and expected. The preset sets the colours and contrast, but it can't change the light that was on the spot at that moment. Fine-tune the exposure — in the vast majority of cases that's all there is to it.

I downloaded the bundle, but Lightroom refuses it.

Lightroom can't open a ZIP. If your presets are packed, unpack them first — by double-clicking on the computer, by tapping in Files on the phone — and only then import the individual .xmp files.

I have an older version of Lightroom.

Lightroom has supported presets in the .xmp format since 2018. If you have something older, just update the app.

If anything doesn't work, or you're curious how I arrived at a particular setting, write to me at info@pragueplus.cz. I'll reply personally. Lukáš · Prague+