How to install Lightroom presets on your phone (iPhone and Android), no DNG needed
You no longer need to go through a computer or use DNG files: Lightroom on the phone imports .xmp presets and whole .zip files directly. This is how to do it, and how to use them so the photo does not end up looking like a filter.
Preset or profile, which is which
- Preset: an
.xmpfile that applies settings in one tap. This is what you import on the phone. - Profile: also an
.xmp, but it carries the full look inside and comes with an Amount slider from 0 to 150%. Mostly used in Lightroom Classic, Lightroom desktop and Camera Raw.
A good preset carries the look inside, so it works on its own even if the profile does not import on your phone.
On iPhone
- Update Lightroom: preset import arrived in version 9.4.
- Save the
.zipor the.xmpfiles to the Files app. - Open a photo in Lightroom, tap Presets, then the three dots and Import Presets.
- Pick the zip. The presets land in their own group inside Presets.
On Android
Same path: open a photo, Presets, three dots, Import Presets. Android takes the whole .zip, no need to unzip it.
On the computer
- Lightroom Classic: Develop module, Presets panel, + button, Import Profiles and Presets.
- Lightroom (desktop): File › Import Profiles and Presets. They sync to your phone if you use the same Adobe account.
- Camera Raw (Photoshop): Presets tab, three dots, Import.
If the import option does not show up
- Update the app; older versions only had the DNG workaround.
- Make sure the files are
.xmp(or a zip of them). Old.lrtemplatepresets must be opened once in Lightroom Classic, which converts them. - Some features need you signed in with an Adobe account (the free one is enough).
So it does not look fake
- Exposure and white balance first. A preset assumes a well exposed photo; if it is dark or yellow, the look exaggerates the problem.
- Lower the amount. On the phone, tap the preset again after applying it and lower the amount. 60% to 90% usually looks natural.
- Watch the skin. If it goes orange or green, lower the amount or fix the hue in Color Mix.
- Use the same preset across the series. A feed looks professional when every photo shares one look.
Summary
- Update Lightroom (iPhone 9.4 or later).
- Presets › three dots › Import Presets › the zip.
- Fix exposure and balance, apply, lower the amount.
A free preset to try on your phone
Teal Gold Lite: water and sky toward teal, skin and sand golden, highlights kept. Comes as a Lightroom preset for phone and desktop, a profile with an Amount slider, and the video LUT. Pay what you want from zero.
Get the free preset See all 8 presets on EtsyRelated guides
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