How to Export Lightroom Presets

The ability to create, import, and export presets is perhaps one of Lightroom’s greatest features. The use of Lightroom presets allows you to streamline your photo editing process and create truly beautiful edits with just a few clicks!

If you have used Lightroom presets for any length of time, you have probably accumulated a sizeable library of presets. With so many amazing presets, you may want to share them with family friends, or clients, or even sell them if they are ones you created yourself! Or, maybe you just got a new computer and need to transfer your presets over. To do either of these things, you will need to export your Lightroom presets.

How to Export Lightroom Presets

Exporting Individual Presets

Exporting presets is a very simple process. Each preset you create or import get saved in a separate Lightroom preset file. Follow the steps below to export your preset:

1. Select the preset you want to export from the Presets tab.

2. Right click on the preset. This will open a drop-down menu with a few different options. Select “Export”.

3. In the menu that opens up, create a file name for your preset, and select where on your computer you would like to export the file. Once you are done, click “Save”.

4.  Your preset is now exported! The XMP preset file can be found in whichever folder/location you selected in the Export dialogue!

Exporting Multiple Presets

If you have a lot of presets that you need to export, doing them one by one is likely not something you want to do. It would simply take way too long. If this is the case, there is a quick and easy way to export your Lightroom presets in bulk, too.

Each preset in your library is stored as an individual file in a folder on your computer. What you are going to do in the following steps is locate that file and then simply copy and paste the files!

1. The most direct way to get to your preset files is to go to your Lightroom Preferences. On a Mac, select the “Lightroom Classic” button from the top bar, then select “Preferences” from the drop-down menu that appears.

2. From the “Preferences” menu that opens, click “Show Lightroom Develop Presets”.

3. You are now looking at the folder on your computer where all of your presets are stored. Now that you can see all of your preset files, simply select the ones you want to export, then copy (Command/Ctrl + C; right click + select “Copy”) and paste (Command/Ctrl + V; right click + select paste) them into whichever folder you want. You can also transfer your presets onto a USB drive or external hard drive if you are giving them to someone else.

 

As you can see, exporting your Lightroom presets is as simple as importing them! Now that you know how to export your Lightroom presets, you can share them with your friends, family, or clients, or simply move them over to a new computer.