How to Install Lightroom Presets (2026): Desktop & Mobile Guide

You install a Lightroom preset by importing its .xmp file: in Lightroom Classic go to Develop → Presets panel → + → Import Presets, on your phone go to Presets → Yours → ⋯ → Import Presets. On a phone you can also skip the import: open the pack’s .dng like a photo and copy its settings onto your own shots. Both routes work in the free Lightroom app.

Which file goes where

The download link arrives right after payment: by email from Gumroad, or as a PDF in Telegram. Unzip the archive first. Everything below works with the individual files.

Every $9 pack has all three formats of one look. COLD START, for example, contains an .xmp, a .dng, a .cube and a README. The LUT is built separately for the same look, so video comes out close to the photo, not identical.

Lightroom Classic

1. Open any photo in the Develop module (press D). The Library module has no Presets panel.
2. Find the Presets panel on the left and click the + in its header.
3. Choose Import Presets, select the .xmp files from the unzipped folder (several at once is fine) and click Import.
4. The presets show up in a group called GradeColor. If you don’t see it, open User Presets: some imports land there.
5. Hover over a preset name to preview it on the photo. Click to apply.

The same import lives under File → Import Develop Profiles and Presets. To put a pack into a group of your own, right-click that group and import from there.

On the same computer, Camera Raw in Photoshop reads presets from the same folder as Classic, so they appear there too (sometimes after restarting Photoshop). To import directly in Camera Raw: Presets panel (Shift+P) → ⋯ → Import Profiles & Presets.

Lightroom (cloud version) on desktop

1. Open a photo and the Edit panel (E).
2. Click Presets at the bottom of the panel (Shift+P).
3. Click ⋯ at the top of the Presets panel → Import Presets. Or use File → Import Profiles & Presets.
4. Pick the .xmp files. If your phone is signed in with the same Adobe ID, the presets sync to it on their own.

Lightroom on iPhone and Android: import the .xmp

The free app is enough. No computer needed.

1. Unzip the archive on the phone. On iPhone, tap it in the Files app and a folder appears next to it. On Android, any file manager will do.
2. In Lightroom, open any photo and tap Presets in the bottom bar.
3. Switch to the Yours tab, tap ⋯ → Import Presets. The other tabs don’t have this option.
4. Select the .xmp files. They appear under Yours.

No import option at all? Update the app: older iPhone versions couldn’t import preset files. The .dng route below works either way.

Lightroom on your phone: the .dng route

1. Save the .dng to the phone (Files on iPhone, Downloads on Android).
2. Add it to Lightroom like any photo. It opens with the pack’s look already applied.
3. Tap ⋯ top right → Copy Settings, leave every group checked and confirm.
4. Open your photo → ⋯ → Paste Settings.

To skip the .dng next time, tap ⋯ → Create Preset while it’s open. The look is then saved under Yours. All of this works in the free app. One exception: GRAPHITE only gets its color in free Lightroom, because its AI masks need a paid Lightroom plan.

LUTs (.cube) for video and Photoshop

• Premiere Pro: select the clip → Lumetri Color → Creative → Look → Browse → pick the .cube. The Intensity slider below it dials the look back.
• DaVinci Resolve: Project Settings → Color Management → Open LUT Folder, copy the .cube there and click Update Lists. The LUT shows up in the LUTs panel on the Color page. Drag it onto a node.
• Final Cut Pro: drag the Custom LUT effect onto the clip and choose the .cube in the inspector.
• Photoshop: Color Lookup adjustment layer → Load 3D LUT → the .cube. Layer opacity controls the strength.

Our LUTs expect regular Rec.709 footage. Convert LOG (S-Log, D-Log, V-Log, Apple Log) to Rec.709 first, with your camera’s own LUT or a color space transform, then add ours.

Lightroom won’t open a .cube. If all you have is a LUT, the free LUT to Lightroom converter turns it into an .xmp preset, a profile and a .dng for your phone. It runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded unless you tick the box yourself.

Presets not showing up? Check these

• Wrong file imported. The archive wasn’t unzipped, or you picked the .dng or .cube. Neither is a preset: the .dng opens as a photo, and Lightroom doesn’t import .cube files. You need the .xmp.
• Looking in the wrong place. Our presets live in the GradeColor group, which may be collapsed further down the list. On the phone, check the Yours tab. Presets imported in Classic don’t travel to your phone: install them there separately.
• The group is hidden. In Classic: + → Manage Presets and tick GradeColor. On the phone, the same option sits under ⋯ in the Presets panel.
• Lightroom hides partially compatible presets. These are presets with settings that can’t fully apply to the current photo, for example raw-only settings on a JPEG or a profile made for another camera. They show in italics or not at all. In Classic, turn on Preferences → Presets → Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets. In cloud Lightroom and on the phone, it’s a toggle under ⋯ in the Presets panel.
• Old software. Lightroom Classic reads .xmp presets from version 7.3 (2018) on. On iPhone, importing files only works in recent versions of the app. Update, or use the .dng.

The preset is on, but the photo doesn’t look like the examples

A preset has no idea what light you shot in, and it won’t rescue a blown-out sky. This order gets the color closest to what was intended:

1. Exposure. Get the brightness right before the preset. The preset adds contrast and color on top of what’s there.
2. Preset.
3. White balance for your light. If a preset stores a white balance, it replaces yours. So adjust Temp and Tint after applying it.
4. Strength. GRAPHITE and TRUE DEPTH have an Amount slider and Soft versions. Otherwise pull back Contrast, Vibrance or Color Grading by hand. Every slider still works after the preset.

On JPEGs and phone photos a preset often hits harder than on raw files, because the camera has already added its own contrast and saturation. iPhones with Smart HDR also lift the shadows. If the photo turns gray and flat after a preset, lower Shadows or use TRUE DEPTH, which is made for those files and doesn’t lift the shadows a second time.

Which GradeColor packs install this way

All the packs on gradecolor.com follow the steps above. CHROMA MOBILE has no .dng; its .xmp files go straight into the free Lightroom app. Four packs to start with:

• COLD START (CHR-01). Teal shadows, warm highlights: classic teal & orange. On portraits the LUT pulls skin cool, so it suits travel, coast, mountains and road shots better.
• SANDSTORM (CHR-04). The densest of the packs: Contrast +18, deep blacks, everything pushed to a burnt orange.
• HAVANA (CHR-02). Soft warm film with lifted matte blacks. Portraits, markets, golden hour.
• DAKAR (CHR-03). The warmest pack, a dusty orange: sand, heat, travel.

The CHROMA bundle has six packs: COLD START, HAVANA, DAKAR, SANDSTORM, NEON MILE and ASPHALT, $35 instead of $54. VALET, GRAPHITE, TRUE DEPTH and CHROMA MOBILE aren’t included. To test the install before buying, grab the free CHROMA Starter: five .xmp presets, five .dng files and two LUTs, all it takes is an email address.

Frequently asked questions

Do Lightroom presets work on the free mobile app?

Yes. The free Lightroom app on iPhone and Android imports .xmp files via Presets → Yours → ⋯ → Import Presets, and the pack’s .dng works through Copy Settings and Paste Settings. You only need a paid plan for paid features: GRAPHITE’s AI masks, for example, don’t run in the free app, so you get the color only.

What is the difference between .xmp and .lrtemplate?

.xmp has been the preset format since Lightroom Classic 7.3 (2018). Classic, cloud Lightroom, Camera Raw and the mobile app all read it. .lrtemplate is the format of older Lightroom versions: Classic still imports it and converts it to .xmp. GradeColor archives only contain .xmp.

Why don’t my presets show up after importing?

Most often the wrong file went in: the archive wasn’t unzipped, or a .dng or .cube was picked instead of the .xmp. Then check where you’re looking: our presets sit in the GradeColor group, and on the phone under the Yours tab. If the photo is a JPEG or from a different camera, Lightroom may hide partially compatible presets; you can show them again in the preset settings.

Do presets change my original photo permanently?

No. Lightroom stores the edit separately from the file, and the original stays as it was. You can undo the preset or reset the photo, and a new file only exists once you export one.

Can I use the same preset in Lightroom and in video editing?

Video editors can’t open the .xmp itself. For video, the pack includes a .cube LUT of the same look for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Photoshop. The color comes out close to the photo, not identical. Convert LOG footage to Rec.709 first.