No matter what photo editing software you use, presets are the number one choice that gives you a jumpstart to your editing workflow. Here we break down 10 of the best free Luminar presets you can download today.
Based on the image that you’re working with and the specific look & feel that you’re aiming for, you can use a certain preset that automatically does most of the job for you.
Like other photo editing software out there, Luminar works very well with presets to quicken your workflow and to help you get consistent looking results. A quick terminology note before we start: today’s Luminar Neo simply calls them Presets, but this wasn’t always so. Luminar 4 called them Looks and Luminar AI called them Templates, and you’ll still see those older names all over the internet (including in the classic pack names below). So if a tutorial mentions Looks or Templates, it’s talking about the same thing: Presets.
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We have done a full assessment of this software in our Luminar NEO Review here.
Working With Presets in Luminar Neo
Working with Presets in Luminar Neo is pretty straightforward. Simply follow these steps:
- Open any image in Luminar Neo and click the Presets tab at the top of the window.
- Neo’s AI immediately suggests a For This Photo collection: presets it thinks suit the image you’ve loaded. It’s often a surprisingly good starting point.
- Below that you’ll find the built-in collections (portrait, landscape, street, black and white and more), plus any packs you’ve added from the Skylum marketplace.
- Hover over any preset thumbnail to preview it on your photo, and click to apply it.
- Once applied, use the strength slider on the preset to dial the effect up or down, then fine-tune any individual tool in the Edit tab; presets in Neo are just saved starting points, and every adjustment stays fully editable.
One honest compatibility note, because it catches a lot of people out: old Luminar 4 Look files (.ltc) do not install in Luminar Neo. The classic free packs below come from that earlier era, so treat them as the ten styles worth recreating or hunting down modern equivalents for, rather than files to sideload. The good news is that Neo ships with a far bigger built-in preset library than Luminar 4 ever had, Skylum regularly gives away free preset packs for Neo through the app and their marketplace, and every style below has a close Neo equivalent in the built-in collections.
Ten Free Best Looks (Presets) for Luminar
By default, Luminar has quite a good number of Looks pre-installed. In case they don’t work for you, or if you want to try something else, we have put together this carefully selected list of Looks and Looks Collection for Luminar. Feel free to browse through the collection of free Looks for Luminar and see how they can take your photographs to the next level.
BLK Film Look
If you like black and white film photography, you must try the BLK Film look for Luminar. It is a black and white film emulation preset that you can use with almost any type of photos. If you are a street photographer, you’ll especially love this look.
You can see that this look does not exaggerate things much. The blacks are not crushed and the details in the highlights are also well preserved. This gives a much natural look to the image. The simplicity of this look is what I love the most. But, if you want some extra punch, you can obviously do so by taking over the adjustment controls.
Retro Vibe Look
Who doesn’t love the retro look that’s a reminder of the olden days right? The retro look invokes nostalgia to many and is also widely loved by many social media followers. The Retro Vibe look for Luminar is a one-click solution if you’d like your images to have a classic look to it. This look too works with almost any kind of image but it’s best if you have a subject that’s reminiscent of the past.
The look adds a bit of warmth to the highlights and a greenish tint to the shadows to achieve the retro look. You’ll also notice deeper blacks and brighter whites which is what makes them look so authentic.
Portrait Look
Retouching portraits are all about the skin tones and the way the light and shadows shape up the subject’s face. The Portrait Look simulates a film look and is specifically designed to work with portraits. You’ll be surprised to see how conveniently it handles the skin tones with the click of a button. Portrait and wedding photographers, you must give this look a try. Without a doubt, it will save you guys a lot of time.
KDK 400 Look
The KDK 400 look emulates the Kodak UltraMax 400 film which is a pretty popular film amongst film shooters. This look adds a punch by deepening the shadows and brightening the highlights while also giving a subtle boost to the colours. The subtle yellowish tint then gives the image a typical “Kodak feel” which everybody seems to love.
This look works perfectly for all types of images including portraits, landscapes and cityscapes and instantly gives the images a classic film look.
City Crisp Look
The City Crisp look is designed with cityscape photographers in mind. As the name suggests, the look is all about extracting the most details and clarity from the image. You can notice a significant increase in the details in the building and a subtle boost in the colours. The look also does an excellent job of extracting details in the sky. Also, the cool tone that’s set by this preset makes the overall look of the image quite soothing.
Matte Effect Look
The Matte Effect look collection is a freely available look available to download from Skylum’s website itself. This collection has three different looks viz. B&W, film, and soft, that give unique looks to your images. All the three results come out having a vintage look with high contrast and flattened colours. Landscape and portrait images will best benefit from the looks available in this collection.
Quick Inspiration Looks
The Quick Inspiration Looks collection includes 8 different looks that were designed by photographer and director Dixie Dixon. Getting her signature look is now a matter of a click of a button. All of these looks given a beautiful and creative look to the images. If you’re in need of some quick inspiration, definitely give this collection a try as you get a greater range of choices to select from.
Stunning Portraits Looks
Portrait photographers will love the fact that the Stunning Portraits Looks collection for Luminar features a total of 18 unique looks. So, in a matter of seconds, you have the ability to give a varied look to your portraits. Colour manipulation, contrast adjustment, adding a faded look, adding a glow to the skin, or even giving the image an analogue look, you name it and this collection has it.
One thing that I noticed about the looks in this collection is that the effects were pretty strong to my liking. I suggest that you turn the strength down a notch using the slider for a more subtle effect.
Atomic Colors Looks
The Atomic Colors Looks by Wim Arys offers fantastic 118 looks for Luminar and that too for free. Interestingly, each of these looks is named after an element from the periodic table. This meticulously crafted colour grading presets totally change the look and feel of your images. Think of the techniques that they use in colour grading cinema.
The colours that these looks have to offer is not over the top. The changes you see can be subtle yet very effective. Be sure to go through each of these looks and see how it adds life to your images.
Tonality Mega B&W Looks
If you love working with black and white photos and would love to spend time selecting from a huge selection of black and white tones, then the Tonality Mega B&W Looks collection is a must-have. The collection has looks that are idle for street photos, portraits, landscapes, architecture, HDR images – you name it.
This collection has over 170 authentic monochrome looks and styles. In addition, you also get custom made textures that you can overlay on your images to give an authentic film look on your image.
It’s really appreciable how Skylum has made this extensive look collection available for Luminar for free.
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Wrap Up
If you don’t have the software yet, grab the Luminar Neo free trial here and browse the built-in preset collections before spending anything; and our full Luminar Neo review plus beginner tutorial will get you fully up to speed.
Whether you’re just looking to improve your workflow when editing your images using Luminar, or if you’re looking for inspirations to edit your images, these free looks for Luminar can be a great starting point. All of these Looks give you a unique starting point that you can adjust to your taste. Feel free to use them and let us know how you like them.
