How to adjust the intensity of your Presets in Lightroom

We love Lightroom. What can we tell you that we have not already said? Ligthroom is a tool of the highest quality. And not only that, but it is developed in a way that allows a wide range of actions on your photos easily.

Among this great repertoire includes all retouching actions you can accomplish through the presets (preset or settings), which, as you know, let you apply any type of parametric adjustment on your pictures with just a click on the desired preset. Something that is extremely comfortable.

However, it has the disadvantage that it is not easily possible to adjust the intensity of the effect. In today’s article we will see how we can achieve this intensity regularly. Stay tuned!

What Do We Get?

As if we have not explained well, we will give you an example of what we are looking for. Suppose that on a starting image we apply a cross process through appropriate preset for Lightroom.

The problem is that the result achieved is too strong and we would be able to regulate its intensity, so that the effect is not as pronounced. What we might call: change the opacity or the intensity of the effect achieved.

The top three pictures you can see that on a starting image (original), we applied a preset with different levels of opacity, 50% (center image) and 100% (right image).

That is, what we have achieved, therefore, is able to regulate the intensity or opacity of the effect achieved by applying a preset.

How can we achieve this? Different Alternatives

Now that we have managed to clarify what we intend, we’ll see how. The truth is that there are three ways to do this. Introduce a function of the effort required, high to low:

1. Apply the preset in Lightroom and work with the original image and the result of applying the preset as layers in Photoshop, placing above the modified layer and varying the opacity of this layer depending on whether more or less accentuated desired result.

2. Apply the preset in Lightroom, review the parameters that change and try to vary the intensity of the effect through the modification or attenuation of these parameters. The handling of opacity may not be as accurate, but at least be a faster option than having to go to work with layers in Photoshop.

3. Use the plugin The Fader to work on the opacity of the effect from Lightroom, using a simple and simple slider. No doubt, the easiest and quickest option and then will detail what it is.

You see, there is no single way to do it, but certainly there is one that is much more efficient than the other and therefore the will detail in this article.

Installing And Testing The Plugin The Fader

Installing this extension is very simple, just go to the download page, download it, unzip the downloaded file to your computer and then open Lightroom.

In Lightroom, go to File> Plugin Manager and select the Add option. He then indicates the location where you unzipped the downloaded file and select the folder above TheFader.lrplugin. With this we have installed this extension.

Once installed, this extension will do exactly what its name (fade, dim). Precisely what we will allow is, given a particular preset; determine the intensity of the effect on the original photograph.

My recommendation for its use is that you set the view Before and After (hotkey Shift + Y) and then, select File> Plugin Extras> The Fader> The Fader.

Suffice it to select the preset you want to apply, in the case of capture (Processed 2 folder “preset color settings”) and then vary the opacity level to achieve the desired result.

It is very difficult, do not you think?

But The Only… If you want full functionality you will pay

So far so great, right? And it is, as it hold the basic functionality of the simple and convenient as we have seen and totally free. But if you want to get more out of this supplement, then you must pay $ 10 + tax (24% if you belong to a country of the European Union).

The basic functionality allows you to work with the presets that come by default in Lightroom Revealed module, i.e., you may not use it downloaded or created by you as presets. In addition, the basic functionality also allows you to select the parameters that apply the slider, but applies to all parameters equally.

So if once you have tried it convinces you and you want to access the full functionality, how to make payment and register the plugin is very simple. Simply re-enter the plugins manager (File> Plugin Manager), select the plugin The Fader (pre-installed) and perform payment through PayPal.

After payment, you will have all the functionality of this fantastic plugin and quite reasonably priced. And, if not satisfied, you can always use the free functionality, which is something.