10 Best Lightroom Presets for Portraits

For me, portrait editing can feel like a balancing act. You want skin tones to look natural while bringing out the unique style of the photo—all without spending all day in front of your screen. That’s where Lightroom presets come in: They speed up your workflow, add consistency to your style, and ensure you’re putting out beautiful, polished portraits.

Last week, I told you about 10 of the best wedding Lightroom presets for photographers. Today, I’m walking you through ten of my favorite Lightroom presets for portraits. Whether you’re into soft, natural tones, moody vibes, or bold looks, these presets will help you create stunning images and develop your signature style.

Why Use Lightroom Presets for Portrait Photography?

There’s a common misconception that presets skip the creative process. For myself, as a working and often busy professional photographer, they simply provide me with a consistent starting point for my edits. For portraits, they’ll save time, but also help to nail those tricky skin tones and add a professional look. 

If you’re dealing with a big batch of images or photographs across multiple portrait sessions, a preset can give you cohesion and polish without sacrificing your creativity. 

On a typical day, a portrait photographer might be editing a family portrait session with everything from soft, overcast light to moody indoor shots. A good preset will help the portrait photographer create a look across all of those images, whilst still allowing for finer adjustments that the photos will need. 

With that said, here’s the list!

1. Mastin Labs Portra Original Presets

Mastin Labs’ Portra presets bring a classic Kodak film feel to digital. Soft skin tones, natural colors, and creamy highlights. These are perfect for lifestyle portraits or outdoor shots where you want a natural, true-to-life look.

2. SLR Lounge Visual Flow Modern Pack

The Visual Flow Modern Pack is designed to adapt to different lighting, so you get naturally balanced results, whether in soft window light or brighter outdoor scenes. Perfect for capturing clean, vibrant skin tones without much hassle.

3. Greater Than Gatsby Portrait Collection

Greater Than Gatsby’s Portrait Collection brings warmth and natural contrast, making it ideal for studio or editorial portraits. These presets are tailored for that polished, professional finish that you might need for headshots or fashion portraits.

Pro Tip: You can use the clarity slider to subtly control how skin texture shows. Add a touch more for sharpness, or reduce for a softer finish. Lightroom offers even more control with AI masking to select the subjects skin. My Editing with lightroom article takes a deeper dive into editing techniques. 

4. Signature Edits Studio Portrait Presets

The Studio Portrait collection from Signature Edits is designed to give a clean, professional look to your images. It’s excellent for close-ups, enhancing details without overwhelming the natural look of the skin.

Also read Best Lightroom Presets for Photographers

5. Meridian Presets by India Earl

India Earl’s presets from Meridian bring a warm, natural feel that’s especially great for lifestyle and outdoor portraits. They’re subtle and cinematic, adding a soft texture that’s easy on the eyes.

6. Sam Hurd Signature Presets

Sam Hurd’s presets give a bold, high-contrast look that leans a bit into the editorial side. They’re fantastic if you want a modern, edgy style for your portraits, with slightly moody undertones. Sam’s presets work well with the color grading tool in Lightroom, so try experimenting with color in highlights and shadows to give each portrait a distinct, creative edge.

Pro Tip: Although we all try to eliminate noise from our photographs when shooting portraits, I actually enjoy adding grain in Adobe Lightroom. Try a subtle setting to give a slightly vintage feel.

Check out Sam Hurd's advice on Using Prisms, Light, and AI to Inspire Your Photography

7. The Luxe Lens Portrait Essentials

The Luxe Lens Portrait Essentials is a versatile pack aimed at flawless skin tones and balanced lighting, suitable for a range of styles from vibrant to subdued.

8. Kevin Mullins Portrait Lightroom Presets

Kevin Mullins’ presets are crafted to produce natural, true-to-life tones, perfect for portrait and documentary photographers looking for a subtle, timeless aesthetic. These presets maintain detail in highlights and shadows, giving portraits a realistic, unfiltered feel.

9. RNI All Films 5

A personal favourite… RNI All Films 5 is a collection of film emulation presets, ideal for those looking to bring analog vibes to their digital portraits. These presets capture the essence of classic films, from vibrant Kodachrome to muted Fuji.

10. Peter McKinnon’s Signature Presets

Finishing with something really unique. Peter McKinnon’s Signature Presets offer a cinematic, moody feel that’s perfect for outdoor and lifestyle portraits. Known for bold contrast and rich colors, these presets add a touch of drama to your images.

After using these personally,  it’s a good idea to dial down the highlights slightly after applying to avoid overly intense whites in high-contrast outdoor shots.

My Final Word on Lightroom Presets for Portraits

Having a strong set of presets in your editing toolkit makes it easy to bring out the best in every portrait, whether you’re shooting in a studio, outdoors, or in less-than-perfect lighting. Each preset here has a unique vibe that can suit a range of styles, so try a few, see what fits, and adapt them to make your own.

And if you’re looking for ways to simplify your photo editing workflow, Aftershoot can help streamline the culling process, giving you more time to focus on editing your best shots. 

With powerful AI tools like Aftershoot, it can quickly sort through your images and get you through the editing phase faster. It’s a fantastic companion to Lightroom and your new favorite presets, making sure you get the most out of every shoot.

I have even taken Aftershoot one step further, and now use it for my editing. This enhances my photography workflow even further, allowing more time to focus on shooting, marketing, and spending time with my family.