[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":324},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-presets":3,"related-presets":99},{"slug":4,"section":5,"title":6,"seoTitle":7,"description":8,"intro":9,"level":10,"minutes":11,"updated":12,"icon":13,"keywords":14,"photo":20,"steps":21,"faq":70,"related":77,"order":80,"downloads":81,"images":82},"presets","app","Use, make and import presets","How to use presets in LightBites: apply, create, import and copy edits","Apply a look in one tap, save your own edit as a preset, import Lightroom and XMP presets, and copy an edit to other photos.","A preset is an edit you can use again. Find a look you like once, then put it on a whole shoot in seconds.","Beginner",4,"2026-10-21","i-lucide-swatch-book",[15,16,17,18,19],"photo presets","import Lightroom presets","XMP presets","create preset","copy edit settings","kirkjufell.jpg",[22,34,53,60],{"id":23,"title":24,"do":25,"shot":31},"apply","Try a preset",[26,29,30],{"ios":27,"mac":28},"Open a photo and tap **Presets**.","Open a photo and click **Presets** in the tool strip. Hover over a preset to preview it.","Tap one to apply it; tap it again to take it off.","**Amount** makes it weaker or stronger, from 0 to 200 %.",{"alt":32,"ui":33},"The presets for a photo of Kirkjufell mountain in fog",{"screen":4},{"id":35,"title":36,"text":37,"do":38,"set":43,"shot":49},"create","Save your own","Edit a photo until you like it. Then save the edit as a preset: give it a name, choose a group, and tick what it should keep. Crop, masks and Remove start unticked, because they rarely fit another photo.",[39,42],{"ios":40,"mac":41},"In **Presets**, tap **+** ▸ **Create Preset**.","Choose **Photo ▸ Create Preset…** (`⇧⌘P`).","Name it and choose **Create**.",{"light.contrast":44,"light.highlights":45,"light.shadows":46,"color.vibrance":44,"effects.clarity":47,"vignette.amount":48},15,-30,20,8,-10,{"alt":50,"ui":51},"Create Preset: a name, a group and the settings it keeps",{"screen":4,"sheet":52},"createPreset",{"id":54,"title":55,"text":56,"tip":59},"import","Import presets",{"ios":57,"mac":58},"LightBites reads its own .lcpreset files, XMP presets, Lightroom's .lrtemplate files, and zips of them. Tap **+** in the library, then **Import Profiles & Presets…**, or **+ ▸ Import Presets…** in Presets. Check what's in them and tap **Import**.","LightBites reads its own .lcpreset files, XMP presets, Lightroom's .lrtemplate files, and zips of them. Choose **File ▸ Import Profiles & Presets…**, check what's in them and click **Import**.","Every guide in [Edit like a pro](\u002Fguides#pro) comes with its edit as a preset you can import this way.",{"id":61,"title":62,"do":63},"copy","Copy an edit to other photos",[64,67],{"ios":65,"mac":66},"In the edited photo's **…**, choose **Copy Edit Settings** (or **Copy Settings…** to pick which).","Choose **Edit ▸ Copy Edit Settings** (or **Choose Edit Settings to Copy…**, `⇧⌘C`, to pick which).",{"ios":68,"mac":69},"Open another photo and choose **Paste Edit Settings**, or select several and use **Paste Selected Settings…** in **…**.","Select the other photos and choose **Edit ▸ Paste Edit Settings**. **Paste Settings from Previous** (`⌥⌘V`) skips the copy.",[71,74],{"q":72,"a":73},"Can I use my Lightroom presets?","Yes. LightBites imports XMP presets and classic .lrtemplate files, alone or zipped. They map onto LightBites's own settings, so the look comes across closely, though not always pixel for pixel.",{"q":75,"a":76},"Do presets sync between my devices?","Yes, when your devices sync through a LightCraft server: presets follow you like photos and edits.",[78,79],"raw-workflow","export-and-share",7,{},{"presets-apply-ios-dark-400":83,"presets-apply-ios-dark-800":84,"presets-apply-ios-light-400":85,"presets-apply-ios-light-800":86,"presets-apply-mac-dark-1600":87,"presets-apply-mac-dark-800":88,"presets-apply-mac-light-1600":89,"presets-apply-mac-light-800":90,"presets-create-ios-dark-400":91,"presets-create-ios-dark-800":92,"presets-create-ios-light-400":93,"presets-create-ios-light-800":94,"presets-create-mac-dark-1600":95,"presets-create-mac-dark-800":96,"presets-create-mac-light-1600":97,"presets-create-mac-light-800":98},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fa2673040-446e-42fd-9d96-bf1641fa9601.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F830e3abb-8110-4339-a393-5aa526b5b063.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F21d755cc-8f1b-4ddb-979a-28602f5d8d3c.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F261caceb-8f05-4f7b-8c9d-fc1d16d3ee02.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F4563d0c1-6ea8-422e-8e5f-7a6cfd235893.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fb83179fb-b8c5-4e3e-9437-d72515ca8c44.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fb1b8e451-2a0a-4ad4-b6ea-17f2ebd21d68.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F0e682f1d-9008-485b-b5cc-4f42ee8f893c.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F97d15f42-b2a1-4f97-8c9d-2233bdacca7d.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fd92f555d-f2f0-4284-b2a9-63d8f3be17b2.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fa20d808a-ee99-4c85-9c0c-cd7d99e97b51.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F4ec882c2-4c30-4a21-983d-52c93e314412.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F507dc869-5d52-4382-b1fd-aa1c836b052b.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F3428761d-c457-4a43-928e-79b2218a38ec.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F32e39860-13d9-4ddf-ae7a-714398e83b74.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Ff3e2dd4f-d01e-41cd-b75d-f07502e7d97b.webp",[100,265],{"slug":78,"section":101,"title":102,"seoTitle":103,"description":104,"intro":105,"level":10,"minutes":47,"updated":12,"icon":106,"keywords":107,"presetName":113,"raw":114,"steps":123,"faq":232,"related":242,"order":245,"downloads":246,"images":258},"pro","How to edit a raw photo, in the order the pros do","How to edit raw photos: a step-by-step workflow on iPhone and Mac","A raw file is where a great photo starts. The order to work in, from profile and white balance to tone, colour and sharpening, with a raw file to practise on.","Most edits go wrong because they're done in the wrong order. Work from the whole photo to the details, and each step makes the next one easier.","i-lucide-aperture",[108,109,110,111,112],"how to edit raw photos","raw editing workflow","edit ProRAW","raw photo editor iPhone","raw editor Mac","Raw Workflow",{"file":115,"title":116,"camera":117,"author":118,"licence":119,"licenceUrl":120,"url":121,"sha256":122},"lightbites-raw-workflow.dng","Landscape in soft daylight","Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (SM-G998B)","raw.pixls.us contributor","CC0 1.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Fpublicdomain\u002Fzero\u002F1.0\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Fraw.pixls.us\u002Fdata-unique\u002FSamsung\u002FGalaxy%20S21%20Ultra\u002F20230712_115041.dng","5baeb5f0c4a125647df03b82c2d38b0f02784393bd39eff1a5b23d8f5308dc5e",[124,137,152,162,178,190,202,217],{"id":125,"title":126,"text":127,"do":128,"shot":133},"profile","Start with the profile","A raw file has no look of its own: the profile decides how its colours and contrast are drawn before you touch a slider. Choose it first, because everything after builds on it.",[129,132],{"ios":130,"mac":131},"Tap **Edit**, then **Profile**, and try a few. Each tile is the photo in that profile.","Open **Profile** at the top of the Edit panel, or **Browse Profiles** to see them as pictures.","Pick one that looks natural rather than finished: you'll add the punch later.",{"alt":134,"ui":135},"The profiles for a raw landscape, each shown as a thumbnail of the photo",{"screen":136,"group":125},"edit",{"id":138,"title":139,"text":140,"do":141,"tip":147,"shot":148},"white-balance","Set the white balance","White balance decides whether white looks white. With a raw file it's lossless, so get it right now: every colour after depends on it.",[142,143,146],"In **Color**, choose a **White Balance**: **As Shot**, **Auto**, or the light you shot in (**Daylight**, **Cloudy**, **Shade**…).",{"ios":144,"mac":145},"Or tap the eyedropper and then something that should be neutral grey or white.","Or press `W` and click something that should be neutral grey or white.","Fine-tune **Temp** (cooler or warmer) and **Tint** (greener or more magenta) by eye.","Not sure? Look at something you know is white, a cloud or a wall, and move **Temp** until it stops looking blue or yellow.",{"alt":149,"ui":150},"The Color group with the white balance menu, Temp and Tint",{"screen":136,"group":151},"color",{"id":153,"title":154,"text":155,"set":156,"shot":158},"exposure","Get the exposure right","Set **Exposure** so the main subject is as bright as you want it. Don't worry about the brightest and darkest parts yet: that's the next step.",{"light.exposure":157},0.3,{"alt":159,"ui":160},"Exposure raised a third of a stop in the Light group",{"screen":136,"group":161},"light",{"id":163,"title":164,"text":165,"do":166,"set":170,"tip":174,"shot":175},"tones","Bring back the highlights, open the shadows","This is where raw files shine: there is far more in the bright and dark parts than the camera showed you.",[167,168,169],"Pull **Highlights** down until the sky has detail again.","Push **Shadows** up until the dark parts open, but stop before it looks flat.","Set **Whites** and **Blacks** last: up and down until the brightest and darkest parts just touch white and black.",{"light.highlights":171,"light.shadows":172,"light.whites":44,"light.blacks":173},-60,40,-12,"Watch the histogram: the graph should reach both ends without piling up against either.",{"alt":176,"ui":177},"Highlights down and Shadows up: the sky and the shadows both have detail",{"screen":136,"group":161},{"id":179,"title":180,"text":181,"set":182,"shot":186},"presence","Add contrast and presence","Recovering both ends makes a photo flatter, so add some of it back. **Contrast** for the whole photo, then **Texture** for fine detail and **Clarity** for mid-sized detail, both gently. A little **Dehaze** cuts through haze in the distance.",{"light.contrast":183,"effects.texture":184,"effects.clarity":183,"effects.dehaze":185},12,10,6,{"alt":187,"ui":188},"Texture, Clarity and Dehaze in the Effects group",{"screen":136,"group":189},"effects",{"id":191,"title":192,"text":193,"set":194,"shot":196},"colour","Colour: vibrance first","**Vibrance** lifts the dull colours more than the strong ones, and spares skin. Use it before **Saturation**, which pushes every colour equally. For one colour only, open **Color Mixer**: the blue of a sky, the green of grass.",{"color.vibrance":46,"mixer.blue.sat":47,"mixer.green.sat":195},-6,{"alt":197,"ui":198,"mac":199},"Vibrance raised in the Color group, the Color Mixer below it",{"screen":136,"group":151},{"sections":200},[151,201],"mixer",{"id":203,"title":204,"text":205,"do":206,"set":212,"shot":214},"detail","Sharpen and clean up noise","Sharpening and noise reduction come last, looked at up close. Zoom in to 100 % on something with fine detail.",[207,210,211],{"ios":208,"mac":209},"In **Detail**, open **Sharpening** and raise the amount until edges look crisp, not crunchy.","In **Detail**, raise **Sharpening** until edges look crisp, not crunchy.","Raise **Masking** to keep the sharpening off smooth areas such as the sky.","Add **Noise Reduction** only if you see grain in the shadows.",{"detail.sharpenAmount":172,"detail.sharpenMasking":213,"detail.nrLuminance":184},35,{"alt":215,"ui":216},"The Detail group: sharpening and noise reduction",{"screen":136,"group":203},{"id":218,"title":219,"text":220,"edit":223,"shot":227},"crop","Straighten and crop",{"ios":221,"mac":222},"Open **Crop**, tap **Auto** to level the horizon, and crop out anything at the edges that pulls the eye away.","Open **Crop**, level the horizon with **Angle**, and crop out anything at the edges that pulls the eye away.",[224],[225,226],"crop.autoStraighten",{},{"alt":228,"ui":229},"The finished photo with the horizon levelled",{"screen":218,"cropTab":230,"cropGuide":231},"aspect","thirds",[233,236,239],{"q":234,"a":235},"Why shoot raw?","A raw file keeps everything the sensor saw: much more detail in the bright and dark parts, and white balance you can change without losing quality. A JPEG has already thrown most of that away.",{"q":237,"a":238},"Does this work for iPhone ProRAW?","Yes. ProRAW is a DNG file, and LightBites edits it like any raw. Turn on ProRAW in the Camera settings of your iPhone.",{"q":240,"a":241},"Why this order?","Each step changes what the next one sees: the profile and white balance change every colour, exposure changes every tone. Working from the whole photo to the details means you don't undo yourself.",[243,244],"edit-sunset","editing-basics",9,{"photo":247,"preset":250,"raw":253,"xmp":255},{"width":248,"height":249},2400,1800,{"file":251,"bytes":252,"name":113},"raw-workflow.lcpreset",4969,{"file":115,"bytes":254},37770480,{"file":256,"bytes":257},"lightbites-raw-workflow.xmp",3979,{"raw-workflow-after-1600":259,"raw-workflow-after-800":260,"raw-workflow-profile-mac-dark-1600":261,"raw-workflow-profile-mac-dark-800":262,"raw-workflow-profile-mac-light-1600":263,"raw-workflow-profile-mac-light-800":264},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F695ca61e-cc8f-4047-9f81-81b146be6ed8.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F3e8691b8-42f5-4fa5-90dd-939c5c7f3909.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fbec753e6-7881-48cf-9dc1-3d2a2bc8dac1.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fd79cf878-87a5-4d5a-aa03-7a1b882678e4.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F9740b8ac-b6da-40ac-9084-e66ec1077a72.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F9c5387d0-7b68-42ce-a3d5-fffa5de8a219.webp",{"slug":79,"section":5,"title":266,"seoTitle":267,"description":268,"intro":269,"level":10,"minutes":270,"updated":12,"icon":271,"keywords":272,"photo":278,"steps":279,"faq":309,"related":316,"order":47,"downloads":318,"images":319},"Export and share your photos","How to export and share photos from LightBites: sizes, formats and quality","Send an edit to Messages, AirDrop or Photos, choose JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVIF or the original, pick the right size, and keep your location private.","Your edit only exists inside LightBites until you export it. Choose a size and a format, and send it on.",3,"i-lucide-share",[273,274,275,276,277],"export photos","share photos iPhone","photo export size","JPEG quality","remove location from photo","tokyo-alley.jpg",[280,295,303],{"id":281,"title":282,"do":283,"shot":290},"open","Open Share",[284,287],{"ios":285,"mac":286},"In a photo, tap **Share** at the top.","Choose **File ▸ Export…** (`⇧E`), or right-click a photo and choose **Export…**.",{"ios":288,"mac":289},"For several, tap **Select**, choose them, and tap **Export**.","For several, select them first.",{"alt":291,"ui":292},"The Share sheet for a night photo of a Tokyo alley: file type, size, quality and metadata",{"screen":293,"sheet":294},"photo","export",{"id":296,"title":297,"do":298,"tip":302},"options","Pick the file and the size",[299,300,301],"**File Type**: JPEG goes anywhere; PNG or TIFF for printing and more editing; AVIF, WebP and JPEG XL make small files; **Original** sends the file as you imported it.","**Size**: **Small** (1080 px) for messages, **Medium** (2048 px) for social media, **Large** (4096 px), or **Full Size** for prints.","**Metadata**: keep it all, only the copyright, or none. **Remove Location** leaves out where you took it.","Use the same settings again and again? Save them with **Preset ▸ Save as Preset…** at the top of the sheet.",{"id":304,"title":305,"text":306},"send","Send it",{"ios":307,"mac":308},"**Share** opens the share sheet: AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Files and the rest. **Save to Photos** puts a copy in your Photos library (JPEG, PNG, TIFF or DNG).","When it's done: **Share** to send it on, **Show in Finder** to see the files, or **Done**. **File ▸ Export with Previous** (`⌥⇧⌘E`) exports the photos you've chosen with the settings you used last time.",[310,313],{"q":311,"a":312},"Which size should I export for Instagram?","Medium (2048 px on the long side) is plenty: Instagram shows photos at most 1080 px wide. Crop to 4 × 5 first for the most room in the feed.",{"q":314,"a":315},"Can I export the original raw file?","Yes: choose Original as the file type to send the file exactly as you imported it, or DNG to export it as a DNG.",[317,4],"crop-and-straighten",{},{"export-and-share-open-mac-dark-1600":320,"export-and-share-open-mac-dark-800":321,"export-and-share-open-mac-light-1600":322,"export-and-share-open-mac-light-800":323},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Faaa84b27-bac7-4c59-b52b-d9387edbb0c1.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fcbbe47dd-4d76-441c-97e6-0f6431c26190.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F30eccd36-9b93-4cae-8433-f8fbf1eca5df.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fa483121f-dcd8-445e-92f5-6b5afb2b7a9a.webp",1792693337594]