Lightroom should be easy. So I decided to take a step-by-step course to make it easy.
I’ve been looking for a way to teach Lightroom better because when it’s natural all your photos get better. So I’ve started this series, taking Lightroom step by step.
A Lightroom training and reference guide.
You can watch the parts you need. I’ll keep adding more chapters so they are all kept tidy in a playlist. As this project grows you will be able to come and review any part you need at your leisure.
That’s been my theory in making Lightroom presets and Capture One styles like Filmist, GoldChrome, PowerWorkflow, and more. The tool should work for you. It’s the same with software. If you know what’s happening, the tool will get out of your way and you can work smoothly and better.
I’m also considering a series like this for Capture One so let me know if you’re interested.
You tell me what you want to see.
I’ll keep expanding this. Next will develop settings. We’re going to create the largest free library of Lightroom training resources, so you tell me what you need and I’ll keep them coming.
Presets, photo editing software, and gear. We have the tools in 2022. But I want to change how you think about your photos.
I’ve been a photographer for over 20 years. I watched digital be born and the entire industry change. I’ve run the gamut in everything from street and wedding photography to fashion photography of Models in Mexico and fashion photography.
I saw photography go from a technical creative art to something mostly driven by internet marketers and “Ai” tools. But I always see the same mistakes that make photos ordinary no matter how good the software gets.
I don’t need to second guess. People either like my photon or not. A clean Natural HDR 4 process made it look good and that’s a wrap.
Sometimes digital is so easy, that we lose an opportunity. Trends come and go, but in the end, photography will always be about emotion, inspiration, and creativity. If you learn to discover shadows and souls with confidence, your photography will always get better regardless of the tools you use.
Confidence is not always easy. I’ve learned a lot as a street photographer. You can have all the software. You have the best camera, and download the best Lightroom presets (yes I have those for you) But what you need is to see as no one else sees. That’s what I want to show you today.
You’ll find the presets I use here on the site – They do matter because they make completing your vision easier. You can get my free lightroom presets and film styles like Filmist and Natural HDR.
Most photographers edit wrong, but not for the reasons they think!
In this video, we’re going head to head with the mistake that nearly every photographer has made, and may are doing every day. If you can get past this, it changes more than just how you edit. It’s going to change your photography mentality.
As I showed in the video. The perfect capture and the perfect edit are a myth. That’s what makes photography so amazing. There’s always something we can improve that will affect the emotion of your photo, or the lack of it.
Knowing how to edit, starts with knowing what you want. Presets and styles are invaluable because they help me find my look without wasting brain cells.
Black and white, color, contrasty, soft. Deciding does not have to be hard. here I used Filmist and Elegance 4 to give more depth and that’s it. You can get my free lightroom presets and film styles on the FIlmist page.
I usually start with Filmist because it works so well. But there’s something more important than what you edit with! That’s knowing what you want to create with your edit. An actual vision.
Ansel Adams taught this way back with visualization techniques and using Zones in our exposures. Something we studied at length in my Exposed Master Class and in Photo Perfect.
IN the end making the craft of your photography second nature, finding your confidence, even if you know it won’t be perfect. That is what will transform your photography. The tools you use just, are just things to help you get there.
I’ll explain it all in detail in the video. You can also watch it directly on my photography channel here
Enjoy and we’ll see you next time – Gavin Seim
I like capturing things people don’t even think about like the corner drug store because in 20 years everything will change and then simple photos like this will matter. But here it was easy, this was all about shadows and sunset. Using Silver 4 and Blackroom was a no-brainer.The full gold chrome look that I talked about in this blog post. Decide your look hand and commit to it. It will change your perfective on every image you publish.
What’s the difference between Muse and Filmist?
PLUS free presets!
A lot, so to show you I’m going to make another free Lightroom and Capture 1 free presets mini pack for 2020.
When I made presets it’s always a battle to find formulas that balance to make looks that work on every one of your files. After that, I try and find a way to convey that in the promo and training videos I actually use to sell them.
Muse mini is a great free portrait preset pack. A Free Lightroom Presets and Capture One styles pack
Filmist (free sampler of that here) was a passion project and I spent soooo much time trying to get real film looks. But when I made Muse is was more like “Screw the rules!” I’ll take the color inspiration and deep tactics I gained making Filmist; but then make a pack that does not have to be like any film. It’s not a copy, it’s almost like an expansion pack that takes the ideas of Film and just has fun with them.
In the promo video for Muse I talk about getting inspired. I like these because they have nothing to be compared to or that they have to be. Intense, but not lame ugly edits. We should not be afraid to tinker with mixing colors, add golden glows or faded green to deep luscious meadows. This Muse mini pack includes presets for Lightroom classic and Lightroom mobile as well as Capture 1 styles.
I’ll put 7 Muse presets in here so you can play around yourself. If you like what you see check out the full pack. Either way, enjoy and don’t be afraid to edit all the way,
You can also get the complete Muse Preset pack with all 46 presets here.
And you can get the Filmist Preset Pack here. Get both and save using code: BUNDLE
With the Fuji Xpro 3 came the Classic Negative look. It’s actually based on Superia 200. But older cameras and other brands don’t have it. As part of the Filmist Project, I started creating classic Fuji-like presets for Lightroom and Capture One. This is my classic neg film simulation!
I made Classic Negative Like, a Free Lightroom Preset, and Capture One Style. It’s like shooting it in the camera, but even better.
Getting film presets to work on any camera takes time. The classic negative-like simulation was no exception. I don’t like camera-specific color profiles that limit you. I use a preset like this “Classic Negative”-like preset. I also made a Classic Chrome preset and you can read about that here.
In action… My Classic Negative film sim Preset and Capture One Style.
– DOWNLOAD my Fuji Classic Negative preset FREE.
Go get the improved Gen.2 2023 classic neg film simulation in my free pack on the Filmist page. It includes Classic Negative as a Lightroom preset as a Capture One Style a LUT for video, PLUS a couple other presets from Filmist.
For years, I’ve been expanding my Film presets project, creating presets such as Porta, Fuji 400, Fujifilm black and white, and others. So I created a mini-free pack from my complete Film presets collection You can get the Seim Classic Negative look for free.
I’ll add the download link above so you can get my latest version of the Classic Neg-like look and try it out. Feedback has been great on this and the new 2023 version is even more dialed in,
In-Camera JPEG beside my 2023 Classic Negative, Like Gen.2 presets for Lightroom and Capture. This new version of my classic neg film simulation is better than ever.
Film-inspired recipes and presets really bring out the magic.
Film is a secret weapon most photographers don’t realize. It brings a nuance and atmosphere that is subtle yet helps define photos that might otherwise feel plain. It helps us balance shadows in a digital slider world that is often over-cooked.
That’s why Fuji is the only camera brand people love for it’s color profiles. They came from film and they have years of understanding how shadows and colors alter our senses.
Fuji Classic Negative look was inspired by Fujifilm Superia, a negative film from the 1990s. There are zero technical reasons to make color profiles work only on the latest cameras, it’s just a marketing trick. That’s why I set to work and made presets/styles and Luts for this process. We need color grades I can use anywhere, not on one Camera or brand.
Classic negative Like applied to a RAW file.
Don’t stop at the Classic Negative film presets.
People can get stuck on these Fuji colors. They are good, but they are just film-inspired looks. I’ve included a few more film presets for Lightroom and Capture One in the Filmist Sampler download, like Portra 160, start extending out and trying the films, and the more you do the more control you will have over the tone and atmosphere of your photos.
My free classic neg preset works for Capture One, Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom Mobile, and has a preset for older versions like Lightroom 6. Go here if you need help installing presets.
I hope you enjoy this Fuji Classic Negative look. Please let me know what you think or if you have questions. You can also subscribe to my YouTube photography channel.
Gavin Seim
Classic Netagive like on a Sony RAW file brings the same look to my non Fuji files.
Filmist beings the look of real film to digital. You be thinking you’re not interested in buying the the complete pack. So we made this Filmist Lite collection so you can get started with the beauty of film in your edits. These 8 presets are just the start of what Filmist can, but they a lot.
If you like what you see check out Filmist Complete with over 50 emulsions. You can also learn how to use Filmist by watching the training videos for Lightroom here and for Capture 1 here. Aldo if you have any questions just email us, effects@seimstudios.com enjoy!
Filmist beings the look of real film to digital. You be thinking you’re not interested in buying the the complete pack. So we made this Filmist Lite collection so you can get started with the beauty of film in your edits. These 8 presets are just the start of what Filmist can, but they a lot.