After several weeks of developing, changing, and putting together my Lightroom guide, I finally feel like I have a finished product. Looking back at where I started, the project changed quite a bit as I figured out what I actually wanted the guide to be.
What started as an idea for a few presets eventually became a beginner-friendly Lightroom guide with presets, editing tips, and different sections for lighting, coloring, and editing. I wanted it to feel useful without making Lightroom seem more complicated than it needs to be.
One of the biggest parts of the process was figuring out what information was actually worth including. I spent time going through Lightroom and testing different features with my own photography, which helped me refresh my knowledge of tools I had not used in a while. It was also interesting to see how one small adjustment could completely change the mood of a photo.
I also looked at fashion Instagram pages and Pinterest for inspiration because I wanted the presets to feel current and fit the types of photos people are actually posting. This helped me develop both warm and cool presets while also thinking about how different lighting and colors can change the overall feeling of a photo. I did not want the presets to make every picture look exactly the same, so I focused on creating looks that could still be adjusted depending on the photo.
Research also played a role in how I approached the guide. I looked into editing for melanated skin, which made me more aware of how important it is to avoid creating presets that completely change someone’s natural skin tone. I also looked at different Lightroom resources while working through some of its editing tools. These resources helped me think about how I could explain Lightroom in a way that gives beginners more control instead of just telling them to apply a preset and walk away.
The final product includes the presets and the guide together for $12. I chose this price because I wanted it to feel accessible for someone who is just starting out with Lightroom. The goal is not to teach every single thing Lightroom can do, but to give someone enough information to feel comfortable opening the program and experimenting for themselves.
I also tested the guide with friends who had different levels of editing experience. Some were able to apply and adjust the presets to their own photos pretty easily, while friends who normally edited on their phones or in Photoshop noticed how much more specific Lightroom can be for making smaller adjustments. Their feedback helped me realize that the guide does not have to be perfect for every photo because the presets can be adjusted to fit the image.
Overall, I am really proud of what I created. More than anything, I am happy that I made something I genuinely would have wanted to use when I first started learning Lightroom. Seeing the presets, guide, and design all come together made the project feel like something that could actually be useful to another beginner creator, which is what I wanted from the beginning.
