Make every portrait shine.
Discover new premium portrait presets made for any skin tone created by pro photographers. Get them right inside Adobe Photoshop Lightroom with your paid membership.
Presets for medium skin tones.
Dario Calmese
Dario Calmese is an artist, urbanist, director, and brand consultant currently based in New York City. In 2020 he made history as the first Black photographer to shoot a cover for Vanity Fair with his portrait of Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis. That year he also launched his widely acclaimed podcast, The Institute of Black Imagination.
Dario Calmese
Dario Calmese is an artist, urbanist, director, and brand consultant currently based in New York City. In 2020 he made history as the first Black photographer to shoot a cover for Vanity Fair with his portrait of Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis. That year he also launched his widely acclaimed podcast, The Institute of Black Imagination.
“A great portrait reveals something about both the subject and the photographer. A great portrait cuts right through to the essence of one’s personality, the throughline. There are pictures, and then there are PORTRAITS.” — Dario Calmese
Using the Blacks slider is one of Dario’s secrets for creating rich, deep shadows. His preset pack is designed specifically to enhance the underlying richness found in the medium skin tone range.
Presets for deep skin tones.
Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Laylah Amatullah Barrayn is a documentary photographer working in the medium for 20 years. She has contributed to various global publications and is a member of Kamoinge, a pioneering collective of Black photographers founded in 1963. She is the coauthor of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora.
Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Laylah Amatullah Barrayn is a documentary photographer working in the medium for 20 years. She has contributed to various global publications and is a member of Kamoinge, a pioneering collective of African American photographers founded in 1963. She is the co-author of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora.
“We’ve often seen people with deeper skin tones in photographs or in movies where they aren’t lit well. It’s important to bring out the beauty and accuracy in these tones, and these presets lean into that objective.” — Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Decreasing highlights and opening up the shadows is key for contrast, according to Laylah. For her, these presets celebrate deep, melanated skin and offer a great enhancement to the images.
Presets for light skin tones.
Summer Murdock
Summer Murdock is a Salt Lake City–based photographer, educator, and Lightroom Ambassador specializing in lifestyle and portraiture. She’s inspired by the quirky stuff kids do, weird and wonderful human connections, pretty light, and the great outdoors. When she isn’t shooting, she’s running and teaching at the online photography school that she co-founded.
Summer Murdock
Summer Murdock is a Salt Lake City-based photographer, educator, and Lightroom Ambassador specializing in lifestyle and portraiture. She’s inspired by the quirky stuff kids do, weird and wonderful human connections, pretty light, and the great outdoors. When she isn’t shooting, she’s running and teaching at the online photography school that she co-founded.
“I try to focus on emotion and the story of the unique human being in front of my camera. I want people to recognize their core self when they see a photo I take of them. I’m looking for the in-between moments when my subjects let their guard down.” — Summer Murdock
Presets can be powerful tools, but they typically need to be customized. Summer starts by correcting exposure, temperature, and tint, and then moves on to adjusting shadows, highlights, whites, and blacks.
Free presets
Get new portrait presets for medium and deep skin tones from photographer and Lightroom Ambassador Aundre Larrow. Find them free inside Lightroom and Lightroom for mobile.
The more perspectives we see, the more vibrant the world becomes. #CreativityForAll
