Lightroom sports presets give your action photos a consistent starting point in Adobe Lightroom. The best choice depends on the result you need: realistic event coverage, a dramatic athlete portrait, or a black-and-white edit.
We’ve collected free and paid options for sports photographers. Start with Preset Love’s Sport for a free color treatment, Ben Lumley’s pack for color and monochrome options, or Luxe Lens’s Brixton Film collection for black and white. Below, we explain where each fits into sports photography and what to check after applying it.
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What Are Lightroom Sports Presets?
Lightroom sports presets are saved editing settings that you apply to a photo. A preset can change exposure, contrast, color, sharpening, or a combination of settings. You can use someone else’s preset or save your own adjustments for later.
Lightroom is an excellent editing software program for adjusting digital photos. A preset saves you from repeating the same changes, but it does not know how bright the venue was or which team colors must stay accurate. Treat it as the start of an edit and check the result on each image.
Presets also do not change how the action was captured. A dramatic color treatment can draw attention to an athlete, but it cannot replace correct focus and a suitable shutter speed.
Installing, Using, and Creating Presets
Before downloading, check the preset’s file format and the Lightroom version listed by its maker. Mobile and desktop installation steps can differ. Our step-by-step tutorial for installing Adobe Lightroom presets explains the process.
For a quick start:
- In Lightroom Classic, open the Develop module, find the Presets panel, and use its Add menu to select Import Presets. Choose your preset files and import them. Adobe’s Classic preset guide explains the supported import options.
- In Lightroom on mobile, unzip the download first. Open a photo, select Presets, and use the Options menu to import the files. Adobe’s mobile import guide covers the steps for iOS and Android.
- Try the preset on one representative photo. Check exposure, white balance, skin tones, and uniform colors. Then use the look on photos made in similar light, checking individual frames before exporting.
Read our article about adding your own Lightroom presets to learn how to use or create them. When saving your own, choose which settings to include. Leaving out a photo-specific exposure or white balance adjustment can make the preset easier to reuse. If you want to share your work commercially, we also have a post about selling presets.
9 Best Lightroom Sports Presets
Sports photography includes team sports like soccer, basketball, and baseball. It also covers fast-moving vehicles on a track and airplanes at displays. A look that suits a gritty gym portrait may be too strong for a daylight match report.
Choose by the light and the purpose of the image. For event coverage, keep skin and team colors believable. For a fitness campaign or personal portfolio, stronger contrast, muted colors, or black and white may suit the brief. Check bright jerseys, faces in shadow, and any noise that becomes more visible after the edit.
There are options for Lightroom (CC), Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom Mobile in this list. Compatibility varies by pack, so use the maker’s instructions for your app. The notes below compare the makers’ descriptions and examples; they are not a side-by-side test of the downloaded files.
1. Workout Lightroom Presets
This workout package by 123Presets contains 11 presets for fitness and active-lifestyle images. It is a starting point for gym portraits, workout progress photos, and a consistent fitness feed.
The maker lists mobile and desktop files in the same package, with support for Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Mobile. Check a face and any bright clothing after applying the look. A treatment that flatters a staged portrait may need a lighter touch on a match-day gallery.
2. Canon Sports Photography Presets
These Canon Lightroom presets by sports photographer Ben Lumley are listed for Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Lightroom Mobile.
The pack separates desktop color and black-and-white import presets for RAW and JPEG images. It also lists desktop export presets for web and print, plus mobile color and black-and-white JPEG presets. This makes it an option to consider if you want both color and monochrome treatments in an event workflow.
Turning a color image into a black-and-white photo changes which details stand out. Check the separation between players and their uniforms, especially when two team colors become similar shades of gray. Use the color version when those colors carry information the viewer needs.
3. Ten Sports Model Presets for Lightroom
Eldamar Studio’s Lightroom presets offer 10 looks aimed at sports images. The creator’s listing describes adjustable presets for RAW and JPEG photos on Mac and PC.
Consider this pack for athlete portraits or a small set of styled sports images. Compare the treatment across skin, clothing, and the background before using it for a whole gallery. Check the supported Lightroom version and included file types before buying; the product name alone does not establish mobile compatibility.
4. Black & White Lightroom Presets
This set of Lightroom presets by Luxe Lens is part of the Brixton Film collection. It contains 25 black-and-white presets, including faded film looks and a Dragan treatment with strong contrast, clarity, and sharpening.
Choose it when you want to explore several monochrome styles instead of a single conversion. Black and white can reduce distracting color and emphasize shape, expression, and texture. It does not remove motion blur, and it may make teams harder to distinguish when their uniforms have similar brightness.
5. Sport (Preset Love)
This free Lightroom sports preset by Preset Love is a starting point for a bold color edit. The maker’s examples emphasize blue and green, stronger contrast, and cooler tones.
That makes it a candidate for outdoor field sports, where grass and sky are prominent. Watch faces as well as the background: a cooler treatment that suits the field may need a white balance adjustment for skin. The maker also advises adjusting the result for your camera, lighting, and subject.
6. HDR Sport Preset (ThePresetsRoom)
The free HDR Sport preset by ThePresetsRoom aims for an intense, detailed look. Its description says it lowers highlights and shadows, increases detail, and adds some color intensity. The download listing includes XMP and DNG formats for desktop and mobile Lightroom.
It is aimed at athlete close-ups where muscle definition and texture are part of the picture. The result is deliberately grungy, so consider it for a styled portrait or promotional image. For a documentary event gallery, use a lighter treatment if the effect makes skin, shadows, or colors look unlike the scene.
7. Skate Lightroom Presets
These custom-developed Lightroom skateboarding presets come from action photographer Forest Dempsey. The FilterGrade pack contains 10 presets and lists RAW and JPEG support.
The maker describes brighter images, added clarity, seasonal tones, and radial-filter sun flares. It is aimed at skateboard photography, with other action sports also suggested. Check the effect around the skater and bright sky, and keep any added flare consistent with the look you want. The listing names desktop Lightroom versions; confirm file support before using it on mobile.
8. Light and Bright
The Light and Bright Lightroom preset by Exposure Empire is a free option intended to brighten darker photos. Consider it when you want a lighter edit instead of a gritty, high-contrast treatment.
Compare bright areas as well as shadows after applying it. Raising the saturation and lowering the vibrance affect color in different ways, so check both controls if clothing or skin needs more adjustment. Exposure Empire offers this look through its email download of 20 free effects in Lightroom preset and Photoshop action formats. Its compatibility notes name older app versions; check the downloaded format against your current Lightroom app.
9. Grungy Sports
This free Grungy Sports Lightroom preset by Nuugraphics changes contrast, clarity, vibrance, and saturation, and adds a vignette. The maker lists adjustable settings and RAW and JPEG support for desktop Lightroom.
Try it for a dramatic sports portrait or a stylized selection from a game. Inspect faces, dark uniforms, and the edges of the frame before exporting. A grunge look can suit a personal portfolio, but use a restrained edit when team colors and a faithful record of the event matter most.
Conclusion: Best Lightroom Sports Presets
Choose a preset for the photos you need to deliver. Preset Love’s Sport is a free starting point for a bold color look. Ben Lumley’s pack offers color and black-and-white options, while Brixton Film gives you a choice of monochrome treatments.
The time saving comes from reusing a suitable starting point, speeding up your workflow across photos made in similar conditions. Apply your chosen Adobe Lightroom preset to one image first, adjust it, then check the rest of the gallery for changes in light.
Before sharing, review skin tones, jersey colors, bright highlights, and visible noise. Keep the treatment that supports the photograph and reduce any effect that draws attention away from the action.
- Learn to use every tool for quick, professional edits.
- Discover seamless subject selection with a single click.
- Unlock hidden details in photos with our unique method.
