Disclosure: This article contains my personal and professional opinion of Lou and Marks presets. I was remunerated for my time writing this article but my opinions are mine alone and shared after years of use as a client.
One of my favourite aspects of photography is image composing, the journey of bringing an image together which is done through framing, light, angle, camera settings and sometimes through scene setting as well. There is something about capturing this exact moment in time in a beautiful manner and convey emotion. But the work of bringing an image to life as an artist does not stop at that step, there is another important step following which many people unfamiliar with photography do not think of: processing.
Once upon a time processing involved chemical reactions, it was a very precise science, one wrong step and images could be forever and irremediably lost ( I am still haunted by an entire reel of film shot of my eldest daughter as a toddler that was wiped away because someone mislabeled the developer and fixer bottles in the studio ten years ago) . Digital photography has thankfully provided safeguards for images preservation but there is always an amount of processing that an image will go through after being shot in camera. Instead of a dark room we now use programmes such as Photoshop or Lightroom and in lieu of chemicals we use actions and presets.
As a professional photographer I have used many different presets and actions through the years but as I have developed a rhythm in my work something that became essential were actions I could use both in Lightroom desktop but also on the go on my phone or iPad that were going to deliver consistently across platforms. I love using Lightroom mobile, my latest camera purchase was carefully picked because it seamlessly transfers images on my devices which I can process and sometimes even print on my Fujifilm Instax printer as the perfect add on to a special moment. To me picking lovely actions and presets is as important as selecting the settings of my camera, they add to an image and can balance everything just right. I love shooting images with a finished idea in mind depending on the subject I am capturing and I will have an idea of the presets I will use in the end to make it all come together before I even start.
I came across the Lou and Marks presets a few years ago and instantly fell in love, I have slowly purchased many of their sets because they work like magic. They are easy to install on Lightroom mobile and they give wonderful skin tones for your subjects which is something that matters a lot to me. When I portray a client I want them to recognise themselves with all the lovely details that make them in a flattering manner and Lou and Marks presets allow me to do this. When I shoot boudoir portraits, their set Golden Goddess has to be my go to, but I also use many of their other sets in order to get my images just right, for instance I really enjoy the range of the Matte Black and White set for my monochrome portraits.
When building images for social media feeds I like using sets that are seasonal to tell a long term story throughout the year and avoid a feed becoming too dull, it helps reinventing and keeping your content fresh in a delicate manner, I do so by sticking to a set when editing images for a season at a time, for instance on my personal feed last Spring I used on their Los Angeles presets, in Summer I switched to Hawaii vacay, in Fall I moved to October Rust and then around Christmas to Holiday Magic (a personal favourite), this Spring I have fallen in love with Enchanted from their Disney collection and I have used it to revisit some of my favourite images from our last family trip with a different twist in the edit. Lou and Marks once again have a wonderful feature on their website with presets organised by style or seasons which is incredibly helpful to choose the appropriate preset if I want to purchase a new one. They keep up to date with the latest trends on demand by adding sets regularly.
Their client support is lovely and very responsive, a great deal of care and dedication has been poured in their work and this is not only reassuring but another reason why their presets are a lovely way to finish your photograph editing knowing you are using tools of the highest quality. Using their presets has been a real joy in beautifully streamlining my artistic work and I cannot recommend them enough.
Are you tempted to try out Lou and Marks presets? Let me know which are your favourite!
Thank you for reading, I hope you have a magical day,
Nahomie