Update Lightroom 3 presets from Lightroom 3 to Lightroom 4

If you’ve upgraded to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 from previous versions of Lightroom, you may have noticed that some of your Develop Presets might create a different look in LR4 than you saw in LR3.  We revamped our image processing algorithm in Lightroom 4.  In particular, presets that include adjustments to any of the following attributes will likely give you different results in LR4:

• Exposure
• Brightness
• Contrast
• Fill Light
• Highlight Recovery
• Black Clipping
• Clarity
• Tone Curve

Before you begin, we recommend making a back-up of your existing Develop Presets.  The easiest way to do so is by going to Preferences > Presets > Location and clicking the “Show Lightroom Presets Folder.”  Make a copy of this folder in Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and save it someplace safe.

For user-created PRE-Lr4 Develop Presets that contain settings for any of the attributes listed above, the easiest way to insure that the look and intent of the Develop Preset is maintained is by saving them with their Process Version included.

1. Select an image and go to the Develop Module in Lightroom 4.
2. Set the Process Version to 2010.  This is in the Camera Calibration panel on the lower right hand side.
3. Select the appropriate Develop Preset created in Lightroom 3 or earlier
4. Select the “+” button in the Preset Panel.  This allows you to save the current settings as a new Preset.  Make sure that the “Process Version” checkbox is checked.
5. Hit the Save button.  We recommend creating a specific folder for Lightroom 3 presets that you update in this fashion.
6. Now your LR3 preset will create the same results in Lightroom 4.

You can also recreate your Develop Presets in order to take full advantage of PV2012, the revamped image processing algorithm in Lightroom 4.  You can do this by:

1. Select an image and go into the Develop Module in Lightroom 4
2. Select the appropriate Develop Preset created in Lightroom 3 or earlier.
3. Set the Process Version to 2012. This is in the Camera Calibration panel on the lower right hand
4. Review the image and make adjustments until the image meets your visual expectation for the Preset.  Please note that some images might require significant tweaking at this step.
5. Save the Preset with a new name.