How to Import and Use Lightroom Presets for Real Estate Photography

Lightroom presets are one of the best tools for speeding up your editing workflow and maintaining consistent, professional-looking images — but only if you know how to actually use them right.

In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how I import, apply, and tweak my own Lightroom presets — the same ones I use every day for real estate photo and video shoots, including interior, exterior, HDR, and drone images.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve already downloaded my presets and want to see how I use them in the real world, this guide will help you master the process.

Why Use Presets in Real Estate Photography?

In real estate, time matters. Agents expect quick turnarounds, and high-quality images are non-negotiable.

Presets allow you to:

Edit faster without sacrificing quality
Create a consistent visual style across shoots
Save time on repetitive adjustments (exposure, contrast, temperature, etc.)
Elevate your brand with clean, dialed-in images

Step 1: How to Import Lightroom Presets (XMP Files)

If you’ve downloaded my preset packs (linked below 👇), you’ll receive .xmp files. Here’s how to install them:

Open Lightroom Classic
Go to the Develop tab
On the left panel, find the Presets section
Click the + icon and choose Import Presets
Navigate to where you saved the .xmp files and import them
Done — your presets should now appear in your Presets menu

🎯 Get My Real Estate Preset Bundle Here

Step 2: Applying Presets to Different Types of Photos

Now that the presets are installed, here’s how I personally use them based on the type of image:

🏠 Interior Photography

I usually lean on the Interior Blacks, Airbnb, or Interior Saturated presets.
These give you a solid base, but I always make a few tweaks:

Adjust temperature based on lighting (cool vs warm tones)
Lower shadows if needed
Use brush tools to fix color imbalance across windows

☀️ Exterior Photography

For exteriors, I go with Exterior Cool or Exterior 2 — these presets help manage highlights, boost vibrancy, and maintain detail in sky and shadows.

Pro Tip: Sometimes drone or interior presets actually look great on exteriors, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

🚁 Drone Photography

I built my Drone Shadow and Sunray presets specifically for aerial shots.
They’re meant to preserve dynamic range and bring out clean, natural colors without over-editing.

Step 3: Tweak, Tweak, Tweak (Always)

Presets are a starting point, not a one-click solution. Real estate lighting varies wildly — different cameras, lenses, and natural lighting all play a role.

Once I apply a preset, I almost always:

Adjust exposure, shadows, and highlights
Rotate or crop to refine the composition
Use localized brushes to balance window light or color casts
Remove auto-transform if it warps verticals on vertical images

The presets are designed to get you 80% there. The rest is all about small, fast refinements.

Bonus: HDR Image Editing

If you’re working with HDR brackets (which I often do), here’s a quick tip:

Select your bracketed images
Right-click → Photo Merge → HDR
After the merge is complete, apply your preset like normal
Tweak exposure and shadows to taste

This workflow makes HDR images pop without looking overcooked.

Final Thoughts: Presets That Actually Work

I’ve tried a lot of Lightroom presets — most of them were either too extreme, overly stylized, or just didn’t work for real estate.

That’s why I built my own.

If you’re looking for presets that save time, work across real estate scenarios, and give your images a clean, modern feel — grab my Ultimate Real Estate Bundle below.

🛒 Get My Lightroom Presets Here

And if you already use them — drop a comment or shoot me an email. I’d love to see your work.

Until next time — keep creating, keep growing.
— Cole Connor

Author
Recent Posts

Cole