How to Add Presets to Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is among the best photo editing software available online. Still, with so many features to choose from sometimes even the most basic ones can be tricky to figure out. One of those simple but tricky features is the ability to create, add and use presets. So how exactly do you add and use presets in Affinity Photo? 

If you’d like to learn more about adding and using presets in Affinity Photo, you’ve come to the right place. In our guide below, we will begin by answering whether there are presets for Affinity Photo in the first place. After that we will turn our attention to how you can both use and save new presets in the program. So, without further ado, come along and let’s dive right into it!

Are There Presets for Affinity Photo?

Before we jump into how you can use presets, we should first establish that they can be used in Affinity Photo in the first place. So, are there presets for Affinity Photo?

Affinity Photo does contain presets. Additionally, more presets can be made or imported to increase your number of options. The presets already loaded onto Affinity Photo can be found under the Adjustments Panel. 

You can add presets to Affinity Photo by opening the Adjustments Panel and selecting them. The Adjustments Panel can be found going to “view” at the top of the window, selecting “studio” and then clicking on “adjustment.” The Adjustments Panel should already have presets in it. 

How Do You Use Presets in Affinity Photo?

So now that we’ve established that presets do exist in Affinity Photo, it’s time to take a look at how exactly you go about using them. So, how do you use presets in Affinity Photo?

Follow the steps below to use the presets already in Affinity Photo:

  1. Open the file you want the preset in: First things first, you need to open Affinity Photo and either prepare the photo you want the preset added to or load the file you already have it saved on. 
  2. Open the Adjustments Panel: As we mentioned briefly, the presets already in Affinity Photo can be found under the Adjustments Panel. If the panel isn’t already open you will want to open it. You can open this panel by going to “view” at the top of the window then go to “studio” and click “adjustment.” 
  3. Experiment with the presets: Now you should have all of Affinity’s presets ready to go in the adjustments panel. This is as far as we can take you without knowing exactly what you’re trying to do in your particular project. Now it’s up to you to experiment with presets like darken/lighten features or the coloration. 

Now that we have a grasp on how to find and use presets in Affinity Photo, let’s take a look at how we can add even more. In the next section we’ll breakdown importing new presets so you can get the ones perfect for your project. 

How Do You Add Presets to Affinity Photo?

When it comes to adding new presets you simply need to use the LUT files (.cube) provided. When you’re ready simply open the program and get started. 

Once the program is open, follow the steps below to add new presets to Affinity Photo:

  1. Open the Adjustments Panel: Remember the Adjustments Panel can be found by going to “view”, “studio” then selecting “adjustments”.  
  2. Scroll down and select LUT in the Adjustments Panel: The LUT presets should be below the ones you’ve already used.
  3. Click on the LUT cogwheel then click import and find your presets: The cogwheel is just the symbol for the LUT presets. After the window opens up click import and find the location of your .cube files. 
  4. Select your presets and import them: You can either select one by clicking on it or you can select multiple presets by holding down ctrl and selecting them all.

Once you have your presets imported you will be able to arrange them however you would like so they are convenient to use. 

So Really, How Do You Add Presets to Affinity Photo?

To add presets to an Affinity Photo project, you simply need to open the Adjustments Panel and select them. These presets are already loaded onto Affinity Photo and can be used as soon as the software is downloaded and installed. 

You can also import new presets by using the LUT feature in the Adjustments Panel and importing them. So which presets will you be using?