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Review | X-Equals Creative Production Presets for Lightroom

If you’re using Lightroom you’re probably using presets in the develop module to speed up your processing. If you’re not, you need to. Presets are not only a huge time-saver, but also a great way to preview creative possibilities for your images.

You can make and save your own presets, which I recommend doing, especially once you establish your own unique style, but you don’t have to make your own. You can download presets from lots of different websites—some for free, some you need to pay for. Beware, free presets don’t always mean good presets.

I suggest downloading from reliable sources that have dedicated some time to making killer presets you know you’ll use. One such source I’ve downloaded from is X-Equals.

After downloading their Creative Production Presets, I discovered they take the dedication thing to an entirely new level. In this preset pack, X-Equals teamed up with LifeInDigitalFilm to create some of the best and most useful presets I’ve used to date.

Before I get to some examples, take a look at what’s included in the pack: 75+ presets in four categories.

Creative Holga Emulations
Creative Presets
Film Emulations
Monochrome Toolkit

Here are some examples of a handful of my favorites from the set.

While you may not use every single preset, there’s bound to be a favorite or two, or 20. I’ve got several favorites just in the Monochrome Toolkit. Don’t be afraid to use the presets as a starting point for your own creative processing. Click a preset and then continue tweaking in the develop module to create your own unique look. Once you nail it, be sure to save it as your own custom preset.

That’s a total of 75+ presets—very good and useful presets, mind you, for only $14.99. Head over to X-Equals today to buy ’em and you’ll get 10% off your entire purchase by using the code DEALS4ME at checkout. This deal is only good for a short time, so snap to.

If you’re hesitant, download the free sample presets at X-Equals and try them first. They have a few freebies available here (scroll down a bit).

Head over X-Equals to buy now »

Giving Back | Suicide Awareness and Prevention

I have been directly affected by suicide. Since losing my 15-year-old brother-in-law almost two years ago, I’ve learned of so many more suicides close to friends and family. Too many. That’s why I’m passionate about helping the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Since losing my brother-in-law William, I’ve been donating my photography services and photos to the organization by volunteering at their Out of the Darkness Community Walks. I am volunteering again this spring, but this time it’s a local Campus Walk organized by my wife and mother-in-law in remembrance of William. This walk is planned specifically to raise awareness for high school and college students in our community, one of the most at risk age groups.

Come Walk with Us
We are walking April 17, 2010 at 9 a.m. from McHenry West campus to McHenry East Campus and back. We’ll walk rain or shine.

Join Our Team
Walk with us by joining our team, or start your own. You can find all the details at campuswalks.org. Signing up is easy. This is a kid-friendly event—there will be plenty of strollers and wagons with kids, so bring your family to support this worthy cause.

Donate
If you can’t make the walk or simply wish to donate, you may do so here. Donations are 100% tax deductible, and all proceeds go to the AFSP to help increase awareness of mental illness and prevent suicide.

Our personal goal is to provide a means to educate students, parents and teachers in our community about the reality of depression and suicide. By donating to the AFSP you’ll help make training and educational materials available in our community and high schools.

Here are a few more photos of past AFSP Out of the Darkness Walks:

Portrait Session

I recently shot these portraits of two friends of mine in the studio. Partly for fun, partly for stock and partly for a review I’m working on.

We had a great time, and I got to test out my new 6.5-foot soft box for a few of them. I processed them in Lightroom with some tweaked presets, and then Photoshop for some final touches.

Black and white portrait, by Ryan Klos
Black and white portraits, by Ryan Klos