Lightroom Glowing Effect Preset – Soft Light & Cinematic Glow Look

Published On: January 7, 2026
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Lightroom Glowing Effect Preset

The Lightroom Glowing Effect Preset is a popular editing style that adds soft brightness, warm highlights, and a dreamy cinematic glow to photos. This preset is ideal for portraits, lifestyle shots, and outdoor photography where light plays a key role in the mood of the image.

What Is a Glowing Effect Preset?

A glowing effect preset enhances bright areas by gently spreading light, creating a soft bloom around highlights. Unlike harsh HDR or overexposed edits, this glow remains subtle and natural, maintaining image details.

Key Features of Glowing Effect Preset

  • Soft and radiant highlights
  • Dreamy, cinematic atmosphere
  • Natural-looking skin tones
  • Smooth shadows with low contrast
  • Film-inspired light fade

Best Photos for Glowing Presets

  • Portrait and beauty photography
  • Couple and pre-wedding shoots
  • Golden hour outdoor photos
  • Lifestyle and fashion images

Lightroom Settings Used in Glowing Preset

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Basic Adjustments

  • Exposure: Slightly increased
  • Highlights: Lowered for softness
  • Shadows: Lifted gently
  • Contrast: Reduced for smooth tones

Tone Curve

Blacks are slightly lifted and highlights are smoothed, creating a faded and glowing film look.

Presence Controls

  • Clarity: Reduced for softness
  • Texture: Slightly reduced on skin
  • Dehaze: Negative value for glow

Color Grading

  • Highlights: Warm yellow/orange glow
  • Midtones: Neutral warmth
  • Shadows: Soft neutral or cool tones

How to Apply the Glowing Effect Preset

  1. Import your photo into Lightroom
  2. Apply the Glowing Effect preset
  3. Adjust exposure and warmth
  4. Use masking to reduce glow on sharp areas
  5. Fine-tune for natural balance

Pro tip: Backlit photos and sunlight from behind the subject give the best glowing results.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Overexposing highlights
  • Too much glow on faces
  • Loss of sharpness
  • Ignoring white balance

Why Glowing Presets Are Trending

Glowing effect presets are trending because they create emotional, soft, and visually pleasing images. They are widely used on Instagram, wedding photography, and cinematic portraits where mood and light are important.

Conclusion

The Lightroom Glowing Effect Preset is perfect for photographers and creators who want a soft, radiant, and cinematic look. When applied carefully, it enhances mood and light while keeping photos realistic and professional.

Want this Glowing Effect preset in DNG or XMP format? Or need a preset bundle with captions and hashtags? Just tell me.

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