As for me, Mastin Labs presets are a good choice if you are looking for filters to naturally replicate film images into digital, these filters are probably the best fit.
The packages mentioned here include presets to every taste, including a hyped Kodak Poltra to make the photos more vibrant or Fuji film to add a classic feel to photography. But some of them just ruin your skin color or remove all these beautiful shadows created by the golden hour.
No matter which style you prefer, natural and mild skin tones are guaranteed. In this review, I describe and evaluate each of the presets and go over their main characteristics.
✔ Film emulation. Mastin Labs presets are known for their authentic emulation of classic film stocks, enabling photographers to make their digital images look like analog photography.
✔ Natural look. They preserve natural skin tone and upgrade the overall quality of the pic, making sure that it has a professional look.4
✔ Versatility. Mastin Labs collection of effects is designed to meet the needs and satisfy the wishes of photographers of different styles.
✖ Cost. Compared to other preset options, Mastin Labs collection is more expensive, which may be a drawback for photographers whose budget is restricted. The cost of a pack starts from $99.
✖ Restricted customization. Of course, these presets attract photographers with excellent consistency and simplicity in use, but they also disappoint the professional with the restricted customizability if compared to similar tools.
✖ Learning curve. The presets are easy to use and you won’t have problems when trying to add presets to Lightroom. However, novice photographers may experience difficulties incorporating presets into their editing workflow.
✖ Compatibility. The presets are not compatible with old versions of Lightroom (4-7), which is a serious restriction for many shooters.
I like that Mastin Labs film presets produce natural and balanced tones, so you can safely apply them to photos taken in various lighting conditions like sunny or cloudy days.
The best thing about Instant Everyday presets is that they maintain skin integrity while upgrading the quality of the whole pic. So, this pack is probably the greatest option for refining portraits and lifestyle, as emotions in these genres are of paramount importance.
Although this pack ensures perfect results in most cases, further edits may be necessary to achieve a polished look. And I recommend it for close-up portraits as I tested above only.
Price: $99
This collection will become your handy assistant when you need to process pictures featuring vibrant outdoor scenes or intimate indoor settings. With these filters, you won’t have trouble refining colors, preserving skin tones, and adding depth and dimension to every image.
I’m not satisfied with this bundle because it makes my street photos lifeless removing all beatufil shdows and sunlight created in the golden hour.
Price: $99
These cinematic Lightroom presets are designed to add the vibe of a classic film to digital photos. Another highlight of the Cinema Everyday presets is their ability to make pictures deeper and more dimensional.
Use these Mastin Labs mobile presets to accentuate rich colors and convey the needed mood through lighting. However, I should complain that these effects emphasize shadows and highlights, which often causes the loss of details in some image sections like with the groom on my photo example above. And it doesn’t work good with skin colors.
Price: $99
Vintage Slide Films appeals to photographers with their ability to add a nostalgic feel and old-school look to photos turning them into a retro-like composition. Download these vintage Lightroom presets to improve colors and textures, making each composition warmer and unique.
As the presets are designed for specific film emulation, users can face inconsistencies with color rendering in various lighting scenarios. I personally advide this bundle for outdoor images not studio ones.
Price: $99
The Night & Day presets are quite versatile, so they are suitable for processing photos taken in different lighting environments. With this pack, enhancing the mood and atmosphere of bright sunny day images is an effortless task.
Mastin Labs Lightroom presets show superior results when it comes to balancing exposure, improving details, preserving natural tones, and ensuring top-level output regardless of the illumination.
However, you should notice that this package is primarily designed for typical day and night photography scenarios, so when applying them to images taken in low-light or high-contrast situations, you should not apply it.
Price: $99
Fuji Original presets are designed to mimic the in-camera settings available in Fuji cameras. These Fuji Lightroom presets are ideal for those who need to refine colors and preserve skin tones, giving a subtle cinematic look to pics to create a nostalgic mood.
However, minor adjustments may be needed to get the desired result, as they are designed to mimic the characteristics of analog film rather than digital sensors.
Price: $99
Download this collection to highlight the natural allure of nature turning every shot into vivid, dimensional composition. Yes, it’s a bit over HDR-ed but may look good on some photos.
However, users may need to make the needed adjustments to get the desired results in specific lighting scenarios. And again skin, it may cause some yellowish tints that look a bit disgusting.
Price: $99
This pack is crafted with attention to even minor details and is a great option for refining photos featuring either sincere moments or scenes from daily life.
No matter whether you need to refine home interiors or bustling city streets, this pack can make every scene warmer, more vibrant, and more authentic. These effects allow the photographers to jazz up different lifestyle pics where yellow and orange colors are dominant.
Price: $99
Download these Fuji Pushed bundle to intensify colors, increase contrast, add graininess to achieve an old film look, and fill digital pics with a dynamic and edgy aesthetic. The strength of these Fuji Pushed presets is their ability to create fantastic saturated and contrasted pictures adding a bit of drama to them.
Be careful when applying these presets to pictures taken in harsh lighting scenarios, you should make some minor adjustments, as the main task of these presets is to replicate the unique features of the pushed film not to make your photo oversaturated.
Price: $99
Each Mastin Lab preset from this Portra bundle is meant to emulate the original look of Kodak Portra film stocks, which are characterized by natural skin tone, fine grain, and soft colors. Create a classic aesthetics of Poltra film with these filters and apply them to portraits, wedding images, or everyday photos to make them look unique.
I like that these filters preserve natural skin tones, highlight every detail, and achieve a flattering look that appeals to everyone. However, to get the result that satisfies all your needs and preferences, you should make slight adjustments to these Kodak Lightroom presets, especially when dealing with pics taken in cloudy weather.
Price: $99
Are you in search of great filters to replicate the unique grain structure of pushed film? Look no further. This bundle includes everything you may need to turn digital images into eye-grabbing compositions with a bold and edgy aesthetic. At least they say so in the description to this bundle.
Although the presets may disappoint with limited customization options to tweak the resulting pics to your taste because as you may see on my picture above – it looks very yellow and dark.
Price: $99
The Artisan B&W bundle is the best Mastin Labs preset collection to create a timeless allure of B&W aesthetic replicating classic monochrome images. Here you’ll find handy tools for improving contrast, tones, and textures and creating eye-grabbing black-and-white pictures.
However, when applying the B&W Lightroom presets, I faced some difficulties with the areas near eyes, nose and lips that were too dark.
Price: $99
Delicate-matte preset is an alternative to “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA”. The preset makes the photo a little matte and corrects white balance. The dark areas become brighter and the skin tone acquires natural color. This Mastin Labs presets free alternative is ideal for portraits taken in poor lighting.
It is a combination of “Mastin Labs Presets ILFORD” and “Mastin Labs Presets FUJICOLOR”. Due to the decreased contrast and sharpness, the photo gets sharp and saturated colors. White becomes more realistic, and skin tone acquires a slight matte look. This preset is suitable for portraits taken outdoors.
This Lr plug-in is well-developed and suitable for images taken in cloudy weather with backlight. Such Mastin Labs presets’ analog removes deep shadows, increases exposure, corrects white balance, adds saturation and clarity. It corrects the skin tone, making it softer, more natural, with a pale matte shade. It resembles the combination of “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA +PUSHED” and “Mastin Labs KODAK EVERYDAY”.
Adding bright and rich colors to the picture, this filter corrects WB and increases contrast. Somehow it resembles “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA + PUSHED” and “Mastin Labs Presets ILFORD”. Use this tool, you can correct skin tone, giving it a natural, slightly increased contrast color. It accentuates lines sharpness and fills the picture with improved shadows. No matter what photography genre you are engaged in. You may apply the filter to any photo taken either in natural or studio light.
Making white more natural, correcting skin tone and giving the overall picture a soft look, the preset resembles the effect of “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA” and “Mastin KODAK EVERYDAY”. The filter brightens dark areas, and enriches the photo with warm colors, which means it is ideal for pictures taken in poor or artificial lighting.
It will be an excellent alternative to “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA + PUSHED”. The colors become bright and saturated. The contrast is increased and the skin tone looks more realistic, light, without “parasitic” green hue. There are no deep shadows and dark areas. The image looks really sharp. This preset is ideal for street photos taken under difficult conditions or in poor light.
If you are looking for a wedding or studio filter with perfect white and bright colors, this free presets’ analog is just what you need. With improved shadows, corrected white balance and a slightly raised contrast slider, the photo acquires soft, bright and rich colors, which resembles “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA + PUSHED”.
This is a pretty good alternative to “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA + PUSHED”. The filter makes an image darker, accentuating black colors and performing a slight color shift. White becomes colder, and the shadows become really harsh. In general, the picture acquires cold, sharp colors with high contrast. This plug-in is ideal for studio or wedding photos.
The filter shows the film effect quite accurately and resembles “Mastin Labs Presets KODAK EVERYDAY” in combination with “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA”. The photo becomes brighter with clearly visible matte shade. Thanks to the correctly adjusted whites and contrast, the picture looks natural without distorted color channels. This Mastin Labs’ free alternative is suitable for the photos taken in natural light.
A great alternative to “Mastin Labs Presets PORTRA + PUSHED” preset. The filter increases the contrast and slightly shifts the colors, which makes them more saturated. Whites become colder and the shadows look harsh. Generally, the image looks interesting with bright, rich colors, increased contrast, and natural skin tone.
