Meet Emotive - a masterpiece collection from Brixton Film, created for the modern photographer who values authentic storytelling & creating moving, powerful images awash with bold, true color.

Note: Like all of our collections, the core of the collection is the general presets – which allow for full color or black & white edits around the collection’s theme to be applied to your image in just one click! The tool, brush, and effects presets are all considered complementary to this core collection, but not necessary for use!

What types of presets are included in this collection?

About the collection & specific compatibility

How to use the General Presets

How to use the Tool Presets

How to use the AI "Effects" Toolkit

How to use our Local Adjustment Presets

Lightroom Classic Example Workflow

Lightroom Example Workflow

Photoshop Adobe Camera Raw Example Workflow

Lightroom Mobile Example Workflow

What Types of Presets Are Included in This Collection?

• 35 Emotive General Presets
• 19 Emotive AI Adaptive Effects Presets (Effects presets are ONLY available in XMP format. Compatible with the most up-to-date subscription versions of Lightroom & Photoshop for desktop & mobile. Must be synced to the mobile app on iOS for mobile editing!) Includes Adaptive Sky, Background, Subject, and combined Ai-powered Presets! 
• 8 Layer Presets & 62 Tool Presets make up The Brixton Film Tool Kit (A standard stackable resource kit included in all Brixton Film collections) 
• 33 Local Adjustment Presets (The Brixton Brush Kit, Available for Lightroom Classic ONLY!)

New to presets? Here are some quick definitions of the types of presets included in this collection (learn more about preset compatibility HERE):

• General Presets – Presets (a.k.a. "general presets" or "workflow presets") make global changes to an image in Lightroom or Photoshop's Adobe Camera Raw. These are the full edit presets that are the core of our collections. They cannot be stacked and should be applied alone or before using a tool, effects, or layer preset.
• Effects Presets – Effects presets are tool presets that rely on the latest Adaptive Features Adobe has to offer for Sky, Background, and Subject-focused AI masking. These presets add a special localized element for ultimate stylistic control over your images. (Effects Presets are ONLY offered in XMP and ONLY available in the most up-to-date subscription versions of Lightroom & Photoshop) 
• Tool Presets – Tool Presets or "stackable" presets are presets that change one or only a few quick settings to make small targeted adjustments in Lightroom or Photoshop's Adobe Camera Raw. They are typically used after a general preset has been applied to make any additional changes to perfect or enhance the image. They are fully optional and are built to create a quick custom workflow designed to complement the theme of the preset collection you are using.
• Local Adjustment Presets - Local Adjustment Brushes or Local Adjustment Presets are tools designed for the local adjustment brush or masking feature in Adobe's Lightroom Classic. They only affect targeted or localized areas as painted on with the local adjustment brush or other masking tools in Lightroom Classic and are typically used for retouching. These are included in most of our preset collections, but we also offer the Luxe & Brixton brushes as a standalone product.

About This Collection - Brixton Film Emotive 

The Emotive collection includes versatile true-color moody presets inspired by  & an Effects toolkit that includes adaptive AI-reliant masking presets. While all of the General Presets in the collection will work in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop, as well as both paid & FREE versions of the Lightroom mobile app, the Adaptive Effects Presets do require up-to-date Adobe subscription to function. 

How are the new Effects presets different from tool presets or local adjustment brushes? Tool presets change anywhere from one to a handful of settings across the whole image, and can be stacked over general presets. Local Adjustment Presets apply adjustments to only localized parts of your image, often hand-applied with the local adjustment brush. With the latest Lightroom & ACR updates, local adjustments have been massively prioritized & maximized for the fastest localized workflows to date - allowing for Adaptive presets that utilize AI masking to apply isolated adjustments to your image in just one click! 

Because of these extensive feature updates, the Emotive Effects Presets include options that apply isolated adjustments to your subject, sky, background, or all 3. And can be easily adjusted from the masking panel without hand-brushing, and can even be synced across your photos with the ability to re-compute masking for each unique image! 

Important: These Adaptive Presets & AI masking features are not available in earlier versions of Lightroom or Lightroom Classic purchased outright. To use the new Effects Toolkit as intended, and take advantage of the all-new masking features, you will need to be an up-to-date Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, or Lightroom (for desktop or Android) subscriber!

How do you install Effects presets? For desktop and Android subscribers, your new effects presets will install just like your traditional/general presets.

Do the Effects Presets work on iPhone/iPad? Those wishing to edit with the effects presets on an iPhone or iPad will need to sync presets to mobile from a desktop version of Lightroom (CC) as Adobe has not designed Lightroom mobile on iOS to import XMP files. The same is true for included tool or layer presets.

How do I install everything? You can learn how to install your presets HERE (sorted by Software).

How do I use the different types of presets? We’ll walk through use specific to this collection across desktop & mobile below! 

How to use Our General Presets

General presets apply in one click on desktop or mobile! Emotive offers a variety of versatile options, so we recommend selecting your presets based on the atmosphere & elements present in your original shot, as well as the editing goal you have in mind!

How to use Our Presets + Tools

We recommend applying Tool Presets after your general edit, or General Preset has been applied. As a stackable adjustment. You can stack tools just as easily as you apply presets in desktop versions of Lightroom & Photoshop. By just clicking on one after the other. 

How Can I Stack Presets on a Mobile Device? On your mobile device you would click to apply your General Preset, click the checkmark to apply, then head over to the toolkit folder and apply a Tool Preset and click the checkmark to apply. For each Tool Preset you want to apply, you will need to click the checkmark, and go back into presets each time. Learn more about stacking tools on a mobile device HERE. 

How to use Our Emotive Effects Toolkit

Finally, once you are happy with your full-photo edit, you can layer on the Adaptive Effects Presets.

Simply click to apply, & Lightroom will automatically detect the required zone of your image (Background, Subject, or Sky) and apply your edit only to that zone: 

These localized Effects will rapidly compute & apply pretty instantly in up-to-date versions of Lightroom CC & Photoshop ACR. In Lightroom Classic you will see a "detecting" notification when scrolling over your options (Once the mask has been detected for a specific zone or person, you can simply hover over the rest to preview). If you click on an Effects Preset to apply without hovering/detecting first, or sync edits including these masks across multiple images, you will see a progress bar pop-up! If it feels like it's taking too long to apply Adaptive Presets, you may need to optimize Lightroom Classic or restart your computer! 

You can adjust the strength of your Effects Presets via the Amount Slider:

The Amount Slider will look a bit different across Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Mobile. We'll cover what to expect in the individual walkthroughs below! 

Important: In Lightroom mobile on an Android phone, when you apply an Effects Preset it will not show you a live preview, as it still needs to "compute" the masks for your image. To see & adjust applied mask in LR mobile, you will need to click on your "Masking" icon from the bottom toolbar, click on the newly applied mask with a "!" error, click into the "!" error, select "Update"  and allow the AI to detect the relevant "zone" of your image and update masks. There will be blue pop-ups walking you through this in Lightroom mobile as well! 

How to use our local adjustment mask/local adjustment brush presets in Lightroom Classic

To apply your Local Adjustment Brushes to localized parts of your image via the local adjustment brush/radial/gradient tools (in older versions) or the masking tools (in newer versions) you would use the local adjustment presets in Lightroom Classic! 

Simply select a brush or other masking tool, then navigate over to "Effect" at the top of the brush settings panel, click "Custom" to the right of the word "Effect:" and scroll through to select one of your Brixton Film brushes from the installed options. 

If you selected the brush mask option, you would simply hand paint the selected effect over the specific parts of your image you would like to change: 

Using Lightroom Classic, but can't locate your local adjustment brushes? Be sure to check out our installation guide to be sure that they're properly installed. They can sometimes be missed, as they are installed differently than general presets! 

How to use the entire collection in Lightroom Classic (example workflow):

If you are new to Lightroom, before attempting one of our example workflows, we recommend reading through the above info. We provide an in-depth overview of preset types, and show you where to find and how to use the different tools available to you in this collection!

1. Apply Preset:
   
2. Apply Tool Preset(s):
   
3. Apply Effects Preset(s):
   
   
   
   Optional: Adjust Strength of your preset after applying by sliding the Amount Slider (At the top of your preset panel, beneath your Navigator). Slide left to decrease strength of the effect, or right to increase:
   
   
4. To remove certain subjects from a "Subject" mask, simply click on the "Subject:" mask. It will expand & you will see "Add" or "Subtract" options. Click "Subtract" and Select "People" to remove a whole auto-detected person by clicking the relevant thumbnail. (Need to remove a person or object that was masked in error or wasn't properly detected by the Adobe AI? Select "Subtract" and then select "Brush" to paint over & remove the effect from those parts of your image) : 
   
   
   
   
5. Apply Local Adjustments (as desired):
   
   
   
   

How to use the General, Tool, and Effects Presets in Lightroom CC (example workflow):

If you are new to Lightroom, before attempting one of our example workflows, we recommend reading through the above info. We provide an in-depth overview of preset types, and show you where to find and how to use the different tools available to you in this collection!

1. Apply Preset:
   
2. Apply Tool Preset(s):
   
   
3. Apply Effects Preset(s):
   
   
   
4. Optional - Use the Amount Slider that appears below the selected preset to adjust effect strength:
   
   
   
5. To remove specific masks when selecting multi-zone options: Open your Masking panel (via the circle with dotted line icon on your righthand toolbar), expand your masking layers (Little left-pointing arrow icon at the top of your Masking panel), select the layer you'd like to delete (identified by name), hover over that layer and click "...", then select the "Delete" option from the pop-up menu:
   
   
   
   For images like this one, that don't have the Sky to detect, the option to delete will be more obvious (A "Delete" button will appear to the right when you click on that mask layer) and any masks applied to these non-existent or non-computed zones will be considered "Empty" masks:
   
   
   
   
6. To remove certain subjects from a "Subject" mask, simply click on the "Subject:" mask. It will expand & you will see "Add" or "Subtract" options. Click "Subtract" and Select "People" to remove a whole auto-detected person by clicking the relevant thumbnail. (Need to remove a person or object that was masked in error or wasn't properly detected by the Adobe AI? Select "Subtract" and then select "Brush" to paint over & remove the effect from those parts of your image) : 
   
   
   
   
   In short: Subtract > People...  will allow you to automictically remove a subject from your mask via thumbnail selection of all "People" detected by the AI. Subtract > Brush will require you to manually paint away areas you don't want affected the mask. 
   
   

How to use the General, Tool, & Effects Presets in Photoshop ACR (example workflow):

If you are new to Lightroom, before attempting one of our example workflows, we recommend reading through the above collection info at the top of this article. We provide an in-depth overview of preset types, and show you where to find and how to use the different tools available to you in this collection!

1. Apply Preset:
   
   
   
2. Apply Tool Preset(s):
   
   
   
3. Apply Effects Preset(s): 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Adjust Preset Strength With the Amount Slider (above your presets panel, beneath the histogram):
   
   
   
   
5. To remove undesired masks from a multi-zone Effects Preset that affected Sky, Background, and Subject: Navigate to the Masking (dotted outline circle) icon on your righthand toolbar in ACR, select the newly applied mask that you would like to delete (you can check the box reading "Show Overlay" to confirm you are removing the correct mask), click the "..." that appears & select the option to "Delete" from the pop-up menu:
   
   
   

How to use the General, Tool, & Effects Presets in Lightroom Mobile (example workflow for Android):

If you are new to editing on mobile, or new to using AI or Adaptive Effects in Lightroom mobile (Premium app on Android), we recommend reading over the info provided at the top of this article that breaks down the collection tools and compatibility, in detail! 

1. Apply Your Preset & Click The Checkmark to Apply: 
   
2. Apply Tool Preset & Click Check (Repeat the process to apply additional tools, clicking the checkmark each time): 
   
   
   
3. Apply an Effects Preset & Click Check (Because the mobile app need to compute each mask, you won't see a live preview of the applied Effects presets):
   
   
   (Note: on mobile, you'll only have the option to adjust "Amount" or strength of your preset at application. So, you'd need to do this before clicking the checkmark to apply your changes. You can adjust amount by clicking on the thumbnail of the preset you selected where you see the white slider icon, then click check to apply. As you get a feel for what the Effects presets accomplish once applied, you'll know about what strength you'll be the most happy with going forward.) 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Update/Compute Applied AI Masks Under "Masking" (As noted, you won't see a live preview, because the mobile app still needs to compute the masks you've applied). So click the "Masking" icon on your bottom toolbar to view and compute the masks applied by your Effects Presets!
   
   Select a Mask with the ! error, it will reveal a buried square with that same error icon, click on that square to prompt a "needs to be recomputed"/"Update" popup:
   
   Click "Update" to AI mask your Subject
   
   
   Repeat for each new mask with a "!" icon, and then click the checkmark to apply your changes:
   
   
   
5. Want to Adjust your masks? You can delete, adjust settings for, or remove subjects/objects from a mask after it has been applied by clicking into it. 
   
   Click on the mask you would like to change (it will show a red overlay as you click through your masks so you know exactly where it has been applied). 
   
   Click the trash can icon to delete a mask, click the icon above the trash can to invert the mask, and click on the +/- below the icon to add or remove from the mask. 
   
   
   On mobile, we recommend using the "Brush" to add or subtract from a mask, so you can manually paint over the areas you'd like to change: 
   
   Click the checkmark on the top right to apply your changes! 
   
   

How to adjust masks applied by Effects Presets in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop ACR for desktop

When you are finished editing your photos, you can adjust masks by heading over to your masking tool. With multi-layers masking, you can find the layer you want to adjust by clicking through the layers to preview each one (with red overlays to indicate where snow/changes have been applied). Once you have selected the one you’d like to edit, you can click on the little “-“ button below that layer (or “Subtract” if the layers are expanded to include text). The best subtract option for erasing little bits of snow you don’t want would be the “brush” option which offers the most freehand control. You can also use AI or other types of masking to subtract from the Effects layer selected. See an example of this above in our Lightroom example workflow above. 

How to adjust masks applied by Effects Presets in Lightroom Mobile

The process for adjusting masks in Lightroom mobile will work just like it does in Lightroom CC! You will simply apply the masking preset, make sure any adaptive presets were able to compute your subject in the masking panel, and then select the mask you'd like to change, select subtract, select your brush, and then paint where you would like the effect "removed". You can see this in action in our Lightroom Mobile example workflow above! 

Run into any issues, or have any questions before purchase?

Reach out to our dedicated support team at support@theluxelens.com for 1:1 support, recommendations, and tips! 

Featured workflow images by Natalie Gildersleeve, Tim Laielli (@barefoottim), and Anka Melnikova