An old lady walking on the sidewalk beside a vibrant yellow wall

Maximum Grain


Maximum Grain free Lightroom preset recreates the texture of images processed from a high-ISO film. It applies a lot of grain, as you would expect when taking images using a light-sensitive slide film. As a result, your images get a convincing retro look.

The preset also simulates the distinct warm vintage look of most old films. This includes the softened tones and matte effect. The overall creative aesthetic can be used in all types of photography, like portraits, landscapes, and urban scenes. It is not dependent on lighting either, so you can definitely apply Maximum Grain on images taken indoors.

Creates a Faded Film Look

A faded and grainy vintage photo of a car's black dashboard

Vintage Photos. Maximum Grain preset produces its vintage look by blending a green tint with custom camera calibration settings. The result is what you see in the After photo above: a warm green haze coats the image, along with densely packed film grains. The resulting image looks convincingly older, as though taken with an analog camera.

You can examine the preset’s signature grainy look further by looking at the dark regions. Grains are more visible on the black dashboard and the trees that line the road.

Applies Brightening Adjustments

A faded and grainy vintage photo of a white house, with a branch of orange flowers in the foreground

Matte Whites. As the preset copies the look of images produces from a high-ISO film, it is important to include brightening adjustments. After all, a high-ISO means greater light sensitivity. You would inevitably, more easily, get brilliant images.

Tip: If your image is originally bright, consider lowering the exposure after applying the preset.

Maximum Grain, however, moderates this added illumination. It lowers the brightness of whites and highlights, subduing them so that they get that vintage matte look. This also means that light regions get to retain more texture, which would otherwise be washed out.

Softens and Lightens Tones

A faded and grainy vintage photo of a bedroom with white walls

Faded Tones. The preset refines its existing tonal adjustments using the tone curve. It also cuts the already softened shadows here, making them look almost faded. Maximum Grain then takes the effect a step further by also lowering color saturation levels. What you get, in effect, is such a muted yet charming style. Notice how these adjustments help accentuate Maximum Grain’s warm green tint in the After photo above. Look at the room’s objects closely and see how the preset transforms tones. 

A faded and grainy photo of someone's hands holding a white mug of coffee over a map

Light and Flat. The preset makes images look flatter by lowering clarity levels. This goes hand in hand with the light shadows: just look at the lower region of the image above. You can also examine the white mug of coffee; it looks less defined because of the lightened shadows along its rim. There is now less depth, but the overall aesthetic now showcases an unmistakable aged film look.

Maximum Grain is for Lightroom Mobile, Desktop and…

Like all our presets, you can absolutely use Maximum Grain preset as is, right out of the box. With any preset, you might need to make adjustments to accommodate your specific camera, settings, lighting, and subject matter.

  • Entirely Adjustable
  • Compatible with Lightroom 4, 5, 6 and CC
  • Performs with both PC, Mac, and Mobile
  • Applicable to both RAW and JPG images
  • 100% Free

Film Free Lightroom Presets


Free Lightroom Preset by Forrest Lane

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