A photographer viewing his shot from his camera while standing at the riverbed

Instant Memories


Instant Memories is a free Lightroom preset that gives your photos a Polaroid film effect. The preset uses its color saturation and luminance settings to produce film-like images. This means bringing out different colors as well as muting some of it for a balanced look. It even incorporates custom Tone Curve settings that emulate the Kodak Portra 800 for that authentic analog look.

You can now have the look of your Instax photos to your digital images by simply using this preset. This is perfect for a unique fresh look on your Instagram feed or social media posts.

Transforms Warm Colors

A classic outdoor film photo of a woman with a flowy peach dress

Polaroid Look. The colors in the After photo clearly changed especially on the lush green tones of the plants. You can also notice how the shadows and dark elements in the photo transformed into a mix of blue, purple and magenta tint. The background completely shifts its vibe as the dark colors turn into a dramatic mysterious look.

The overall photo no longer looks like its original digital form, with the Instant Memories preset’s custom shadows and color settings, the photo looks like it was taken from your Polaroid camera.

An old film photo of a little girl with braided pig tails outdoors

Cool Tones. Just like in Polaroid shots, cool tones such as blue and purple are often evident in the dark areas and shadows in the processed photo. The Instant Memories preset does not fail to create custom settings to capture that instant film look.

The example above perfectly shows how the preset applies these custom adjustments. For starters, you can immediately see how the child’s jacket is now rather blue and magenta in color than black. The pathway also gains a cool blue tint replacing the light gray color of the mix of gravel and grass which gives a more layered look. Lastly, the background has more depth now through its dark magenta tinted shadows and desaturated greens.

Applies Custom Tone Curve Settings

A classic wedding photo of a bride holding her bouquet outdoors

Contrasting Lights. The Instant Memories preset incorporates the Kodak Portra 800 look in its Tone Curve Settings for that authentic Instant Film look.

The elegant wedding photo above is a great example of how the preset’s Tone Curve settings perform. If you look at it closely, you’ll notice how the lighting is now unevenly scattered. This means gaining more contrast and depth, as we now have a clearer distinction on darker and lighter elements. The background now serves as a contrast having darker tints, setting it apart from the lighter pigments of the grass. This also helps the bride’s dress to create more attention and be the focus of the overall image.

Applies Fine Adjustments on Texture

A classic film photo of a man and a woman hiking

Textured Shadows. The Instant Memories preset transforms dark elements of the image into a mix blend of blue, purple and magenta tints. The effect is often seen in the fine shadows or subtle dark parts of the image as heightened darker tones, creating depth and texture.

The example above shows how the unnoticed dark areas of the image when intensified, creates a more recognizable texture. This is seen through the rocks, notice how in the Before photo the rocks look very soft and easy to break. The preset changes the look and impression of the rocks by emphasizing the dark lines and shadows, which in result created a new context and texture on the over-all image.

Instant Memories is for Lightroom Mobile, Desktop and…

Like all our presets, you can absolutely use Instant Memories 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


Free Lightroom Preset by Forrest Lane

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