A vibrant and colorful portrait of a woman in front of a street art

TVK Drama


TVK Drama is a free Lightroom preset that adds drama to urban photography by applying a dark but vibrant style. It retains a natural look but with bolder colors. Its tones are also optimized to enhance the mood of street photography.

Collection: Urban Presets
Best for: Urban Scenes, Natural Light
Style: Natural, Deeper Dark Regions, Dramatic Lighting

You can try to use this preset when photographing dynamic city scenes. This is a reliable filter to go for if you do not want to alter any of your photo’s colors. It is the go-to preset if all you want is a refining tweak to enhance the modern atmosphere.

With this preset, photos would always come out looking great for both prints and social media like Instagram.

Dims the Overall Scene

An urban photo of a bike leaning against a wall of street art

Dark Urban. Urban photography is known for its dark aesthetic. This, after all, helps draw out the tones that define the rugged modern style. TVK Drama dims images by targeting light-specific adjustments in exposure, luminance, and highlights. The preset lowers both; it does not alter the intensity of tones. You get to retain the depth and detail you intended for your shot.

In the example above, notice how the preset lessens the amount of light in the image. The After photo with the street art is dim now but more dramatic. We get to see more of the wall’s textures and the bike’s details. Notice, too, how this simple darkening brought out the grungy look of the pavement.

As you can see, you can also use this preset to fix overexposed images. TVK Drama reliably moderates light to prioritize details. This is, after all, important because urban scenes are usually rich in visual elements and texture.

Moderates Dark Regions

A well-defined photo of an SLR Nikon camera

Moderated Blacks. To compensate for the darkening and to avoid harsh dark regions, TVK Drama lightens blacks and softens shadows. These enhancements also help reveal details, as you can see in the example photo above. Also, to draw out color despite the dark aesthetic, the preset amplifies contrast as well.

These adjustments all come together in the After photo. Observe how the preset reveals more of the camera simply by lightening the dark regions. Notice how it also extracts detail from the blue sky in the background.

Applies Some Film Effects

A dramatic photo of a woman with her back to the camera and wearing a floral dress

Film Polish. As a finishing touch and to add to the mood, TVK Drama applies the usual textural adjustments to replicate the look of analog photography. It sharpens textures and reduces noise. These tweaks refine the details of the image to complement the preset’s clean and professional look. Last is the vignetting: it is not essential, but it keeps the attention to the subject.

In the After photo above, notice how the preset extracts details, even with its dim settings. Pay attention to the woman’s hat, her hair strands, and skin tone. Colors appear more nuanced and complex now; these qualities are otherwise lost in an overly bright photograph.

TVK Drama is for Lightroom Mobile, Desktop and…

Like all our presets, you can absolutely use the TVK Drama 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.

If you want more presets like this, be sure to check out our urban presets.

  • 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 Tiffany VK Photography

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