A photo of a highway from a biker's perspective, with a reflection of a couple in its side mirror

Vacation Memory


Vacation Memory is a free Lightroom preset that gives your captured moments a classic look and feel with its bright and warm mid-contrast tones. This aesthetic replicates the Kodak Ultramax 800 film, from its ISO light sensitivity to the signature grain.

The preset is ideal for any type of photography, whether indoor or outdoor. Like the film it emulates, its brightening is sufficient even for dimly lit scenes. Vacation Memory is therefore optimized and ideal for preserving your travel or vacation memories, wherever you may be.

If you are looking for a filter to use that has unique aesthetic but does not drastically change images, this is one to go for. It is perfect for both your casual Instagram uploads to professional prints.

Brightens and Tones Like Film

A brightened photo of a little girl outdoors

Bright and Crisp. The Vacation Memory preset simulates even how the Ultramax 800 processes light. As an ISO 800 film, it is more sensitive to light and is hence more likely to produce bright images, unless manually or intentionally moderated by the photographer.

For this effect, the preset increases exposure. We recommend that you use this preset if you have images that could use some brightening — consider this both as a fix and a stylistic enhancement.

It is easy to notice Ultramax’s signature tones in this preset, which will be detailed later on. Firstly, to create the base of this unmistakable film look, Vacation Memory preset applies a Kodak UltraMax 800 tone curve. It also further softens midtones and overall color saturation.

Amplifies Color Luminance

A brightened photo of a woman at the beach

Vibrant Colors. As a part of its bright motif, the preset further increases the luminance of warm colors, plus aqua, purple, and magenta. You can, for example, see how the preset lightens the woman’s skirt in the above beach photo. It does the same for the aqua hues of the sea behind her.

On the other hand, Vacation Memory lowers the luminance of blues. This adds some depth and definition to water elements in photographs, like the one above. It complements the sea’s brightened shades of aqua.

Moderates Tones by Softening Highlights and Brightening Shadows

A bright photo of water flowing

Light and Soft. The After photo above is absolutely more stunning compared to the original image. The brightening adjustments of this preset have helped reveal a lot of visual elements; it is, however, the improvements in tone for both highlights and shadows, that add much definition to the image.

For this effect, Vacation Memory softens highlights and whites, and lightens shadows. The lessening of highlights unveils more details in the photograph, while the diluting of shadows softens the image.

Notice how the grain and vignette in the After photo complete the film look. These solidify the preset’s retro impression and adds to the photo’s nostalgic feel.

 

Vacation Memory is for Lightroom Mobile, Desktop and…

Like all our presets, you can absolutely use Vacation Memory 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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