Let’s walk through editing a photo of a Shibuya crossing using a generic "Japanese Style" philosophy.
Original Photo: Busy, harsh sunlight, blown highlights, over-saturated red Coca-Cola sign.
Result: The chaos is calmed. The red sign pops, but the background fades into a dusty teal mist.
Inspired by Japanese architecture and lifestyle magazines (like Kinfolk), this style is incredibly bright. lightroom presets japanese style
If you spend any time on photography social media—Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok—you’ve likely stumbled upon the Japanese Style aesthetic. It’s a look defined by muted emotions, soft pastel tones, and a sense of "Mono no aware" (a wistfulness at the transience of things).
But achieving that specific "anime in real life" or "Tokyo street photography" look isn't just about lowering your saturation. It requires a specific touch in the Color Grading panel.
In this post, we’re breaking down exactly what makes the Japanese Lightroom preset style so unique, how to use them, and a few tips to get that cinematic look right in-camera. Let’s walk through editing a photo of a
You can build this from scratch. It requires lowering the Dehaze, tweaking the Point Curve into an "S" that doesn't touch the bottom, and going into the HSL panel to kill the saturation of yellow and green.
But presets save you from analysis paralysis. A high-quality Japanese preset pack does the heavy lifting of color science. More importantly, because of the "soft contrast" nature of this style, a good preset is just a starting point—you will still need to adjust the exposure slider, but the color harmony is already done for you.
Best for: Architecture & Nature
Not every photo looks good in Japanese style. It works magic on:
It struggles with:
Japanese presets are extremely sensitive to white balance. Result: The chaos is calmed