Cinematic Black Bars [Lightroom Preset]

If you like me love to take photos in wide and cinematic aspect ratios like e 2.4:1, 2.33:1, or even 65:24 you know the pain of always having to export your images to PS or other third-party applications to add black bars to make them 16:9 so you can upload them top social media.

Why Black Bars Inside Lightroom

• Faster Workflow: Finally, you can add Black Bars directly in Lightroom – no overlay, no Photoshop and no third-party software required.
• Non-Destructive Editing: Because my method uses Lightroom masking you ca toggle the bars on and off with ease, while the original photo remains untouched. Perfect for different exports or client preferences.
• Live Preview: You can adjust colors and tones in photographs: with the bars applied, helping preview the final result while editing. So you won't be surprised by the perceived brightness change after you add the black bars
• Space saving: Say goodbye to having the same file multiple times on your hard drives just because you wanted to add black bars. You can now use virtual copies inside Lightroom and save valuable space on disk.

[VIDEO SOON]

How did I achieve borders in Lightroom?

Cinematic Black Bars are not something supported by default in Lightroom. I use a workaround similar to the one used in my Minimalistic Borders [ Lightroom Preset ] . A mask that forces the selected pixels to pure black using a flat curve. But getting the bars perfectly straight and not having them go crooked if you have previously used any kind of distortion control was not an easy task. So I had to combine, complex math, and a bit of coding to manually tweak to the .xmp files (the backbone of Lightroom presets) to lock the bars exactly where I wanted them to be. The result? A simple, one-click preset that instantly gives your photos a true cinematic widescreen look—flawless, consistent, and ready for the big screen door social media. Let's face it we are going to post them to IG most likely.

What are Black Bars useful for?

1. Cinematic Aesthetic – Many movies, especially big-budget films, use the 2.39:1 (or 2.4:1) aspect ratio. Adding black bars makes a photo feel more like a frame from a film, giving it a storytelling quality.
2. Emotional Impact – A wider frame often feels more dramatic or immersive. This can help you place your subject in a specific time and place with the help of the details you see around.
3. Framing & Composition – A wider aspect ratio forces a different compositional approach. It can emphasize horizontal elements, create a sense of scale, or help lead the viewer’s eye across the frame.

What’s in the Pack?

This bundle 4 Cinematic Black Bars Lightroom Presets

• 16:9 - > 2.4:1
• 16:9 - > 2:1
• 16:9 - > 2.33:1
• 16:9 - > 65:24

Perfect for saving time. No more jumping between Lightroom and Photoshop. No more duplicate files. you can now export your wide aspect ratio photo directly as 16:9 with cinematic-looking black borders.

Limitations of my method:

• You will first have to manually crop to 16:9 using the Lightroom crop tool
• The Black Bars will move around if you use distortion correction / transform tools after applying it. So you will have to reset the bars. To do this you will have to delete the mask and apply the preset again.
• Lightroom processes masks in order. If you apply the border early in your edit, later masks might alter the exposure in that area. For pure black or white borders, delete and apply the Border preset again after finishing your editing.
• Presets can't be applied outside the image area. If you used distortion controls or transform tools without Constrain Crop checked, Lightroom may create transparent zones, but masks won’t work in those areas. So the Cinematic Black Bars won't be able to cover them either.

WARNING: Your Lightroom Version has to be somewhat recent.

The Lightroom Border presets won't work with versions of Lightroom that do not have the curve adjustment inside their maks pannel.

LICENSE:

Purchase of these Lightroom presets and Camera profiles grants the buyer a personal, non-transferable, and non-exclusive license to use the presets. This license strictly prohibits resale, redistribution, or sharing of the presets in their original or any modified form, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

INSTALLATION:

Copy the .xmp files to the specific folder:

• Windows: C:Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
• macOS: User Library>Application Support>Adobe>CameraRaw> Settings

Here you can make as many subfolders and organize the files however you see fit as Lightroom won't care and it will load everything.

To learn how to add any presets to Lightroom you can follow these steps:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/kb/faq-install-presets-profiles.html