Where are my profiles?

Question

Where do I place DNG Camera Profiles (DCP) and Enhanced Profiles (XMP) for Adobe Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop Camera Raw?

Answer

Profiles are used to modify the look of an image in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or Photoshop Camera Raw. If you are expecting to see a profile that is not appearing, there are a few potential reasons.

1. Some profiles are camera-specific; they will only appear for images with metadata that matches the camera stored in the profile. Ensure that the camera supported by the image matches the camera in the profile. Profiles created with the Adobe DNG Profile Editor will only work for the camera they are created for.
2. The profile is stored in the wrong location. This is the focus of this article.
3. Lightroom and Photoshop need to be restarted once the camera-matching profiles are stored in the correct location. They only load profiles when started and will not see profiles that have been moved while running.
4. Profiles are stored in a different Lightroom catalog.

CameraRaw Folder

The CameraRaw folder is where Adobe stores a variety of data, including profiles, presets, custom curves, and more. The CameraRaw folder can be found in a variety of locations for macOS and Windows.

macOS

On macOS, CameraRaw is located in your Home folder.

• Open Finder.
• In the Go menu, select Go to Folder… or type shift + command + G.
• Copy the following folder and paste into the Go to Folder dialog.
  • ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/
• Hit the return key.
• The ~/ in the above path is shorthand for /Users/(username)/. The following path will get you to the same location, where (username) is your system username.
  • /Users/(username)/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/

Windows

On Windows, there are a couple of locations where the CameraRaw folder can be found.

• Open File Explorer.
• Copy the following path and paste into the Path or Quick Access box.
  • C:\Users\%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\
• Hit the enter key.
• On some Windows systems, an additional CameraRaw folder can be found at this path. Your profiles can use either path.
  • C:\ProgramData\Adobe\CameraRaw\

CameraProfiles & Settings Folders

There are two key directories within CameraRaw; CameraProfiles and Settings. Within CameraRaw, the folders are the same for macOS and Windows.

CameraProfiles Folder

The CameraProfiles folder is where you save DNG Camera Profile (*.dcp) files. You can create folders with CameraProfiles to keep your profiles organized, such as .../CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/My Infrared Profiles/. If you are using profiles from the Infrared Profile Pack, you can unzip the entire zip file into CameraProfiles or into it’s own folder within CameraProfiles, such as .../CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/Infrared Profile Pack/.

Settings Folder

The Settings folder is where you save Enhanced Profile and Preset (*.xmp) files. You can also create folders within Settings to organize your Enhanced Profiles and Presets. For example, if you are using LR IR Color Swap profiles, you can store camera specific files in a folder such as .../CameraRaw/Settings/Canon R6/.

Moving Between Computers

If you are looking to move between computers, you can simple copy the CameraRaw folder. Same for backups, if you want to backup your profiles and presets, backup the CameraRaw folder.

Storing presets in your Lightroom catalog

Storing presets in your Lightroom catalog (Lightroom Classic only) may conflict with new profiles appearing in Lightroom.

• In Lightroom Classic, open Preferences.
• Under the Presets tab, in the Location group, uncheck the box labeled Store presets with this catalog. In this context, “Presets” is referring to preset or profile files stored in the Settings directory.
• Restart Lightroom Classic.
• Optionally, you can re-check Store presets with this catalog. Restart Lightroom. Profiles should appear correctly.

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