Contrastly

What Contrastly does

Contrastly, founded in 2012 and operating globally from a Canadian mailing address while governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, is a private digital products and content business serving photography enthusiasts. It builds and sells Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw presets (.lrtemplate and .xmp formats), Photoshop actions (.atn files, 150+), creative color profiles, and educational eBooks and video courses, with all products delivered as digital downloads and free lifetime updates. The underlying technology is a curated plugin ecosystem for Adobe's photo-editing applications, with compatibility maintained across Lightroom 4 through Classic CC, Photoshop 4 through CC, and ACR 10.3+, plus an extension into Skylum Luminar presets.

The company operates a multi-revenue-stream model: one-time digital product sales through an owned e-commerce store (SendOwl + PayPal + Stripe), revenue from 8+ third-party marketplaces including CreativeMarket, Envato Elements, and Adobe Exchange, affiliate commissions from partners such as Amazon Associates and B&H Photo, and display/sponsored advertising on a 1,187+ article photography blog. Customer acquisition is content-led through an SEO-driven blog, an email newsletter on ConvertKit offering 25 free presets as a lead magnet, and an active social presence on Instagram and Facebook.

Contrastly runs as a lean, bootstrapped operation (11-50 employees, self-described as profitable, no disclosed funding) targeting hobbyist and semi-professional photographers globally. Notable strategic assets include an early-compatibility relationship with Adobe (beta access to pre-release Lightroom/ACR) and coverage across 15+ photography publications including Adobe Blog, Digital Photography School, and Light Stalking. The product line is priced low per unit with optional Extended Licenses for commercial multi-use, and the customer base is highly fragmented across individuals and SMBs with no enterprise concentration.

Name

Contrastly

Legal name

Contrastly

Website

https://contrastly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Contrastly is a private, bootstrapped digital products company founded in 2012 that creates and sells Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, creative profiles, eBooks, and video courses for hobbyist and semi-professional photographers globally, monetizing through its own store, third-party marketplaces, and content/affiliate advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photo Editing Software & Tools

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861)

akta.pro primary industry

Photo Printing & Imaging Supplies Retail (Printers, Paper, Ink, Darkroom) (CRACAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Course Marketplaces (Multi-Instructor Catalogs) (MPACALAA)

Keywords

• Lightroom presets
• Photoshop actions
• Photo editing tools
• Photography education
• Digital photography products

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenfield Park

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Product Sales: One-time purchase transactions for digital photography products including Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, creative profiles, eBooks, and video courses. Customers purchase through the Contrastly Store (powered by SendOwl) and receive instant digital delivery via download. Prices listed in USD.
2. Affiliate Commissions: Earns commission from referring customers to third-party products and services through affiliate links. Partners include Amazon Associates, PhotographyPla.net, ShutterSweets, B&H Photo, On1 Software, Photzy, BuySellAds, ImpactRadius, TradeDoubler, and Google AdSense.
3. Advertising and Sponsored Content: Generates advertising revenue through display ads and sponsored content placements on the website. Accepts compensation for advertising, sponsorships, and paid insertions. Discloses FTC requirements compliance for sponsored content.
4. Third-Party Marketplace Sales: Products are also sold through third-party platforms including CreativeMarket, TheHungryJPEG, Etsy, Sellfy, Creative Highway, Envato Elements, 5DayDeal, and Adobe Exchange, earning revenue from those sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Contrastly designs and sells digital photography tools and educational content for Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, and Adobe Photoshop users. Its product line centers on Lightroom and ACR preset bundles, Photoshop action bundles, and creative color/tonal profiles, supplemented by eBooks and video courses on photography composition and Lightroom mastery. Products are delivered as digital downloads with one-time perpetual licensing and free lifetime updates, primarily sold direct-to-consumer through the Contrastly Store and via third-party creative-asset marketplaces.

Product overview

Contrastly is a photography education and digital products company offering a suite of tools for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop users. Their core product line consists of Lightroom & ACR Presets (compatible with Lightroom 4, 5, 6, CC, and Classic CC, as well as Adobe Camera Raw), Photoshop Actions (over 150 automation files for Photoshop), and LR & ACR Creative Profiles. These products are supplemented by educational content including the Modern Composition eBook, Lightroom Mastery eBook, and Decoding Lightroom video course. The company also offers Luminar presets for Skylum Luminar users. Products are sold as digital downloads with free lifetime updates and are compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. Lightroom presets can sync to iOS and Android mobile apps after installation on desktop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Contrastly Store: Premium Lightroom & ACR Presets, Photoshop Actions, eBooks, and Video Courses

Products and services

• Lightroom & ACR Presets

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 free Lightroom presets for newsletter sign-up

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• AdobecoreTechnology or IntegrationAdobe Blog featured Contrastly's Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw releases. Contrastly works closely with Adobe, testing pre-release beta versions of Lightroom and ACR to ensure product compatibility ahead of official releases. This partnership allows Contrastly to develop products optimized for Adobe's latest features.
• CreativeMarketmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party marketplace where Contrastly sells Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions. One of the primary distribution channels outside the owned store.
• TheHungryJPEGmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party marketplace for creative digital assets. Distributes Contrastly products to a broader creative community.
• Envato ElementsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSubscription-based marketplace for design assets. Provides Contrastly access to Envato's subscriber base for product distribution.
• Adobe ExchangemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdobe's official marketplace for extensions and integrations. Contrastly products available through Adobe Exchange for Creative Cloud users.
• SendOwlcoreTechnology or IntegrationEcommerce platform powering the Contrastly Store. Handles shopping cart, order processing, product delivery, payment integration with PayPal and Stripe, and accounting features. Contrastly uses SendOwl to send product updates and order confirmation emails.
• ConvertKitcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail service provider (ESP) used for Contrastly's email newsletter delivery. Implements double opt-in for CAN-SPAM and CASL compliance. Handles subscription management and email campaign delivery.
• VultrcoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud hosting provider. Website is hosted on a dedicated Vultr server instance. IP addresses are pseudonymized for data security.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor integrated with SendOwl for handling PayPal transactions during checkout.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor integrated with SendOwl for handling credit card transactions (Visa, Mastercard, American Express). PCI-DSS compliant.
• PhotocrowdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhoto competition platform partnered with Contrastly for photo challenges. Winners can claim prizes through this partnership.
• GuruShotsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhoto competition platform partnered with Contrastly for photo challenges. Winners can claim prizes through this partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sleeklens: Lightroom presets and Photoshop action bundles plus photography educational content for enthusiast photographers. Direct comparison point on product mix, pricing structure, and target persona.
• RNI Films: Film-emulation presets and profiles for Lightroom, ACR, and Capture One. Overlaps with Contrastly on Lightroom preset products and the same enthusiast photographer segment.
• Tribe Archipelago: Mobile-first Lightroom presets and photography educational content aimed at enthusiast photographers. Comparable positioning to Contrastly's mobile-compatible presets and education focus.
• Visual Flow: Lightroom presets and editing tools targeted at wedding and portrait photographers. Direct overlap with Contrastly's Lightroom preset offering and SMB/pro-sumer photography customer.
• FilterGrade: Online marketplace for Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, video LUTs, and creative assets. Overlaps as both a peer (selling own presets) and a marketplace channel that competes with Contrastly's third-party distribution strategy.
• Mastin Labs: Premium Lightroom and ACR presets for photographers, focused on film-emulation looks. Directly comparable to Contrastly's core preset bundle in target customer (enthusiast/semi-pro photographers), product format, and Adobe ecosystem specialization.
• Pretty Presets (PrettyActions): Sells Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions bundles for portrait, wedding, and landscape photographers. Closely comparable product mix and target buyer to Contrastly's preset-and-actions offering.

Broad incumbents

• Skylum (Luminar): Photo-editing software vendor whose Luminar product is both a distribution channel for Contrastly's Luminar presets and a potential competitive substitute offering AI-driven one-click editing. Relevant as a category incumbent that shapes the editing-tool landscape.
• ON1 Software: Photo-editing software (ON1 Photo RAW) and preset/action vendor. A broader incumbent offering both editing software and presets; comparable through its preset product line and listed as a Contrastly affiliate partner.

Emerging players

• Photzy: Photography education platform with free downloadable resources and paid courses; partial overlap with Contrastly's educational content (eBooks, video courses) and a partner via the free photography cheat sheets co-promotion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Contrastly
• Instagraminstagram.com/contrastlycom
• Xx.com/Contrastly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Contrastly