FINE ART DXO PRESET SERIES DARK CITY – NEW EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2023

JUST RELEASED
DARK CITY FINE ART PRESETS
NEW EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2023
48 PRESETS – 24 PRESETS for DxO PhotoLab & 24 PRESETS for DxO FilmPack
You can also use this alternative link to order.
Lightroom and Photoshop compatibility via PhotoLab & FilmPack
This is the NEW extended 2023 version 10.0.0 of the original fine art DxO Preset Series Dark City, created by Julia Anna Gospodarou.
Thousands of photographers have used these presets to create outstanding fine art photography.
And today, we reached anniversary version 10!
Some of you may be familiar with the first edition of the Dark City DxO presets. Others may be familiar with the subsequent versions of these presets.
After numerous requests and because they became so popular, I updated the presets and added new ones to the collection. The latest version also comprises 24 presets for DxO PhotoLab and 24 presets for DxO FilmPack. You can also use these presets in Lightroom and Photoshop via the DxO FilmPack plugin. You will find indications on how to do that in the documentation that comes with the presets.
I am now making available the extended version of this preset collection, and I hope they will inspire you to create great work.
To be sure that you receive all future updates and additions, make sure you subscribe here and you will receive everything in your inbox.
DARK CITY DXO FINE ART PRESETS – WHY AND HOW
The intention behind creating these presets was to make a series of fine art black and white and color presets that can be used as a quick way of creating fine art photography using the DxO software, alone or combined with Lightroom or Photoshop.
These presets can be a tool giving photographers a straightforward modality of exploring different looks and moods for their image without needing to invest a large amount of time in this process.
The presets are powerful and can create outstanding images. But you don’t need to stop after applying them. You can keep exploring and experimenting with them and you can see them as a starting point in your post-processing workflow, giving you ideas about how to work on your image to create a result that is as close as possible to your vision. You can increase or decrease the intensity of the preset, or even change it completely through a creative approach.
The presets are fully adjustable and you can change the intensity of all the effects applied. They are not LUT style effects (a certain color grading style that is applied as is), but are fully editable.
Do not be afraid to play with different looks, as this can release your creativity and make you find original solutions.
The presets in their simple version (the original series of 5 presets) were launched in 2014 and included in the Elite version of the DxO FilmPack plug-in.
The new extended version of the series adds 19 new presets to the existing 5, so now the series has 24 presets for DxO Film Pack. In addition, you also have 24 NEW presets for PhotoLab, for a total of 48 presets for PhotoLab and FilmPack.
In the latest edition, the previous versions of the presets have been updated and substantially enhanced to cover a wider range of images and to create a more expressive image of the specific concept.
If you work with the presets in DxO FilmPack you also have available the description of every preset so you know how it was created and how you can use it before applying it. These descriptions have also been updated and enriched in the latest 2023 version.
You cannot find the presets in the out-of-the-box version of the DxO software, so the only way to use them in your work is to import them into your software after downloading them on your hard drive from the provided link.
INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
The presets are compatible with the last two versions of DxO FilmPack, FilmPack 5 Elite and FilmPack 6 Elite. The new 2023 version is also compatible with DxO PhotoLab 5 and 6 Elite.
To be able to install the presets, you need to install the ELITE version of FilmPack or PhotoLab. You cannot import the presets in the Essential version, of the software which has no option for importing presets.
Here you can download FilmPack and PhotoLab.
You can use the presets in Photoshop and Lightroom if you have installed DxO FilmPack as a plug-in or by first applying the presets in DxO PhotoLab and exporting the image to Photoshop. More info on that in the installation instructions.
You will find detailed installation instructions in the downloaded preset package.
DxO PRESET SERIES DARK CITY
The series contains the following 24 + 24 presets. You have an extensive description of the presets in the material you will download.
- Dark City
- Dark City Strong Contrast
- Dark City Stronger Contrast
- Dark City Soft Contrast
- Dark City HDR Structure
- Dark City Bright Lights
- Dark City Bold Edges
- Dark City Bold Edges Sepia
- Dark City Split Sepia Gold
- Dark City Split Sepia Gold Strong
- Dark City Selenium
- Dark City Selenium Contrast
- Dark City Soft Light
- Dark City Soft Light Blur
- Dark City Intense Black Infrared
- Dark City Blue
- Dark City Color
- Dark City Color Soft
- Dark City Color Velvia Bold
- Dark City Color Velvia Muted
- Dark City Color Dream
- Dark City Bright
- Dark City Bright Soft Blur
- Dark City Orton Effect
You can also use this alternative link to order.
EXAMPLES – IMAGES CREATED EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE DARK CITY PRESETS
(more examples in the downloaded material)
Above you have an example of what you can create using exclusively the preset “Dark City Soft Light Blur” and below you can see more examples of work created using only the Dark City presets, without the help of other software.
You can get even more creative than this by tweaking the preset or even combining the looks. Also, refining the image further in DxO FilmPack, DxO PhotoLab, Lightroom or Photoshop can give a higher level of subtlety to your image and create an even more original look.
Houston Texas – Chevron Ring – Preset Examples

Frankfurt – Germany – Preset Examples

Bay Bridge – San Francisco – Preset Examples

You can find more examples of images created with the DxO Dark City preset series in the documentation material you will receive when you download the presets. You will also find a detailed description of each preset and how they were created step-by-step so you can understand what each effect does and how you can use it also individually.
Understanding the creation of a preset is a great learning experience that always adds to the refinement of the technique of a photographer. This way you can be in control of your own photography and get creative with these presets and your software in general.
I hope you will enjoy working with these presets and they will give you the inspiration to take your photography to the next level. If you enjoy them, share your impressions in the comments and spread the word, so others can be inspired too.
And, of course, subscribe if you want to receive updates for these presets, or find out when new presets or other post-processing tools are available, and also to receive free articles and tutorials in the future.
You can also use this alternative link to order.
FURTHER STUDY RESOURCES
FINE ART BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY, LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY
You can find more resources about fine art black and white photography, (en)Visionography, long exposure photography and architecture photography in my extensive collection of photography tutorials. To receive my future tutorials directly via email you can subscribe to my website.
Learn more about how to create fine art photography, from vision to processing and the final image in my video course From Vision to Final Image – Mastering Black and White Photography Processing, in my video tutorial Long Exposure, Architecture, Fine Art Photography – Creating (en)Visionography, in my book From Basics to Fine Art – Black and White Photography, or by attending one of my workshops.
To study with Julia Anna Gospodarou personally, find out about our
WORKSHOPS & MENTORING
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Julia Anna Gospodarou – Founder

Julia Anna Gospodarou is an internationally acclaimed award-winning photographer, an architect with a Master’s degree, a best-selling author, and a highly sought-after educator, teaching workshops and lecturing around the world. Founder of (en)Visionography™ and creator of Photography Drawing™, author of the best-selling book From Basics to Fine Art – Black and White Photography, multiple times awarded in the most important photography competitions worldwide (Two-Time International Photography Awards IPA Photographer of the Year 2016 & 2021, World Photography Awards SWPA Top 10 Finalist, and Hasselblad Masters Top 10 Finalist, as well as 100+ more awards), widely published internationally in books and magazines, Julia is passionate about art and photography and striving to spread the ideas of fine art photography and (en)Visionography all over the world.
Such a artist, such a person in this world of creativity.
Glad to know you
Thanks so much Julia Anna. I look forward to your updates and this is a very generous offer. Maybe one day I will be fortunate enough to attend one of your tutorials.
Regards
Pat
Many thanks, Julia Anna!
Hi everyone,
I hope you will all enjoy working with these presets and they will give you inspiration to create great fine art images. I’m wishing you all the best in the year to come and much success with your photography.
Absolutely stunning body of work! Thank you for your very generous offer for the presets.
I am planning on doing one of your workshops in the near future; maybe the next time you do one in the US.
Thanks to you Thomas and I hope you’ll enjoy the presets. It would be great to meet you at a workshop. I’ll be coming soon to the US.
Thank you for the beautiful presets
Thanks Henny. Have fun working with them.
Can’t believe I missed these! Thanks ever so much for your generosity in sharing these freely with us all Julia Anna! I look forward to using them as an initial exploration in finishing and diving off from there.
Thanks to you Alex. I hope you will enjoy working with them and I’m going to make an update to these presets so they work with the newly launched DxO PhotoLab too.