diff --git a/libvips/foreign/foreign.c b/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
index dd60b94b..a304ce08 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
@@ -2458,6 +2458,8 @@ vips_webpload_buffer( void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage **out, ... )
  * Optional arguments:
  *
  * @Q: quality factor
+ * @lossless: enables lossless compression
+ * @preset: #VipsForeignWebpPreset choose lossy compression preset
  *
  * See also: vips_webpload(), vips_image_write_to_file().
  *
@@ -2486,6 +2488,8 @@ vips_webpsave( VipsImage *in, const char *filename, ... )
  * Optional arguments:
  *
  * @Q: JPEG quality factor
+ * @lossless: enables lossless compression
+ * @preset: #VipsForeignWebpPreset choose lossy compression preset
  *
  * See also: vips_webpsave().
  *
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/vips2webp.c b/libvips/foreign/vips2webp.c
index b5b91a16..6c7cab42 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/vips2webp.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/vips2webp.c
@@ -56,15 +56,41 @@
 typedef int (*webp_import)( WebPPicture *picture,
 	const uint8_t *rgb, int stride );
 
+static WebPPreset
+get_preset( VipsForeignWebpPreset preset )
+{
+	switch( preset ) {
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT );
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE );
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO );
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING );
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_ICON:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_ICON );
+	case VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_TEXT:
+		return( WEBP_PRESET_TEXT );
+
+	default:
+		g_assert_not_reached();
+	}
+
+	/* Keep -Wall happy.
+	 */
+	return( -1 );
+}
+
 static int
 write_webp( WebPPicture *pic, VipsImage *in,
-	int Q, gboolean lossless )
+	int Q, gboolean lossless, VipsForeignWebpPreset preset )
 {
 	VipsImage *memory;
 	WebPConfig config;
 	webp_import import;
 
-	if ( !WebPConfigPreset(&config, WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT, Q) ) {
+	if ( !WebPConfigPreset(&config, get_preset( preset ), Q) ) {
 		vips_error( "vips2webp",
 			"%s", _( "config version error" ) );
 		return( -1 );
@@ -112,7 +138,7 @@ write_webp( WebPPicture *pic, VipsImage *in,
 
 int
 vips__webp_write_file( VipsImage *in, const char *filename, 
-	int Q, gboolean lossless )
+	int Q, gboolean lossless, VipsForeignWebpPreset preset )
 {
 	WebPPicture pic;
 	WebPMemoryWriter writer;
@@ -128,7 +154,7 @@ vips__webp_write_file( VipsImage *in, const char *filename,
 	pic.writer = WebPMemoryWrite;
 	pic.custom_ptr = &writer;
 
-	if( write_webp( &pic, in, Q, lossless ) ) {
+	if( write_webp( &pic, in, Q, lossless, preset ) ) {
 		WebPPictureFree( &pic );
 		WebPMemoryWriterClear( &writer );
 		return -1;
@@ -155,7 +181,7 @@ vips__webp_write_file( VipsImage *in, const char *filename,
 
 int
 vips__webp_write_buffer( VipsImage *in, void **obuf, size_t *olen, 
-	int Q, gboolean lossless )
+	int Q, gboolean lossless, VipsForeignWebpPreset preset )
 {
 	WebPPicture pic;
 	WebPMemoryWriter writer;
@@ -171,7 +197,7 @@ vips__webp_write_buffer( VipsImage *in, void **obuf, size_t *olen,
 	pic.writer = WebPMemoryWrite;
 	pic.custom_ptr = &writer;
 
-	if( write_webp( &pic, in, Q, lossless ) ) {
+	if( write_webp( &pic, in, Q, lossless, preset ) ) {
 		WebPPictureFree( &pic );
 		WebPMemoryWriterClear( &writer );
 		return -1;
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/webp.h b/libvips/foreign/webp.h
index 83e8653b..e1698239 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/webp.h
+++ b/libvips/foreign/webp.h
@@ -49,9 +49,9 @@ int vips__webp_read_buffer( const void *buf, size_t len,
 	VipsImage *out, int shrink ); 
 
 int vips__webp_write_file( VipsImage *out, const char *filename, 
-	int Q, gboolean lossless );
+	int Q, gboolean lossless, VipsForeignWebpPreset preset );
 int vips__webp_write_buffer( VipsImage *out, void **buf, size_t *len, 
-	int Q, gboolean lossless );
+	int Q, gboolean lossless, VipsForeignWebpPreset preset );
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/webpsave.c b/libvips/foreign/webpsave.c
index b507785a..2b411d21 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/webpsave.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/webpsave.c
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ typedef struct _VipsForeignSaveWebp {
 	 */
 	gboolean lossless;
 
+	/* Lossy compression preset.
+	 */
+	VipsForeignWebpPreset preset;
+
 } VipsForeignSaveWebp;
 
 typedef VipsForeignSaveClass VipsForeignSaveWebpClass;
@@ -109,6 +113,14 @@ vips_foreign_save_webp_class_init( VipsForeignSaveWebpClass *class )
 		G_STRUCT_OFFSET( VipsForeignSaveWebp, lossless ),
 		FALSE ); 
 
+	VIPS_ARG_ENUM( class, "preset", 12,
+		_( "preset" ),
+		_( "Preset for lossy compression" ),
+		VIPS_ARGUMENT_OPTIONAL_INPUT,
+		G_STRUCT_OFFSET( VipsForeignSaveWebp, preset ),
+		VIPS_TYPE_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET,
+		VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT );
+
 }
 
 static void
@@ -143,7 +155,7 @@ vips_foreign_save_webp_file_build( VipsObject *object )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	if( vips__webp_write_file( save->ready, file->filename, 
-		webp->Q, webp->lossless ) )
+		webp->Q, webp->lossless, webp->preset ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	return( 0 );
@@ -205,7 +217,7 @@ vips_foreign_save_webp_buffer_build( VipsObject *object )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	if( vips__webp_write_buffer( save->ready, &obuf, &olen, 
-		webp->Q, webp->lossless ) )
+		webp->Q, webp->lossless, webp->preset ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	blob = vips_blob_new( (VipsCallbackFn) vips_free, obuf, olen );
@@ -266,7 +278,7 @@ vips_foreign_save_webp_mime_build( VipsObject *object )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	if( vips__webp_write_buffer( save->ready, &obuf, &olen, 
-		webp->Q, webp->lossless ) )
+		webp->Q, webp->lossless, webp->preset ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	printf( "Content-length: %zu\r\n", olen );
diff --git a/libvips/include/vips/enumtypes.h b/libvips/include/vips/enumtypes.h
index 8fdc127a..f1b132fc 100644
--- a/libvips/include/vips/enumtypes.h
+++ b/libvips/include/vips/enumtypes.h
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ GType vips_foreign_flags_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
 #define VIPS_TYPE_FOREIGN_FLAGS (vips_foreign_flags_get_type())
 GType vips_saveable_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
 #define VIPS_TYPE_SAVEABLE (vips_saveable_get_type())
+GType vips_foreign_webp_preset_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
+#define VIPS_TYPE_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET (vips_foreign_webp_preset_get_type())
 GType vips_foreign_tiff_compression_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
 #define VIPS_TYPE_FOREIGN_TIFF_COMPRESSION (vips_foreign_tiff_compression_get_type())
 GType vips_foreign_tiff_predictor_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
diff --git a/libvips/include/vips/foreign.h b/libvips/include/vips/foreign.h
index 36328f43..a3a9af8e 100644
--- a/libvips/include/vips/foreign.h
+++ b/libvips/include/vips/foreign.h
@@ -338,6 +338,29 @@ int vips_jpegsave_buffer( VipsImage *in, void **buf, size_t *len, ... )
 int vips_jpegsave_mime( VipsImage *in, ... )
 	__attribute__((sentinel));
 
+/**
+ * VipsForeignWebpPreset:
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT: default preset
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE: digital picture, like portrait,
+ * inner shot
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO: outdoor photograph, with natural lighting
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING: hand or line drawing, with high-contrast
+ * details
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_ICON: small-sized colorful images
+ * @VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_TEXT: text-like
+ *
+ * Tune lossy encoder settings for different image types.
+ */
+typedef enum {
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_ICON,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_TEXT,
+	VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_LAST
+} VipsForeignWebpPreset;
+
 int vips_webpload( const char *filename, VipsImage **out, ... )
 	__attribute__((sentinel));
 int vips_webpload_buffer( void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage **out, ... )
diff --git a/libvips/iofuncs/enumtypes.c b/libvips/iofuncs/enumtypes.c
index 4fb8062f..93f4564e 100644
--- a/libvips/iofuncs/enumtypes.c
+++ b/libvips/iofuncs/enumtypes.c
@@ -70,6 +70,28 @@ vips_saveable_get_type( void )
 	return( etype );
 }
 GType
+vips_foreign_webp_preset_get_type( void )
+{
+	static GType etype = 0;
+
+	if( etype == 0 ) {
+		static const GEnumValue values[] = {
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DEFAULT", "default"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PICTURE", "picture"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_PHOTO", "photo"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_DRAWING", "drawing"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_ICON, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_ICON", "icon"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_TEXT, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_TEXT", "text"},
+			{VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_LAST, "VIPS_FOREIGN_WEBP_PRESET_LAST", "last"},
+			{0, NULL, NULL}
+		};
+		
+		etype = g_enum_register_static( "VipsForeignWebpPreset", values );
+	}
+
+	return( etype );
+}
+GType
 vips_foreign_tiff_compression_get_type( void )
 {
 	static GType etype = 0;