LUT Previewer

A LUT, short for lookup table, is a color recipe: for every possible input color, it says which output color to produce. Colorists use LUTs to give footage a film look, photographers use them to apply a consistent grade to a whole shoot, and LUT packs are sold and shared by the thousand. This tool lets you load a .cube file, or pick a built-in look, and see the result on your own photo.

How a 3D LUT works

A 3D LUT is a cube of sample points spanning all combinations of red, green and blue, commonly 17, 33 or 65 points per side. Each point stores the color it should become. For colors between the points, the tool interpolates smoothly from the surrounding ones. This lets a LUT change hue, saturation and brightness in complex, color-dependent ways that sliders cannot reproduce, such as making skin warmer while shifting only the blues toward teal.

1D LUTs

A 1D LUT adjusts each channel through its own curve, independently of the other channels. It can change contrast, brightness and per-channel color balance, but not mix colors. Both 1D and 3D .cube files are read, and the tool shows which kind you loaded and its size.

Loading a .cube file

Choose a .cube file from your computer: LUTs exported from DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro or Photoshop, downloaded LUT packs, or camera manufacturer LUTs. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded. If it has an error or a format that is not supported, the page says so.

Built-in looks

Seven looks are built in for quick experiments. Teal & orange is the classic cinema grade. Warm film adds golden tones and gentle contrast. Cool blue gives a crisp, wintry feel. Bleach bypass mimics the desaturated, high-contrast film process used in war and thriller films. Cross-processed recreates the shifted colors of developing slide film in negative chemistry. High-contrast mono is a punchy black and white. Faded matte lifts blacks for a soft, editorial look.

Strength

Strength blends the graded image with the original. Many LUTs are designed to be strong; at 50 to 70 percent they often look more natural, especially on portraits. Lower strength also tames LUTs designed for different source material.

Log versus creative LUTs

Conversion LUTs translate flat log footage from cinema cameras into normal contrast. Applied to a regular photo, they produce harsh, oversaturated results. Creative LUTs designed for standard images are what you want here. If a pack includes both kinds, the creative ones usually mention Rec. 709 in the name.

Preview and download

The preview uses a reduced copy and updates instantly; the compare switch shows the original. The download applies the LUT to the full-resolution photo.

Choosing a LUT for a series

Load a few representative photos from a shoot, one at a time, and test each candidate LUT on all of them. A good LUT for a series works on bright and dark images alike. Then apply it consistently.

Related tools

Correct white balance first with the White Balance Fixer, because LUTs assume a neutral starting point. For simple two-color grades, try Split Tone Image. For classic monochrome toning, use the Sepia Photo Filter.