what does lut mean in editing?

lut stands for look-up table. in video and photo editing it is a file that tells the software how to change colour: for every colour that goes in, the table gives the colour that should come out. editors use luts to convert log footage to a normal-looking image and to apply a finished look in one step.

what is a lut and how does it work?

a lut is a table of colour values. the software reads each pixel's red, green and blue values, finds the matching entry in the table, and replaces the pixel with the colour stored there. the table only holds a sample of all possible colours (a 33-point 3d lut holds 35,937), so the software blends between the nearest entries for everything in between.

is a lut basically a filter?

close. both apply one fixed change to the whole image. the difference is that a lut is a standard file you can move between apps, so the same look lands the same way in davinci resolve, premiere pro, final cut pro and photoshop. a lut also only changes colour and tone; it can't add grain, blur, a vignette or anything else that depends on where a pixel sits in the frame.

what is the difference between a 1d lut and a 3d lut?

a 1d lut changes red, green and blue separately, so it can adjust brightness, contrast and colour balance but can't change one colour based on another. a 3d lut treats the three channels together, so it can shift hues, change saturation and do things like push skin tones one way and skies another. creative looks and camera conversions are almost always 3d luts.

what are cinematic luts?

creative luts built to give footage a film-like look, typically with gentler contrast in the highlights, a deliberate colour palette such as teal and orange, and slightly muted saturation. they are meant to go on footage that has already been corrected, not on raw log footage.

are buying luts worth it?

it depends on what you need. for trying looks, free luts are enough to start with. paid packs earn their price when you need a matched set, for example conversion luts built for one camera's log format, or a group of looks designed to sit together across a project. no lut fixes footage that was badly exposed or white balanced.

what is a lut for iphone?

iphone pro models can record apple log, a flat format that keeps more highlight and shadow detail. a lut for iphone usually means an apple log to rec.709 conversion lut, which turns that flat footage back into a normal-looking image so you can grade it.

October 7, 2026·dom @ luttie

what is a lut? meaning, types & how luts work

a lut (look-up table) is a file that remaps the colours in an image. what lut means, how luts work, 1d vs 3d, .cube files, and how to use one in your editor.

what is a lutlut meaningwhat are lutswhat does lut stand forhow do luts work1d vs 3d lutwhat is a cube lutlut vs preset

a lut (look-up table) is a file that remaps the colours in an image: for each colour that goes in, the table says which colour comes out. editors use luts to turn flat log footage into a normal-looking picture, and to apply a finished look in one step.

that's the short version. the rest of this guide covers how luts work, the types you'll meet, and how to use one.

want to try one? grab free .cube luts or a pro lut pack. want your own look instead? build it in the luttie editor and save it as a .cube (grading is free, lut export needs pro).

what does lut stand for?

lut stands for look-up table.

the name is literal. adobe's cube lut specification describes a look-up table as "a sampled representation of a mathematical function, with the samples stored in table form". instead of working out a colour change with maths every time, the software looks the answer up.

how do luts work?

every pixel has a colour made of three numbers: red, green and blue. a lut is a list of entries that say "when the input is this rgb value, output that rgb value".

the table can't hold every possible colour, so it holds a sample of them, evenly spaced. for a colour that falls between two entries, the software blends the nearest ones. that blending is called interpolation, and it's why a small file can describe a change to millions of colours.

the size of a lut is the number of sample points along each side:

size	entries	typical use
17-point	4,913	apps and devices that need a small file
33-point	35,937	the usual size for editing and grading
65-point	274,625	when the extra precision matters, as in our 4k lut

more points means finer steps between samples. for most looks, 33 is plenty.

1d luts and 3d luts

a 1d lut has a separate table for each channel. red goes in, new red comes out, and the same for green and blue. that covers brightness, contrast and colour balance, but each channel is blind to the other two. a 1d lut can't make something less saturated, and it can't change one colour and leave another alone.

a 3d lut looks up all three channels together. the input is a full colour and the output is a full colour, so it can shift a hue, mute one range of colours, or warm skin tones and cool the sky at once. the "3d" refers to the table having three axes, one per channel. it isn't related to 3d video.

creative looks and camera conversions are almost always 3d luts. when someone says "lut" with no qualifier, they mean a 3d one.

technical luts and creative luts

luts do two different jobs, and mixing them up is the most common reason a lut looks wrong.

technical luts convert between formats. the usual example is a camera's log format: footage shot in sony s-log3, canon c-log3 or apple log looks grey and flat by design, and a conversion lut turns it into rec.709, the standard look of a normal video. this is about accuracy.

creative luts apply a look: a film stock, a mood, a colour palette like teal and orange. they assume the image going in already looks normal.

so the order matters: convert first, then add the look. a creative lut put straight onto log footage comes out washed out, and a conversion lut put onto normal footage comes out harsh and over-saturated.

what a lut can't do

a lut only knows a pixel's colour. it doesn't know where the pixel is or what's next to it. so a lut can't carry:

a vignette, because that depends on distance from the centre
film grain, because that's different for every pixel and every frame
sharpening, blur, bloom or glow, because those depend on neighbouring pixels

more on that in why your lut is missing vignette and grain.

a lut also can't repair a shot. it applies the same change to everything, so footage that's too dark or too orange going in will be too dark or too orange coming out, with a look on top. fix exposure and white balance first.

is a lut the same as a filter or a preset?

a filter is the closest relative. both apply one fixed change to the whole image. the difference is that a lut is a standard file, so the same look comes out the same in any app that reads it.

a preset, like a lightroom preset, stores settings: exposure up a little, contrast up, this curve, that colour mix. it only works in the app whose sliders it describes, but you can open it up and adjust each one.

a lut stores the result, not the settings. that makes it portable, and it makes it sealed: you can turn its strength up or down, but you can't open it and nudge the contrast.

lut file formats

format	extension	where you'll see it
cube	`.cube`	davinci resolve, premiere pro, final cut pro, capcut desktop, photoshop
3dl	`.3dl`	some high-end finishing systems, such as autodesk flame

.cube is the one to use unless you know you need something else. it was developed by iridas in 2003 and documented by adobe in 2013. a .cube file is plain text: open one in a text editor and you'll see a title, a size line, and then thousands of rows of three numbers.

if you've been handed a .3dl, see .3dl lut files explained.

how to use a lut

every major editor loads .cube files without a plugin:

davinci resolve: copy the file into resolve's lut folder, then apply it on a node. how to add luts to davinci resolve
premiere pro: lumetri color → creative → look → browse. how to import luts into premiere pro
final cut pro: add the custom lut effect, then choose the file. how to use luts in final cut pro
capcut: desktop only, under adjustments → lut. the phone app can't load a custom lut. how to add luts in capcut

to keep a lut in the menu so you don't browse for it each time, see how to install luts.

two habits make luts look better:

turn the strength down. most looks are built to be obvious at full strength. somewhere around half to three quarters usually sits better.
match the lut to the footage. check whether a lut expects log or normal footage before you judge it.

luts aren't only for editing. many cameras and external monitors can load one, so you can see a normal-looking image on set while the camera records flat log.

making your own lut

you don't have to use someone else's look. any grade that only changes colour and tone can be saved as a lut and reused on the next project.

you can do that in the luttie editor in your browser: load a frame, grade it with curves, colour wheels and hsl, and save the result as a .cube. grading is free; lut export needs luttie pro. the steps are in how to make your own lut.

summary

a lut is a look-up table: a file that maps each input colour to an output colour
3d luts are the standard for looks and conversions; 33-point .cube is the usual format
technical luts convert log footage to a normal image; creative luts add a look. convert first
a lut can't carry grain, vignette or blur, and it can't fix bad exposure
for ready-made looks, grab free .cube luts or a pro lut pack
to make your own, grade a frame in the luttie editor and save it as a .cube (lut export needs pro)