LUT creation guide
How to create a 3D LUT from a RAW photo
A 3D LUT can be built from a RAW photo when you use the photo as test material for transform-safe tone and color decisions. The key is to disable anything spatial, validate across multiple images, and export only the operations that belong in a color transform.
1. Choose the right RAW source
Pick a photo with skin, neutrals, highlights, saturated color, and shadow detail. If possible, validate the look on more than one image before export.
2. Keep the grade transform-safe
Use global tone and color operations such as curves, balance, density, and selective color. Avoid grain, halation, bloom, retouching, crop, masks, and geometry when your goal is a clean LUT.
3. Export the cube
Choose the target destination and cube size that match the software or monitoring pipeline you actually plan to use.
4. Validate in the destination
Apply the cube in the receiving app and compare neutrals, skin, shadow detail, highlight rolloff, and hue continuity. Differences in input transforms and color spaces can change the result.