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How to use LUTs on iPhone

By Yakup Pekdemir · Published

Direct answer

To apply a LUT to video on iPhone: import the clip into a LUT app such as LUTLINE, let the app convert any Log profile to Rec.709 first, correct exposure and white balance, then choose a creative LUT (bundled or your own .cube) and set its intensity. Export at the source resolution and frame rate. The whole process runs on the phone; no desktop software is needed.

The steps below use LUTLINE, but the order — convert, correct, look, export — is the same in any tool that respects how LUTs are built. If you are new to the terms, read what a LUT is first.

  1. Get the clip onto the phone

    Record with the iPhone camera (Apple Log recording needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later, enabled in the Camera formats settings), or bring a file from a DJI, Sony, Fujifilm, GoPro, Insta360 or Leica camera into Photos or Files. LUTLINE reads clips directly from Files, including a connected SSD, though copying long clips to the phone is faster.

  2. Create a project

    Tap New Project in LUTLINE and pick the clip through the system photo picker or the Files browser. The app never asks for your whole photo library, and it never modifies the original file — every project writes a new export.

  3. Check the Source stage

    The Adjust tab opens with a Source chip. Auto reads the file's colour tags (Apple Log), recording metadata (Sony) or naming (DJI D-Log M) and applies the manufacturer's conversion LUT. If Auto says "Standard" for a clip you know is Log, tap the chip and choose the brand, camera and profile. Standard Rec.709 clips need no conversion.

  4. Correct before you style

    Fix exposure, then temperature and tint, then contrast. A creative LUT is a fixed mapping built for a correctly exposed Rec.709 image; it cannot rescue a stop of underexposure or an 800 K white-balance error. Corrections in LUTLINE live between the conversion and the look, which is where they belong.

  5. Choose a look and set the intensity

    Open the Looks tab. The thumbnails are rendered from your own clip, so you compare real results, not stock images. Tap a look, then drag Intensity — 100 % is the full table, lower values blend toward the corrected image. Double-tap to reset. Favourites and recents keep the ones you return to.

  6. Use your own .cube (optional)

    In the Looks tab, open the Custom LUTs folder and tap Import LUT. LUTLINE validates the file (size, line count, value range) and shows it as a tile with the same intensity control. A conversion LUT for a camera that is not in the catalogue is imported in the Source sheet instead, so it runs before the adjustments.

  7. Compare and read the recipe

    Press and hold the stage to see the original; the compare button does the same for accessibility. The pill under the stage — for example Silver Screen 68 % · Adjust 3 · Film 1 — opens the Recipe sheet, which lists every stage in the order it is applied.

  8. Export

    Tap Export. Quick Export matches the source resolution and frame rate, uses Balanced quality and saves to Photos. Customize Export chooses H.264 or HEVC, 720p / 1080p / 4K (never upscaled), 24–60 fps by even division, a quality tier, audio handling and the destination (Photos, a Files folder or the share sheet). The export is rendered by the same graph as the preview.

Which step do people skip?

Step 3. Log footage that has not been converted looks flat and grey, and a creative LUT on top of it looks muddy and wrong. If your Apple Log or D-Log M clip does not "pop" after a look, check the Source chip first. Everything else in the chain assumes it is right.

Free vs. Pro in this workflow

The Free tier covers the whole flow for iPhone footage: Standard and Apple Log / Apple Log 2 sources, all 12 basic adjustments, 6 looks, and watermark-free 1080p export. Pro adds the full 188-look catalogue, the film tools and the curve, 4K and Higher Quality export, the import library for your own .cube files, and the manual camera profiles for the other six brands. Every Pro tool can be previewed on your own clip before you decide.

Frequently asked

Can I apply a LUT to a video already in my Photos library?

Yes. LUTLINE imports from Photos through the system picker and writes the export back as a new item; the original stays untouched.

Does the LUT change the video's resolution or frame rate?

No. A LUT only maps colours. Resolution and frame rate are chosen at export; LUTLINE defaults to matching the source and never upscales.

Why does my exported file look different from the preview in some apps?

Usually because the app renders the preview and the export through different code paths or at different bit depths. LUTLINE runs one render graph for both, and each stage is checked against a CPU reference, so the two agree.

Can I use LUTs from Resolve or Premiere on the iPhone?

If they are exported as .cube files, yes. Import them in the Custom LUTs folder. Remember that a look built for Rec.709 needs the Log conversion in front of it, exactly as on the desktop.