Export LUTs in Photoshop! Unlock The Power Lookup Tables
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In this tutorial, you will learn to export LUTs in Photoshop and import them into Premiere Pro to apply the Color Grade to your videos!
Key Takeaways
- When you export LUTs in Photoshop, the color grade is stored as a single portable file instead of a stack of Adjustment Layers.
- Photoshop can only export a Color Lookup Table when the document has a true Background Layer, not just a layer that happens to sit at the bottom.
- The CUBE format is the one to keep when exporting, since it is the format Premiere Pro and most other video editing applications read.
- A Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer reproduces a multi-layer grade with a single, editable layer.
- Dropping a .cube file into the right preset folder makes it show up automatically in both Photoshop’s Color Lookup dropdown and Premiere Pro’s Creative Look dropdown.
Table of contents
What You Will Learn
- How to turn a color grade built from Adjustment Layers into an exportable Color Lookup Table
- How to prepare your document with a true Background Layer before exporting
- How to export a LUT in the CUBE format
- How to load an exported LUT back onto an image with a Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer
- How to import that same LUT into Premiere Pro’s Lumetri Color panel
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2023 (version 24.1 or later) or the current version
- Adobe Premiere Pro, if you also want to apply the exported LUT to video
Practice Files
Download the sample file used in this tutorial and follow along step by step.
Step 01 – Create a Color Grade using Adjustment Layers
To create a LUT file in Photoshop you need to apply a color grade by using one or more adjustment layers.
You can download the sample file or create your own.
The final look is not important. The goal of this tutorial is to show how to export the resulting LUT file containing all the adjustments.
In the sample file, we have multiple Adjustment Layers with different Blending Modes, Opacity, and a Blend If adjustment.
Step 02 – Export LUTs In Photoshop (Table Lookup Adjustment)
Once you create a Color Grade using adjustment layers, you can export the LUT In Photoshop.
First, make sure that your document contains a Background Layer.
Select the bottommost layer, and go into Layer > New > Background from Layer.
The layer will now read “Background” and you will see a Lock icon.
Now, go into File > Export > Color Lookup Tables.
From this window, give your LUT a description. I named mine “Warm Color Grade.”
Then, choose a Quality. Keep in mind that the higher the quality, the larger the file size.
Under Format, you can uncheck all the boxes except for CUBE.
The CUBE format works with Adobe Premiere Pro and a lot of other video editing applications.
Then press OK.
A dialogue box will appear. From here, you can name the LUT file.
I’ll give it the same name, “Warm Color Grade,” and click Save.
Step 03 – Import the LUT into Photoshop
After you Export the LUT In Photoshop, you can apply it as a Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer.
In the New Adjustment Layer icon, choose Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer.
From the 3D LUT file section, click on Load 3D LUT and find the LUT file you exported.
Select Warm Color Grade and click on Load.
Photoshop will apply the Color Grade.
It looks exactly the same, all those Adjustment Layers created this specific look, but it is now applied with that single adjustment layer.
Import the LUT into the Color Lookup Adjustment Dropdown
To make this LUT preset appear in the Color Lookup Adjustment dropdown.
Place your 3D LUT file in your computer’s corresponding macOS or Windows folder.
macOS:
Applications/Adobe Photoshop 2023/Presets/3DLUTsWindows:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Presets\3DLUTsNote: Replace 2023 with your installed Photoshop version’s year, such as 2026, if you are on a newer release.
Then, restart Photoshop and you will see your LUT file in the dropdown
Step 04 – Import the LUT into Premiere Pro
After you Export LUTs in Photoshop you can import them into Adobe Premiere Pro to apply the color grade to videos.
To do so, open Premiere Pro. with your clip selected, go into the Window menu, and choose Lumetri Color.
From the Creative section, go into the Look dropdown and choose Browse.
Find your LUT and press Open.
This will apply your Color Grade created in Photoshop to your video file in Premiere Pro.
You should also be able to import this file to other video editing applications.
Import the LUT into the Lumetri Look Dropdown
To make this LUT preset appear in the Look dropdown in Premiere Pro, place your 3D LUT file in your computer’s corresponding macOS, or Windows folder.
macOS:
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs/Creative Windows:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\LUTs\Creative Then restart Premiere Pro and your LUT will now appear in the Look dropdown and you can apply it to any video.
If you would rather grade the image directly instead of exporting a file, see how to apply Color Grading in Camera Raw.
Frequently Asked Questions
A LUT, or Look-Up Table, is a file that stores a color grade as a set of math instructions instead of a stack of layers. Photoshop exports it as a Color Lookup Table, and video editors like Premiere Pro can read it too.
Photoshop can only export a Color Lookup Table when the document has a true Background Layer. If your bottommost layer is a regular layer, convert it first with Layer > New > Background from Layer.
Choose the CUBE format. It is the one format that Adobe Premiere Pro and most other video editing applications can read.
Add a Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer. Then use Load 3D LUT in the 3D LUT file section to select the .cube file you exported.
Place the .cube file in Photoshop’s 3DLUTs preset folder for your installed version. Then restart Photoshop and it appears in the dropdown.
Open the Lumetri Color panel and go to the Creative section. Use the Look dropdown’s Browse option to open the .cube file you exported from Photoshop.
No. A Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer reproduces the same look from the exported file, so the original stack of Adjustment Layers is no longer required to get that grade.
Conclusion
You now know how to turn any color grade you build in Photoshop into a single, reusable LUT file.
The same exported file works in Photoshop’s own Color Lookup Table Adjustment Layer and in Premiere Pro’s Lumetri Color panel, so you only have to build the look once.
Comment on the video if you have any questions.
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