How to give your photos a film look
The film look comes from a few things together: a colour grade, lifted blacks (a soft fade), gentle grain and a touch of vignette. Film Lab gives you one-tap recipes for all of it, plus sliders to fine-tune. It runs entirely in your browser. Here is how.
- 1. Open Film Lab and add a photo Drop in a JPG, HEIC or camera RAW file. It is decoded and edited on your device - nothing is uploaded.
- 2. Pick a film recipe Tap a recipe to apply a complete look - each one previews on your own photo, so you can see the result before committing.
- 3. Set the white balance and tone Nudge the white-balance pad (warm/cool and green/magenta) and the exposure, contrast and highlight/shadow sliders until the mood is right.
- 4. Add grain and a fade Dial in film grain (and its size) and a black-lifting fade for that analog feel. A subtle vignette helps draw the eye in.
- 5. Export your photo Download the result at full resolution, processed locally and ready to share.
Open Film Lab · Read the full guide
- What makes a photo look like film?
- A colour grade (often warm or teal-and-orange), slightly lifted blacks for a matte fade, fine grain and a gentle vignette. Film Lab combines these, and the recipes set them all at once.
- Can I edit camera RAW files?
- Yes. Film Lab reads the full-resolution preview embedded in RAW files (CR2, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG and more), so you can grade RAW photos as easily as JPGs.
- Is it free?
- The editor, manual adjustments, grain, fade and export are free. The full recipe library and advanced tools (tone curve, colour mixer, split toning) are Pro.