Summary
Apple Log LUTs for Photoshop are .cube conversion LUTs loaded through Adjustment Layer > Color Lookup > Load 3D LUT, used to convert Apple Log stills and exported video frames to Rec.709. Photoshop is not a video grading tool, so this is a stills workflow — frame grabs, thumbnails, stills for print or social. The conversion layer must sit at the bottom of the adjustment stack, directly above the image, before any creative look LUT.
What Are Apple Log LUTs?
Apple Log is a flat recording curve that keeps highlight and shadow detail your iPhone would otherwise clip. It is meant to be transformed before viewing. A conversion LUT performs that transform, mapping Apple Log into Rec.709 so contrast and colour return without losing the dynamic range you captured.
Apple Log LUTs — ProRes Log to Rec709 Conversion is a $14.00 pack containing:
- 5 Apple Log to Rec.709 conversion LUTs — five options so you can match the transform to the frame.
- A step-by-step installation manual — instructions for loading and applying them.
- .cube files — the format Photoshop's Color Lookup adjustment reads.
They are built for Apple Log from iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models, shot in the native Camera app or the Blackmagic Camera app.
Be Clear About What Photoshop Is For Here
Worth being upfront: Photoshop is not where you grade a film. It has no node tree, no clip-level colour panel, and no realistic timeline grading workflow. These LUTs are video conversion LUTs, and Photoshop's role is a stills one.
Where it genuinely makes sense:
- Frame grabs — you exported a still from an Apple Log clip and need it to look right for a pitch deck, a poster or a client review.
- Thumbnails and key art — converting a log frame before compositing type and graphics over it.
- Reference and continuity stills — showing a director or client roughly how a shot will sit once converted.
- Retouching a converted frame — cleaning up a plate that will be composited back into a shot.
Where it does not: full sequences, multi-clip projects, or anything you intend to deliver as video. For those, use Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, LumaFusion or CapCut — the same .cube files work in all of them. Our guide on how to convert iPhone Apple Log footage to Rec.709 covers the proper video route.
How Apple Log LUTs Work in Photoshop
- Unzip the pack — keep the .cube files somewhere you can find them. You will browse to them each time unless you install them to Photoshop's 3D LUTs folder.
- Open your Apple Log frame — File > Open, and select the exported still or frame grab. It will look flat and grey. That is correct.
- Work in 16 bit if you can — Image > Mode > 16 Bits/Channel. Log frames carry a lot of tonal information and 8-bit can band when the conversion stretches contrast.
- Add a Color Lookup adjustment layer — Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Lookup, or click the half-filled circle icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Color Lookup.
- Load the 3D LUT — in the Properties panel, click the 3D LUT File dropdown and choose Load 3D LUT. Navigate to the .cube file and open it. The frame converts to Rec.709.
- Keep it at the bottom of the stack — the Color Lookup conversion layer must sit directly above the image layer, below every other adjustment layer.
- Add corrections above it — Curves, Levels and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers go above the conversion.
- Add a creative look last — a second Color Lookup layer with a stylistic LUT sits at the top of the stack.
- Adjust intensity with opacity — Photoshop has no LUT strength slider, so lower the adjustment layer's opacity if you want a lighter effect.
To make the LUTs permanently available in the dropdown, copy the .cube files into Photoshop's Presets > 3DLUTs folder in the application directory and restart Photoshop.
Layer Order Is the Chain Order
Photoshop's Layers panel runs bottom to top: the layer nearest the image is applied first, and each layer above receives the result of everything below it. That makes it the exact equivalent of a node tree or an effect stack — just drawn upside down compared to After Effects.
The conversion LUT belongs first in the chain, meaning lowest in the layer stack, before any creative look LUT. The transform expects untouched Apple Log values. If a creative Color Lookup layer or a heavy Curves adjustment sits below it, the conversion receives already-altered data and the result is crushed shadows, clipped highlights and colour you cannot correct back.
Reading a correct Photoshop stack from the top down:
- Creative look — second Color Lookup layer with a stylistic LUT (top of the stack, applied last).
- Corrections — Curves, Levels, Hue/Saturation.
- Conversion — Color Lookup layer with the Apple Log to Rec.709 .cube.
- Background — your Apple Log frame.
If you have dragged the creative look below the conversion, you will see it immediately: the picture goes harsh and the colours stop responding to the sliders.
Practical Notes
- Non-destructive by default — adjustment layers do not alter the pixels, so you can swap between the five conversions freely by reloading the 3D LUT File.
- Dither can help — if you see banding in a sky, work in 16 bit and add a small amount of noise on a separate layer.
- Colour profile matters — keep the document in sRGB for screen delivery so the converted result matches what a video player would show.
- One conversion only — do not stack two Apple Log conversion layers. The second will overcook the image.
- Save the stack as a template — keep a PSD with the conversion layer already set up and paste new frames underneath it.
If you want the underlying theory before you start, what is a LUT is a short primer.
Conclusion
Photoshop is a stills tool, and used honestly for stills it handles Apple Log conversion well: one Color Lookup adjustment layer at the bottom of the stack, corrections above it, creative look on top. For actual video work, take the same .cube files into a proper grading application. Apple Log LUTs — ProRes Log to Rec709 Conversion includes 5 conversion LUTs and a step-by-step installation manual for $14.00, and works in Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, LumaFusion, CapCut and any app that supports .cube LUTs.
FAQ
Q: How do I load a .cube LUT in Photoshop?
A: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Lookup, then in the Properties panel open the 3D LUT File dropdown and choose Load 3D LUT. Select the .cube file.
Q: Can I grade video in Photoshop with these?
A: Not realistically. Photoshop's use case here is stills and exported video frames. For sequences, use Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, LumaFusion or CapCut.
Q: Where in the layer stack does the conversion go?
A: Directly above the image layer, below every other adjustment layer. Photoshop applies layers bottom to top, so the conversion runs first and any creative look LUT sits above it.
Q: Can I make the LUTs appear in the dropdown permanently?
A: Yes. Copy the .cube files into Photoshop's Presets > 3DLUTs folder and restart the application.
Q: How do I reduce the strength of the conversion?
A: Lower the opacity of the Color Lookup adjustment layer. Photoshop has no dedicated LUT intensity slider.
Q: What is included and what does it cost?
A: 5 Apple Log to Rec.709 conversion LUTs in .cube format plus a step-by-step installation manual, for $14.00. Supported footage is Apple Log from iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models.