# Batch apply a LUT to photos

> Apply one .cube LUT to hundreds of photos at once on macOS, then dial the strength back on the frames that need it. Originals untouched, EXIF kept.

Canonical: https://batchtone.com/batch-lut-photos

Photos

One .cube across hundreds of frames, then a strength dial on the ones the look does not suit. On macOS, with the metadata intact.

## What the usual routes cost you

Every existing way of doing this works. Each one asks for something in return, and the asking is the reason this app exists.

| Route | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Lightroom | Does not read .cube directly: the LUT has to be converted to a camera profile first, and it needs a subscription. |
| Photoshop actions | Workable, but building the action is its own afternoon, and the LUT automation is unreliable. |
| ffmpeg or ImageMagick | A loop in a terminal, no preview, and you find out what it did after it has finished. |
| Doing it by hand | Fine for ten photos. At four hundred it is most of a day. |

## How BatchTone does it

Photos are graded on the GPU, so the preview updates while you drag the strength slider rather than after. The export runs the same shader as the preview, which is why what you approved is what lands in the folder.

- **JPEG or PNG**, at a quality you choose, with the filenames decided before the run and previewed as you type them.
- **EXIF carried across** from JPEG originals (capture date, camera, lens and GPS), with orientation handled so nothing arrives rotated twice.
- **Originals untouched.** Exports go to a folder you pick, and nothing is ever written back over a source file.

## Common questions

### Does it read RAW?

Not yet. JPEG, PNG, HEIC and TIFF today; RAW is on the list. If your camera writes RAW+JPEG, the JPEGs work now.

### Can different photos use different strengths?

That is the point of it. Each file carries its own, and a file you have not touched follows the global setting.

### What happens to photos it cannot read?

They are marked in the grid with the reason, and the rest of the batch carries on. One bad file does not stop an export.

## Try it on your own shoot

Seven days with everything unlocked. If it does not read your files, you will know within the hour and it will have cost you nothing.

[Download on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/batchtone/id6821727167)