Affinity Photo is the one-off-purchase alternative to Photoshop, and its LUT support is straightforward. The batch feature is better than its reputation and has one real limitation worth knowing before you point it at three hundred files.
One image
- Layer → New Adjustment → LUT, or the adjustments panel.
- Load LUT, choose your
.cube. - Set the layer opacity for strength.
Opacity as the strength control is the same trick that works in most tools and it is the reason to apply the LUT as a layer rather than destructively — you keep the ability to dial it back after seeing it against the rest of the image.
The layer sits in the stack like any other, so corrections below it and the look above is the right order. Same principle as everywhere: convert or correct first, look second.
A folder
File → New Batch Job is the part most people never find.
- Add the source files.
- Set the output folder and format.
- Under Macro, choose a macro you recorded earlier.
- Run.
The macro is the mechanism. Record one that adds the LUT adjustment layer at the opacity you want, save it, and the batch job applies it to everything.
| Affinity Batch Job | Photoshop Actions + batch | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included | Included |
| Records a LUT layer | Yes | Yes |
| Preview per file | No | No |
| Parallel processing | Yes | Limited |
| Fiddly to set up | Moderate | Moderate |
It is a real batch tool, and comparable to the Photoshop route in what it can do.
Where it stops
No preview per file. You set the macro, run it, and look at the results afterwards. For three hundred images shot in one consistent setup that is fine. For a set where the light moved, it means discovering after the run that forty of them needed less, and re-running with a different macro.
That is the general limit of macro-based batching rather than an Affinity fault: a macro is a fixed sequence, and it cannot make a judgement per image. The tools that do offer per-file adjustment are the ones built around that specific problem.
Stills and video from one job
A LUT is portable and a preset is not, which is the reason to do the look as a
.cube when a job delivers both. The same file that Affinity applies to the
stills is the one the video editor applies to the clips, and they match.
What is a LUT covers why that portability exists, and free LUTs is where usable ones come from.
How BatchTone handles it
The gap the macro route leaves: a preview per file and a per-file strength.
Drop a folder of stills or clips in, pick the LUT, and a frame is pulled from each and previewed with it applied — so the ones that need less get a slider before anything is written, rather than after the run.
- One look across stills and video from the same job.
- Audio copied across untouched on the video side.
- The Mac's own hardware encoder, so a card is not an overnight job.
- Originals never written to.
Affinity remains the better tool for actually editing an image. This is for the step where one look has to land correctly on a folder that is not perfectly uniform. There is a seven-day trial.
Common questions
How do I add a LUT in Affinity Photo?
Layer → New Adjustment → LUT, then Load LUT and pick your .cube. Use the layer
opacity to control strength.
Can Affinity Photo batch process? Yes — File → New Batch Job, with a recorded macro. It is capable and under-advertised.
Can a macro include a LUT? Yes. Record adding the LUT adjustment layer at the opacity you want, and the batch job will apply it to every file.
Why do some images look wrong after a batch? A macro applies the same thing to every file with no per-image judgement. If the set was not shot uniformly, some will need less.
Does Affinity use the same LUT files as video editors?
Yes, .cube. That is the reason to do a look as a LUT when a job delivers both
stills and video.