How do you create a custom LUT in Premiere Pro?

March 7, 2026 · caitlin

Creating a custom LUT (Look-Up Table) in Adobe Premiere Pro allows you to save and reuse specific color grades for consistent visual styles across your video projects. This process involves adjusting your footage’s color and then exporting those settings as a.cube file.

Mastering Custom LUT Creation in Premiere Pro

A custom LUT is a powerful tool for video editors, enabling the consistent application of a unique color grade. Premiere Pro offers robust features to build these digital palettes. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to create your own custom LUTs, enhancing your workflow and visual storytelling.

Why Use Custom LUTs in Premiere Pro?

Custom LUTs are invaluable for maintaining visual consistency across multiple clips or entire projects. They streamline the color grading process, saving significant time. Imagine applying your signature look to every scene with just a few clicks.

Brand Consistency: Ensure your videos always reflect your brand’s specific color palette.
Time Efficiency: Apply complex color grades instantly, rather than recreating them manually.
Creative Control: Develop and save unique stylistic looks that define your work.
Collaboration: Share your custom LUTs with team members for unified aesthetics.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your First Custom LUT

The process begins with a clip you’ve already graded to your satisfaction. Premiere Pro then analyzes these adjustments and translates them into a usable LUT file.

1. Prepare Your Footage

Start with a clip that represents the look you want to achieve. It’s best to use a clip with a neutral color balance or a standard color profile (like Rec.709) as your base. Avoid clips with extreme over or underexposure, as this can lead to less predictable results.

2. Apply Color Adjustments

Use Premiere Pro’s Lumetri Color panel to make your desired color grading adjustments. This is where you’ll define the "look" of your LUT. Experiment with:

Basic Correction: Adjust exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks.
Creative: Apply creative looks or adjust saturation.
Curves: Fine-tune the tonal range and color balance using RGB curves and Hue Saturation curves.
Color Wheels & Match: Precisely control color shifts in shadows, midtones, and highlights.
HSL Secondary: Isolate and adjust specific color ranges.

Pro Tip: For the most accurate LUT generation, it’s often recommended to apply your primary color corrections first. Then, you can add creative looks or stylistic adjustments.

3. Exporting Your Custom LUT

Once you’re happy with the look, it’s time to export it. Premiere Pro makes this straightforward.

Select the clip in your timeline that has the Lumetri Color effect applied.
Go to the File menu.
Navigate to Export > Media.
In the Export Settings window, choose your desired output format (e.g., H.264).
Crucially, under the Lumetri Color section in the Video tab, click the Lookup Table Export button.
Choose a location to save your LUT file and give it a descriptive name.
Select the desired LUT format. .cube is the most widely compatible format. You can also choose .look, which is specific to Premiere Pro.
Click Export.

Your custom LUT will now be saved and ready for use.

Applying Your Custom LUT to Other Footage

Now that you’ve created your custom LUT, you can easily apply it to any other clip in Premiere Pro or other compatible editing software.

Import the footage you want to grade into your Premiere Pro project.
Drag the clip onto your timeline.
Select the clip and open the Lumetri Color panel.
Under the Basic Correction tab, find the Input LUT dropdown menu.
Click Browse and navigate to where you saved your custom LUT file.
Select your.cube file.

Your custom color grade will be instantly applied to the selected clip. You can then make further minor adjustments if needed.

Understanding LUT Formats:.cube vs..look

When exporting your LUT, you’ll typically have the option between .cube and .look formats. Understanding the difference helps you choose the best one for your workflow.

Feature	.cube LUT	.look LUT
Compatibility	Highly compatible across many software.	Primarily for Adobe applications.
Purpose	Stores color transformation data.	Stores color grading settings within Premiere.
Portability	Excellent for sharing and cross-platform use.	Less portable outside Adobe ecosystem.
Creation	Exported from Lumetri Color.	Saved from Lumetri Color or created manually.

For general use and sharing, the .cube format is usually the preferred choice due to its broad compatibility.

Advanced Techniques for Custom LUT Creation

Beyond basic color adjustments, several advanced techniques can refine your custom LUTs. These methods offer greater precision and unique stylistic possibilities.

Using a Color Checker for Accuracy

For the most precise LUTs, especially when matching camera profiles or ensuring accurate color reproduction, using a color checker card (like a Datacolor SpyderCHECKR or X-Rite ColorChecker) is highly recommended.

Shoot a reference image or video clip that includes the color checker card under consistent lighting.
In Premiere Pro, apply Lumetri Color to this clip.
Use the Color Wheels & Match or HSL Secondary tools to match the colors on the card to their known values.
Once the color checker is accurately represented, export your LUT.

This ensures your LUT is based on a scientifically accurate color reference.

Creating LUTs for Specific Cameras or Log Footage

Shooting in Log profiles (like S-Log, V-Log, C-Log) captures a wider dynamic range but results in a flat, desaturated image. You can create custom LUTs to transform these Log images into a standard color space (like Rec.709) with a specific look.

Start with your Log footage.
Apply the appropriate camera manufacturer’s LUT (if available) as a starting point.
Then, use Lumetri Color to grade the footage further, applying your desired creative look.
Export this combined adjustment as a custom LUT.

This allows you to develop a consistent "de-log" and grading process for all your Log footage.