You’re disappointed to see that, within the Adobe canon, this actually isn’t possible. You can export the Lightroom edit as an XMP file, but XMP files aren’t compatible with Premiere’s Lumetri Color. Frustrating, but far from insurmountable.
Hald images are one tool at your disposal when you’re in need of a jailbreak. They act as a pictorial representation of the edits applied to an image, allowing you to snatch the look and lay it over something else in a different project or program.
What Is a Hald Image and What Is It Used For?
A Hald CLUT, or color look-up table, is an image that expresses an input LUT for a creative app or LUT converter to read and build the LUT from anew, on its own terms.
These specialty files aren’t exactly common—they came into being more as a response to one of several needs:
The need to export a look as a LUT from applications that do not support this process natively, such as Adobe Lightroom. The need to convert an exported look (such as an XMP file) to a friendlier file type, such as a CUBE file or a 3DL file. The need to calibrate images against each other or one or more standard color spaces or output displays. The need to mimic the look of a specific brand of stock or a certain type of process.
Many artists remain blissfully unaware of how useful Hald images can be, choosing to stick closely to only apps that will accept a CUBE LUT file readily, or the type of LUT file that their creative app of choice deals with natively.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone isn’t always easy, but we urge you to look beyond the horizon. If the creative app that you cannot live without will accept a PNG file without protest, you’ll be able to integrate this app seamlessly into any Hald workflow.
How Do Hald Images Work?
If you’ve used a LUT before, you already know that CUBE files aren’t exactly image files. They’re metadata files, a list of instructions and protocol for your computer to follow when you apply it to another image.
If you were to visualize a LUT structurally, it would look a lot like a 3D cube where every square iota within represents one unique tonal identity, locked into place alongside the rest of the family. Any of your standard color spaces—RGB, YUV, LAB—can be expressed in these terms, acting as a baseline for the LUT to distinguish itself from.
A LUT embodies and is defined by these offset values, the “distance” between the default gamut and the look that you’ve created. These differences can include a global shift in things like hue and subtler changes as well. A Hald image represents this displacement.
Using a Hald Image to Convey the Look: Hald Generators and Converters
The Hald image acts as a vessel for your look. It’s a PNG image, compatible with any type of photo editing app, including Lightroom and any third-party fare you might be using. You load the Hald template in and apply the look, export and free it from the problem app. Now, you’ve got something that you can convert to a CUBE file externally.
It’s a system that works well, but you might need to download a Hald generator and converter. Halds must be created by specialty software or otherwise acquired; the pattern is a very specific arrangement of values, all amounting to the zany and slightly off-putting image that you see above.
You could actually probably use the example that we’ve shared here for your own purposes, but it’s always best to start fresh with a brand new version. A few Hald generator apps that we’ve used successfully include:
The IWLTBAP LUT Generator, a simple and effective desktop app available to download for free. lutCreator. js, one convenient in-browser option for Hald conversion and LUT creation. 3D LUT Creator, a paid service (and also an excellent resource for LUT creation assets, as linked above).
Once you’ve downloaded a generic CLUT Hald image, you’re ready to rock and roll. Launch your favorite photo or video editing app and apply one of your most-used looks to the file. Export the Hald, and you’re ready to convert.
How to Create a LUT With a Hald Image
Let’s talk a little bit about how to use a couple of these Hald apps—IWLTBAP and lutCreator.js, specifically. We’ll tackle lutCreator.js first, just because this method is so easy and straightforward.
You can download a new starter Hald from the site, putting it through the same treatment described just above. Once it’s been exported from your image-editing app, use the Convert to .CUBE button on the site’s home page.
Select your processed Hald image. Once you hit Open, your CUBE file will be downloaded automatically. You’ll find it in your Downloads folder under the name lutCreatorJs.cube.
How to Use a Hald Converter: IWLTBAP LUT Generator
For those who need to convert to LUT frequently, we recommend IWLTBAP as your go-to. This app is extremely easy to use and it won’t cost you a dime.
To begin, launch the app and use the Generate a HALD button at start-up to create your canvas. Once you’ve taken the Hald through the entire song and dance, you’ll be able to use the Convert to CUBE option to complete your transaction.
You’ll find a newly-created CUBE file in the same folder that you pulled the original Hald image from. This CUBE file can be used just like any ordinary LUT file—you can pull it into DaVinci Resolve, Premiere, and even apps like Photoshop and apply it to any of the images that you’re working with therein.
Hald Images: An Elegant Solution to an Age-Old Conundrum
There’s nothing more frustrating in the world of photography than trying to shove a square peg through a round hole. With a Hald LUT converter, you’re able to break any look free of its container program—in theory, you could even use Hald images to preserve a look that you created in MS Paint. Why not?
The freedom and the flexibility that a Hald-inclusive workflow affords you is indispensable if your preferred pipeline includes creative apps that happen to be less than LUT-friendly. Have it your way with any of the Hald conversion apps mentioned above; they keep your favorite looks right at your fingertips at all times, through thick and through thin.
