However you shoot, the film look should feel real.
Don't let a flat scan or a fake filter
bury the photograph inside it.
A raw negative scan is a puzzle. A digital photo with a filter slapped on is a shortcut. LunaLux Editor is the film look photo editor for Mac, built for both — true negative inversion for 135 / 120 / large-format scans, and the same iconic film stock simulation, grain, and halation for any digital photo, with zero database and zero XMP sidecar pollution.
Whether you scan film or shoot digital, a generic editor won't get the look right.
A negative scan carries an orange base mask and scanner dust that a normal photo editor was never built to fix. A digital photo just gets a filter slapped over it — not real film science. LunaLux Editor is the darkroom built to do both properly: true negative inversion for film, real film-stock color science for digital, without ever touching your original files.
The Orange Mask Problem
Color negative film carries a built-in orange base mask that generic photo editors were never designed to remove. LunaLux Editor's negative inversion engine strips the mask and restores true color the way a wet darkroom enlarger would.
Every Scan Carries Micro-Dust
Scanning negatives picks up dust, hair, and scratches that digital sensors never see. LunaLux Editor's dust removal brush and high-contrast reveal mode make every speck visible and correctable before you ever export.
Zero Data-Loss Workflow
No database, no hidden library, no XMP sidecar pollution. Open a folder of scans and LunaLux Editor loads instantly — every adjustment lives as plain JSON inside a local .lunalux/recipes/ folder, and your original scans are never touched.
Watch the Film Look Come Alive.
Drag the slider across the frame and watch a flat, orange-masked scan become the rich, color-accurate film photograph it was always meant to be.
Everything Your Roll Deserves. Nothing It Doesn't.
The film look photo editor built specifically for photographers working from scanned negatives — no subscription lock-in, no bloated general-purpose photo library.
Negative Lab Inversion Engine
Removes the orange base mask from color negative scans and restores accurate color the way a professional negative lab scanner does, frame by frame — a single toggle you can leave off entirely if you're not working from a scan.
Classic Chemical Film Simulation
A curated library of film simulation presets spanning classic color negative, punchy reversal-style, moody cinema, and black-and-white looks — modeled on real film color science, not a generic filter. Apply them to a scanned negative or straight onto any digital photo. The exact preset lineup lives in the app's Film Recipes panel and evolves between updates.
Composition Crop & Auto Horizon
Free crop plus locked aspect ratios (1:1, 4:5, 6:7, 3:2, 65:24 XPan, 16:9), with one-click millisecond horizon correction powered by Apple Vision's VNDetectHorizonRequest.
Dust Removal & High-Contrast Reveal
A radial-feather healing brush with a dynamic radius and full undo history, paired with an edge-inverted high-contrast reveal mode that exposes micron-scale dust, fingerprints, and scratches before export.
Roll-Wide Batch Sync
Multi-select an entire roll to sync white balance, base tone, 8-channel HSL, tone curves, and vignette in one pass — crop and dust removal stay unchecked by default so one frame's fix never overwrites another.
Film Rebate EXIF Watermark
An optional film-rebate style watermark typewrites your capture's EXIF data along the frame edge, plus fine-grained grain and halation controls for authentic tungsten-glow highlights.
Technical Specifications & Standards
For photographers and technical directors who care about pipeline integrity and standards compliance.
For Photographers Who Shoot Full Rolls
LunaLux Editor includes 50 free full-quality exports with zero watermarks and no signup required. For photographers scanning full rolls and archives, LunaLux Editor Pro unlocks unlimited exports for a one-time $14.99 purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
What film formats and scans are supported?
LunaLux Editor works with scanned negatives and reversal (slide) film from 135, 120, and large-format cameras — any JPEG, TIFF, or DNG output from your scanner or scanning service.
Does LunaLux Editor modify or overwrite my original scan files?
Never. LunaLux Editor is 100% non-destructive. Every adjustment is stored as plain JSON in a local .lunalux/recipes/ folder alongside your scans — your original files are never rewritten, and there is no hidden database or XMP sidecar pollution.
What kind of film simulations does LunaLux Editor include?
LunaLux Editor ships with a curated library of film simulation presets covering classic color negative stocks, reversal-style looks, cinema tones, and black-and-white — each modeled on real film color science rather than a one-size-fits-all filter. For the exact, current lineup, check the Film Recipes panel inside the app, since presets evolve between updates.
Can I edit an entire roll of film at once?
Yes. Multi-select any set of frames to sync white balance, base tonal adjustments, 8-channel HSL, tone curves, and vignette in a single pass. Crop and dust removal are excluded from batch sync by default, so a fix for one frame never accidentally overwrites another.
Is LunaLux Editor free? How does pricing work?
LunaLux Editor is free to download and includes 50 full-resolution exports with zero watermarks and no account signup. All processing happens 100% locally and offline on your Mac. For unlimited exports, LunaLux Editor Pro is available as a one-time $14.99 lifetime purchase.
Does LunaLux Editor upload my photos anywhere?
No. LunaLux Editor processes everything 100% locally and offline on your Mac. Your scanned negatives and exported photos never leave your local disk, and there is zero tracking or analytics inside the app.
Do I need scanned film negatives to use LunaLux Editor?
No. Negative inversion is a single toggle, off by default. Load any JPEG, TIFF, or PNG — including ordinary digital camera exports — and apply Classic Film Simulation, grain, halation, HSL, tone curves, crop, and dust removal directly, with no negative inversion involved. LunaLux Editor is just as at home turning a digital photo into an authentic film look.