> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ OCTOBER 2019[ 100 ]
The first thing to realize about color lookup tables (CLUTs) is
that they reassign colors using a “lookup table” that’s effec-
tively a translation. For any given color in your starting image,
there’s a directly mapped or interpolated result. This is differ-
ent from gradient maps that do a simple replacement based
on luminosity of an image (that is, any color with the same
luminosity will be mapped to the same final color using a
gradient map). A CLUT remaps the actual color value.In the top pair of gradients in the image on the next
page, the top gradient is a fully saturated RGB spectrum
that’s been treated to a B&W adjustment layer so that every
color is the same luminosity. The second gradient is a sim-
ple Black to White linear gradient for reference. The second
pair of gradients shows the result of applying the Late Sun-
set CLUT preset; you can see the colors have actually been
changed. The third pair of gradients at the bottom have aSCOT TVALENTINE
Photoshop Proving Ground
RASPBERRY BERET: COLOR LOOKUP TABLES
A few issues back, we looked at using Curves adjustments to lift the color palette from one image
and apply it to another. This issue, let’s take that concept further with a close look at color lookup
tables, and how to exploit them for expression and consistency across projects or bodies of work.©Adobe Stock/Pavel Lysenko