How to Import LUTs into Premiere Pro (3 Easy Steps)

Trying to give your footage a specific look or vibe? LUTs (Look-Up Tables) are a great way to do that fast. Whether you're going for a cinematic tone, a vintage feel, or just trying to match cameras, LUTs can save you tons of time.

But if you’ve never used them before, figuring out how to actually get them into Premiere Pro can be a little confusing.

Don’t worry. I’ll walk you through it step by step.

1. Open the Lumetri Color Panel

First things first, make sure your clip is selected in the timeline.

Then go to Window > Lumetri Color if it’s not already open. This is where all the color grading tools live in Premiere Pro.

Once that panel is open, you’ll see sections like Basic Correction, Creative, Curves, etc.

2. Apply Your LUT

There are two main places you can apply a LUT:

• Basic Correction > Input LUT
• Creative > Look

Here’s what each one does:

• Input LUT is usually used for technical corrections (like converting log footage).
• Look under Creative is more for stylized grading (like film looks or color tones).

To load your own LUT:

1. Click the dropdown next to "Input LUT" or "Look"
2. Choose Browse
3. Find your .cube file on your computer
4. Select it and hit Open

Boom! Your LUT is now applied to that clip.

3. How to Permanently Install LUTs in Premiere Pro

If you want your LUTs to appear directly in Premiere Pro’s dropdown menus, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to this folder on your computer:
   Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\LUTs\Creative
   Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs\Creative
   (If the “Creative” folder doesn’t exist, you can create it manually like any normal folder.)
2. Drop your .cube file inside.

You can also use the Technical folder instead of Creative if you want the LUT to load as an Input LUT.

Which folder should you use?

Premiere Pro uses two LUT folders, depending on how you want to apply the LUT:

• Creative folder - LUTs here appear in the Creative LUT dropdown (Lumetri > Creative tab). Best for stylized looks and color grading.
• Technical folder - LUTs here appear in the Input LUT dropdown (Lumetri > Basic Correction tab). Best for converting flat or log footage to Rec.709.

Just change the folder name in the path (Creative or Technical) based on your needs.
Once saved, your LUTs will show up in Premiere Pro’s dropdown menu automatically, no need to browse or re-import each time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add LUTs to Premiere Pro?

1. Open Lumetri Color panel
2. Go to Basic Correction or Creative section
3. Click "Input LUT" or "Look" dropdown
4. Select Browse and choose your .cube file
5. Apply it directly to your clip

How to import custom LUTs?

To import custom LUTs permanently, place them in these folders:

• Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\LUTs\Creative
• Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs/Creative
  Restart Premiere Pro and they’ll appear in the dropdown menu automatically.

Does Premiere Pro support .cube files?

Yes, Premiere Pro fully supports .cube files, which are one of the most common formats for LUTs. You can load them through the Lumetri Color panel using either Input LUT or Look options.

Where is the Premiere Pro LUT folder?

On Windows, the LUT folder is located at:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\LUTs\

On Mac, go to:
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs/

Inside this folder, create or use the Creative or Technical subfolders.

• Use Creative for stylized looks (Creative tab)
• Use Technical for input LUTs (Basic Correction tab)

If the folders don’t exist, you can create them manually.

Where to get LUTs for Premiere Pro?

Spotlight FX comes with a built-in library of cinematic LUTs you can use right inside Premiere Pro, no extra downloads or installs needed. Every LUT is pre-formatted for Premiere Pro and works like any other asset: just click to apply, then adjust the intensity or layer it with other effects, all without leaving your timeline.