REAL FILM GRAIN
NOT PROCEDURAL NOISE
theLAB is a film emulation app built from real scans, real borders, and real lab experience.
It gives digital files the texture, color, and tonal behavior of actual film in a way other apps simply can’t.
Free download includes a starter set so you can try theLAB on your own images before upgrading. Free mode includes a few grain scans, film borders, textures, light leaks, and artifacts. theLAB Pro unlocks everything: all 30 scanned grain variations, the full 400+ film border library, all textures, all light leaks, all experimental artifacts, plus Halation and real CCD Scanner Noise.
Updates are completely free. Just check back on my site from time to time, and if you see a newer version available, delete your current copy of the app and download the latest version.
Your license key will stay active on your Mac, so you won’t need to repurchase or go through a complicated setup again. It’s a simple download-and-replace update process.
It also gives Lightroom something it still does not have on its own: convincing film halation. Instead of faking the effect with masks, glow, or local adjustments, theLAB targets the brightest parts of the image and lets highlights bloom and bleed color into the surrounding areas more like real film. You can shape the look with controls for amount, threshold, softness, radius, hue, and saturation, taking it from a subtle warm bloom to a deeper red, Cinestill inspired halation. On top of that, theLAB includes over 100 real film borders, along with paper textures, light leaks, and experimental artifacts, so you can push images further while keeping the process inside a Lightroom-based workflow.
The workflow stays simple: in Lightroom Classic, choose Edit In → theLAB, adjust the look, then either save the edited TIFF straight back into your Lightroom catalog or export a TIFF anywhere you want.
Currently available for macOS only.
400+ Real Film Borders
The secret Lightroom presets and Fuji simulations miss is color. Real film grain is not just texture sitting on top of an image. It carries subtle color, density, and scanner character from the full lab process. theLAB uses real CCD scanner noise, created through a deep extraction process from professional lab scanners, to bring back the color and texture that make film scans feel alive. When you zoom into the shadows of a real film scan, you’ll see something digital tools often miss: a subtle buffet of color, almost like confetti living inside the grain. theLAB works with each image to recreate that same organic character, bringing back the color, texture, and scanner noise that make film feel alive.
v2.5 Release Notes
theLAB v2.5 adds major workflow improvements, deeper scan correction tools, and a new collection of film looks and borders.
Added automatic crop support for medium and large format borders
Added a toggle to move the UI to the opposite side of the app
Added a new Large Monitor Mode for better use on bigger displays
Added a new Scan Corrections tab with full color control
Added all 40 of my best film LUTs from my film preset collection
Added 5 new film borders
Improved halation with a new eraser tool, making it easier to target specific areas of the image accurately
Fixed a bug that could cause white or black squares to appear over the image when certain effects were applied
v2.1 Release Notes
Added 10 new Medium+Large format borders
Improved the Scanner Noise and added a CCD slider option for more accurate film noise
Added real film stock icons that represent the film grain you have selected
Small UI tweaks
Capture One is now fully supported
v2 Release Notes
theLAB v2 is a major update focused on more accurate film rendering, improved realism, and a more stable workflow from Lightroom to final export.
Improved halation rendering, especially for night street photography and high-contrast scenes
Added an entirely new Scanner Noise section to emulate the CCD sensor noise found in real film lab scanners
Added 400+ new real film borders
Improved 16-bit TIFF support and overall stability
Fixed Lightroom round-trip issues affecting certain Mac systems
Improved importing and exporting reliability when working back and forth with Lightroom
Added a wide range of bug fixes, workflow improvements, and app stability updates throughout theLAB
Added a dark mode