Looking at Lookup Tables (LUTs)

A while ago, I began hearing a term that I wasn’t familar with:  lookup tables (LUTs).  Curious, I “looked up” the definition, and was mildly puzzled to see it defined as a series of values in table format that helps you interpret or translate another set of values.

Image DataWhat does that have to do with photography?  As it turns out, every part of a digital image is a set of values – for size, dimensions, camera settings, colour space, etc.  We’ve long had the ability to manipulate any one value to our liking through the sliders we see in modern editing software.  Now it seems we also have the ability to redefine broad swaths of data at once.  Find out how. Continue reading “Looking at Lookup Tables (LUTs)”