Easiest Cinematic Color Grade for Photos and Video on iPhone [Tutorial]

You can get the cinematic look and feel when shooting photos and videos on your iPhone without installing any third-party app.

No Need to Spend a Dime, Get that Cinematic Look in Your Photos and Videos Using Your iPhone

Before you end up downloading a professional video or photo editing app and further spend money on a LUT or two, hear me out.

You can quickly and easily get the cinematic look and feel using your iPhone. All of this happens right in the Photos app, all for free.

Remember that orange and teal tutorial we did a while ago? It works just like that. But the adjustments are way easier to get the cinematic look.

Lock Exposure and White Balance

First and foremost, you have to make sure auto-exposure is turned off. This will give you a nice and consistent look. You can find out more about it by going to this link.

You also have to make sure you lock white balance. You’ll find more detail on it here.

Choose Your Resolution

Although everyone swears by 4K at 24 frames per second, I highly recommend that you shoot in a resolution that feels best for you, even if it’s just 1080p at 30 frames per second.

You can adjust the resolution by going to Settings > Camera > Record Video.

Edit Using Photos App

Assuming you’ve recorded your video clip and it’s sitting in the Photos app, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1. Launch the Photos app.

Step 2. Tap on the video or photo you want to edit.

Step 3. Tap on the Edit button at the bottom. The one that looks like three sliders next to the (i) button.

Step 4. Tap on Filters and choose Dramatic. Adjust the filter intensity to around 70 using the slider underneath.

Step 5. Tap on Adjust at the bottom.

Step 6. Find Black Point and set it to around -10 or anywhere up to -15. Play around with the slider to fine tune the look.

Step 7. Tap on Done on the top right to save everything.

That’s it, your photo and video now look way better than before. Use this setting to shoot your next masterpiece or adjust your current ones.

Again, locking exposure and white balance ensures the best possible outcome when editing. This is extremely important unless you want to end up with a video that looks like a meme.