LAM · Guides
Real explanations of grading, film effects, and why default phone cameras get Asian skin tones wrong — written by the people who built LAM's colour engine, not marketing copy.
Workflow Comparison
The "double-processing" trap: Shooting default then applying a filter
Why Smart HDR destroys optical contrast, and how pasting film presets later causes double distortion: muddy shadows, waxy skin, and grain over halo edges.
Fundamentals
What "real film" means, and how it's different from an AI filter
An AI filter repaints your photo with a generative model. A real film engine only re-grades the exact pixels your sensor captured — no invented detail.
Skin tone
Why Asian skin tones need their own tuning
Most default cameras are tuned on lighter-skin training data. Under warm indoor light, that shows up as red or grey-green casts on Asian skin — a technical reason, not a subjective one.
Film effects
Grain, halation, light leak — what actually makes a photo look like film
Adding noise isn't the same as adding grain. These three effects model three real physical phenomena on real film stock — understanding them is how you spot a fake film look.
Film stock & bodies
What a "camera body" means in a film app, and why LAM ships nine
A body isn't a filter name — it's a bundle of a lens character, a colour response, a grain structure and a default film stock. Here's what actually changes when you switch.
Pro tools
Peaking, zebra, false colour, LOG — what they're for, in plain language
Four monitoring tools borrowed from real cinema cameras, explained without the jargon — and why a flat LOG file is more useful to grade than it looks on its own.
Aesthetics & persona
What LAM's five theme personas actually change
Noir, Sakura, Chrome, Luna, Jade — each one changes layout, typography and a few camera defaults, not just button colours.
Presets & sharing
What is a LAM recipe code?
An 8-character code packs an entire look — paste it under a TikTok comment, and anyone gets the exact same colour in 5 seconds, no account needed.
Colour grading & desktop
Exporting a .cube LUT to Resolve/Premiere
Move colour from your phone to a desktop edit and apply it to other camera footage — and the real limit to know (a LUT can't carry grain or halation).