# Color Transfer Online - Match Photo Colors to a Reference

> Copy a reference photo’s color grade onto your images with Reinhard, histogram matching or MKL. Adjustable strength, batch mode and .cube LUT export.

- URL: https://qilingtools.com/en/image/color-transfer
- Category: Image Tools (https://qilingtools.com/en/image)
- Tags: [Image](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/image), [Photo Editing](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/photo)
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Price: Free, no sign-up
- Privacy: Runs locally in the browser; files are never uploaded

Love the look of a film still or a photographer’s colour grade but can’t reproduce it with sliders? Use it as a reference: this tool measures the reference’s colour statistics and moves your photo onto the same palette. Three methods are included. Reinhard aligns the mean and standard deviation of each CIELAB channel and gives the most natural results; histogram matching makes each channel’s distribution match the reference for the closest look; MKL (linear Monge–Kantorovich) matches the RGB covariance, carrying colour casts and saturation over more faithfully. The strength slider blends between the original and the result, and Preserve luminance transfers colour without changing brightness. Process many photos at once — matching each one or applying one identical transform to all — and export the grade as a 33³ .cube 3D LUT to reuse in Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut or Photoshop.

## How to use

1. Drop in the photos to recolour, then choose a reference image
2. Pick a method, set strength and luminance preservation, and check the before/after preview
3. Click Transfer colours to download the results, or export a .cube LUT

## Features

- Reinhard mean/std transfer in Lab
- Per-channel histogram matching
- MKL linear transfer (covariance matching)
- Adjustable strength, preserve luminance
- Live before/after preview
- Batch processing with ZIP download
- Export a 33³ .cube 3D LUT
- Runs locally, nothing uploaded

## FAQ

### How do the three methods differ?

Reinhard only aligns the average and spread of colours, so it’s the safest and most natural. Histogram matching makes every channel’s distribution identical, which looks closest to the reference but can band or shift colours when the contents differ a lot. MKL also accounts for how colours correlate, so overall colour casts transfer more accurately. Try each and compare in the preview.

### Why does the result look different from the reference?

Colour transfer matches statistics, so if the two images have very different content — say a sunset reference and a target that is mostly blue sky — the statistics differ too. A reference with similar content, lower strength or Preserve luminance usually helps.

### How do I use the exported LUT?

A .cube file is the standard 3D LUT format: load it in Premiere (Lumetri), DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro or Photoshop (Color Lookup), or apply it to other photos with our Apply LUT tool. The LUT is computed from the first target photo.

### Are my photos uploaded? Is it free?

No upload — everything runs locally in your browser. The site is completely free, needs no account, has no limits and adds no watermark.

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