Analog film simulation in your browser

Start with one photo

1. Open the editor and choose a photo, or try the bundled demo. On desktop, you can also drop or paste an image.
2. Browse the film thumbnails or search for a stock. Pick a film, then compare its variants and adjust Strength.
3. Set brightness and contrast for your photo. Adjust grain and optical effects after you choose the color treatment.
4. Hold the image to compare it with the original. On desktop, you can also hold Space.
5. Choose Export to save a full-resolution JPEG. Keep your original file as well as the edited copy.

Film names describe approximated looks. Your source image, lighting and adjustments affect the result. PhotDev does not claim to reproduce a physical stock under all shooting and processing conditions.

Choose the effect you want to change

Film color and contrast

Start with a film preset for its color palette and tonal treatment. Strength blends the look with your original image.

Grain

Add texture across the image. Check the texture at different zoom levels before exporting; a thumbnail can conceal coarse grain.

Halation

Simulate a red-orange glow around bright areas. Try it on lamps, bright reflections or backlit edges.

Bloom

Add a softer, neutral glow around highlights. Use it separately from the colored halation effect.

Chromatic aberration and fringing

Introduce color separation at edges. The chromatic-aberration control increases separation toward the corners; fringing targets bright edges.

Vignette

Darken the image toward its edges. Compare against the original to check how much detail you retain.

Damage and repair

Damage adds dust, hairs and scratches. Repair removes defects from the source before you apply the film look. Use the control that matches your intent.

Go further in the darkroom

Enable Show advanced darkroom controls in Settings to reveal the Stock, Process, Grain, Halation, Lens, Print and Condition panels. PhotDev saves this interface preference in your browser without an account.

Stock and Process shape the film response. Grain, Halation and Lens control texture and optical character. Print adds output and paper treatment. Condition controls film wear. Change one section at a time, compare the result, and use Undo to return to an earlier edit.

Hiding advanced controls does not remove adjustments you have made. PhotDev shows an advanced-adjustments notice when hidden settings still affect your photo.

Where your photos go

The browser editor processes photos on your device. It does not upload your photos to a server.

PhotDev sends cookieless, coarse usage events to improve the app. These events exclude photos, filenames, search text, editing settings, URLs and location. PhotDev does not link activity across days.

The public developer API is a separate workflow. Calling it uploads your image for server processing. Use the browser editor when you want local-only photo processing.

Common questions

Is PhotDev free?

Yes. The browser editor is free and requires no sign-up.

Can I use iPhone HEIC photos?

Yes. PhotDev includes an in-browser HEIC decoder. You can export the edited result as a JPEG.

Does the editor work without JavaScript?

Photo editing requires JavaScript in a modern browser. This guide and the API documentation remain readable without JavaScript.

Are these official Kodak or Fuji presets?

No. PhotDev uses film names to describe inspired and approximated looks. PhotDev is not affiliated with or endorsed by the trademark owners.

Can an agent use PhotDev?

Yes. The API guide explains the upload workflow, current limits and request fields. The OpenAPI schema describes the machine interface.

Credits

Stas Kulesh builds PhotDev. The Film Scans pack derives from the RawTherapee Film Simulation Collection by Pat David, Pavlov Dmitry and Michael Ezra under CC BY-SA 4.0. Film information credits appear in the editor.