tool · beta · on-device
Six film looks built in — Tri-X, Kodak, Super 8, Lomo, 35mm, Subtle. Or roll your own: grain strength, grain size, mono vs chroma, vignette, warmth. Reshuffle the noise pattern whenever you want a fresh roll. Nothing uploads. For a real grade, grab a proper app.
Loading the film canister…
Loading the film canister…
where film grain earns its keep
for portraits
Digital portraits read clinical without grain. Run them through Tri-X mode (high-contrast B&W mono grain at 55%, vignette at 38) and the same shot suddenly feels like it came off a darkroom enlarger. Skin holds its texture; backgrounds get noisy enough to feel earned.
for instagram
The carousel posts that get saved are usually the ones that don't look like phone shots. Grain at 35–45%, slight warmth, a kiss of vignette — your iPhone shoot reads as 'I had film loaded' even though you didn't. Trades a clean look for a felt one.
for landscapes
Modern phone landscapes are too clean — every pine needle is sharp, every cloud feels rendered. Chroma grain at 30%, warmth +18, gentle vignette. Now the photo has a feel of 1970s tourism poster. The mountains stayed the same; the air got thicker.
for street
Street photography lives or dies on grain. Mono at 55%, size 2px, heavy vignette. Bystanders blur into texture, the subject pops, the whole frame reads like it was shot at ASA 1600 in a basement bar. Do not use this on a wedding photo.
for journals
Run a Polaroid Maker output through Super 8 grain (chroma 65%, size 2.5px, heavy vignette, big warmth) and you've made a digital photo that feels like it came out of a shoebox. Print it for a journal page; nobody can tell if it was 1985 or last Tuesday.
for stills
Film grain is the visual signal that says 'this is a still frame from something cinematic.' Drop your still-life into Lomo mode (heavy edge falloff, chunky mono grain) and add a subtitle in serif type — looks like a Criterion menu screen, not a phone snap.
in case you're wondering
No. Grain noise is generated in your browser; the composite renders to a canvas, and the export comes from the canvas. Your photo never touches our servers — we don't run an image pipeline at all.
Random noise per pixel-block at the size you choose, then composited with the photo via the 'overlay' blend mode. Mono mode uses one random value per channel (B&W texture); chroma mode picks each channel independently (color speckle). The same noise tile is reused across slider tweaks; click Reshuffle to roll a new random pattern.
Mono is the cleaner, more classic film look — what you'd associate with Tri-X, Ilford HP5, or any B&W stock. Chroma is what color film actually looks like at high ISO — three independent grain layers, one per channel — and reads as a more saturated, almost rainbow-speckle texture. Chroma feels modern; mono feels timeless.
Grain size sets the pixel block of each grain dot. 1px is fine, almost invisible at small previews; 4px is chunky, reads as deliberate stylization (Lomo, low-light push). Most film stocks live between 1.5 and 2.5 in this scale.
Yes. Drag grain strength to 0 — vignette and warmth still apply. Useful for 'just darken the corners' edits without the texture, or to combine with the Photo Filters tool's color grading.
Grain compresses well as JPG, the photo has no transparency to preserve, and JPG @ 92% gives small files for social. PNG would double or triple the size with no visible benefit. If you need a larger export, run the result through Image Compressor with a wider quality slider.
Per-frame yes — drop in a frame, apply, export. For full video, this isn't the right tool: video grain wants a coherent moving texture, not a static one. Real video editors handle this directly.
now what?
next →
Bleed sunset light into the corners for full analog mood.
Opennext →
Burn a 90s-style red LED date in the corner.
Opennext →
Wrap the grained photo in a paper Polaroid frame.
Opennext →
Map the grain to a two-colour palette.
Opennext →
Reframe the result for IG, stories, or Pinterest.
Opennext →
Print inside a paper mat for a journal page.
OpenCut the background out of any photo in one click.
OpenDrop your subject onto paper, gradient, or your own backdrop photo.
OpenDrop a word behind your subject, magazine-cover style.
OpenNine presets, one photo — vintage to cinematic.
OpenComic dots, risograph red, punk-zine textures.
OpenPhoto to graphite drawing in two clicks.
OpenMap photo to two colors — Spotify, sunset, riso.
OpenMake real cities look like tabletop dioramas.
OpenSunset, lomo red, golden hour — bleed light into corners.
OpenVHS bands, anaglyph 3D, CRT scanlines, chromatic aberration.
OpenConvert any photo to typed characters.
OpenPure invert, cyanotype, blueprint, X-ray, darkroom, sepia negative.
OpenPhoto as tiles with grout-color gaps.
OpenBrightness, contrast, saturation, hue, blur — seven sliders.
OpenAny photo, wrapped in paper with a handwritten caption.
OpenFour photos, B&W mode, handwritten caption.
OpenTwo photos, side-by-side or stacked.
OpenPaper mat for prints, journals, framed walls.
OpenCircle, heart, star, arch — pick a cookie cutter.
OpenGreetings caption, faux stamp, postmark, paper texture.
OpenFloat a photo over paper for portfolios and mockups.
OpenDrop a photo, type a title, pick a layout. 1000×1500 native.
OpenX, LinkedIn, or YouTube cover with title overlay.
OpenHandwritten captions, magazine headers, or a quick scribble.
OpenStick paper-mood tape onto any photo.
OpenLED red, Kodak yellow, camcorder amber.
OpenCorner sign-off or full diagonal tile.
OpenHearts, stars, flowers, smileys, paper tags, HELLO labels.
OpenSquare for IG, 9:16 for stories, 2:3 for Pinterest.
OpenMirror a selfie, un-tilt a scan, turn a sideways shot upright.
OpeniPhone photos that open on everything.
OpenHide faces, plates, addresses — drag a patch over the spot.
OpenRemove GPS, camera info, timestamps before posting.
OpenSmaller JPG, WebP, or PNG — same look, less file.
OpenPull 5 hex codes out of any photo.
OpenPrint-ready QR for menus, invites, journals, vCards.
OpenEyedropper a color in your photo, swap it for another.
OpenFor the real thing →
One photo grained is a piece. When you want a whole scrapbook page graded the same way — a dozen photos, captions, washi tape, paper background — a real collage app handles it cleanly.