QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor - to turn images into LOG / FLAT color profile for color grading
Hi all, [I recently released a QWEN Edit Skin ](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1onc7ok/finetuned_lora_for_enhanced_skin_realism_in/)model which folks seemed to like and use, so stay tuned for an improved version of this coming soon since I switched from AI Toolkit for training, to Misubi Tuner.
For THIS post however, I'm releasing something different, something more suitable for professional creators, who color grade images or footage for their workflows and who may find benefit in this Lora tool for their production processes.
**TLDR:**
**A Lora model that turns normal AI or real images into LOG / FLAT color profile versions, for use in color grading and pro workflows.**
**LINKS:**
* [HF: tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor](https://huggingface.co/tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor)
* [CIVITAI Model](https://civitai.com/models/2143109?modelVersionId=2424051)
* [CIVITAI Article](https://civitai.com/articles/22717) for discussions and seeing the analysis with histograms comparing results
* [LinkedIn article](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond-finished-image-logflat-color-lora-professional-thomas-lennon-stw1e/) for anyone interested, same as civitai but open to discuss in a professional network setting
# Now into the details.
Nearly all AI-generated images are delivered with a "baked-in" color profile. They are vibrant, contrasted, and ready for social media, much like a JPEG from a smartphone. But for filmmakers, photographers, and high-end digital artists, this "finished" look is a creative dead end. It locks in color and lighting decisions, leaving no room for the crucial step of color grading. This article introduces a new experiment of mine, a tool designed to solve this problem: a specialized LORA that transforms standard AI images into a professional, grade-ready format.
**The Problem**: When Finished Means InflexibleThe "baked-in" color problem stems from how AI models are trained. They learn to produce aesthetically pleasing, final images that mimic popular photography. In doing so, they make irreversible decisions about the image's characteristics:
* **Clipped Highlights:** Bright areas are often pushed to pure white, losing all detail.
* **Crushed Blacks:** Shadows are pushed to pure black, obscuring texture and information.
* **Opinionated Color:** The model applies a specific, often heavily saturated color grade that can be difficult or impossible to alter or match to other footage.
For a professional, this is the equivalent of being handed a JPEG when you desperately need the camera's RAW file. You can't recover lost detail, you can't easily match the shot to video from a professional camera (which is often shot in a "LOG" profile), and your creative control is severely limited.
# Closed-Source Convenience vs. Open-Source Control
Is this just a flaw in open-source models? Not at all. The problem is universal. Major closed-source, paid platforms like Midjourney or Nano Banana are designed to deliver a final, polished image. You can ask them to render your image in S-Log, C-Log, or any other professional flat profile however from my findings it's very unlikely you will receive an image at this color grade level.
This is where the power of the open-source ecosystem shines. We have the modularity to build the tools we need. Instead of being stuck with an inflexible final image, we can use custom-trained tools like a LORA to deconstruct that image and regain creative control.
# The Approach:
To solve this, I developed the [**QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor**](https://huggingface.co/tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor) LORA. designed for a single, critical purpose: to convert a standard, graded AI image into a **FLAT** or **LOG** color profile.
In professional cinematography, a LOG profile is a way of capturing the maximum possible dynamic range from the camera's sensor. The resulting image looks washed out, desaturated, and low-contrast. This is intentional. This "digital negative"
Hi all, [I recently released a QWEN Edit Skin ](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1onc7ok/finetuned_lora_for_enhanced_skin_realism_in/)model which folks seemed to like and use, so stay tuned for an improved version of this coming soon since I switched from AI Toolkit for training, to Misubi Tuner.
For THIS post however, I'm releasing something different, something more suitable for professional creators, who color grade images or footage for their workflows and who may find benefit in this Lora tool for their production processes.
**TLDR:**
**A Lora model that turns normal AI or real images into LOG / FLAT color profile versions, for use in color grading and pro workflows.**
**LINKS:**
* [HF: tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor](https://huggingface.co/tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor)
* [CIVITAI Model](https://civitai.com/models/2143109?modelVersionId=2424051)
* [CIVITAI Article](https://civitai.com/articles/22717) for discussions and seeing the analysis with histograms comparing results
* [LinkedIn article](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond-finished-image-logflat-color-lora-professional-thomas-lennon-stw1e/) for anyone interested, same as civitai but open to discuss in a professional network setting
# Now into the details.
Nearly all AI-generated images are delivered with a "baked-in" color profile. They are vibrant, contrasted, and ready for social media, much like a JPEG from a smartphone. But for filmmakers, photographers, and high-end digital artists, this "finished" look is a creative dead end. It locks in color and lighting decisions, leaving no room for the crucial step of color grading. This article introduces a new experiment of mine, a tool designed to solve this problem: a specialized LORA that transforms standard AI images into a professional, grade-ready format.
**The Problem**: When Finished Means InflexibleThe "baked-in" color problem stems from how AI models are trained. They learn to produce aesthetically pleasing, final images that mimic popular photography. In doing so, they make irreversible decisions about the image's characteristics:
* **Clipped Highlights:** Bright areas are often pushed to pure white, losing all detail.
* **Crushed Blacks:** Shadows are pushed to pure black, obscuring texture and information.
* **Opinionated Color:** The model applies a specific, often heavily saturated color grade that can be difficult or impossible to alter or match to other footage.
For a professional, this is the equivalent of being handed a JPEG when you desperately need the camera's RAW file. You can't recover lost detail, you can't easily match the shot to video from a professional camera (which is often shot in a "LOG" profile), and your creative control is severely limited.
# Closed-Source Convenience vs. Open-Source Control
Is this just a flaw in open-source models? Not at all. The problem is universal. Major closed-source, paid platforms like Midjourney or Nano Banana are designed to deliver a final, polished image. You can ask them to render your image in S-Log, C-Log, or any other professional flat profile however from my findings it's very unlikely you will receive an image at this color grade level.
This is where the power of the open-source ecosystem shines. We have the modularity to build the tools we need. Instead of being stuck with an inflexible final image, we can use custom-trained tools like a LORA to deconstruct that image and regain creative control.
# The Approach:
To solve this, I developed the [**QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor**](https://huggingface.co/tlennon-ie/QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor) LORA. designed for a single, critical purpose: to convert a standard, graded AI image into a **FLAT** or **LOG** color profile.
In professional cinematography, a LOG profile is a way of capturing the maximum possible dynamic range from the camera's sensor. The resulting image looks washed out, desaturated, and low-contrast. This is intentional. This "digital negative"
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preserves the maximum amount of detail in the highlights and shadows, providing a flexible canvas for the colorist to work their magic. This LORA brings that exact capability to the world of AI generation.
# The Results:
When applied, the LORA transforms the image into a perfect starting point for professional color work. The visual results are clear, but the technical data from the image's histogram tells the full story.
https://preview.redd.it/p98idfd7uh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=d109a8273a48d4d7bf539ea19aabf35c757b2fb0
https://preview.redd.it/aaxfvmo9uh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=f3c09c55df6ff7764af385b18d9e76825e9a576b
https://preview.redd.it/f2duah7buh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=42081de886f02a7c43bf6983565f5c1dea737a2c
https://preview.redd.it/4t8ys4lcuh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=45e763abc7e376bf770ad9cdf6a50ee626c01afc
To demonstrate the effect and scalability of the **QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor** LoRA, I created the articles linked above that dive deeper into histogram comparisons of the before/after effect of the LORA on a variety of styles of images ,both AI generated and real.
# A few more examples as final food for thought
https://reddit.com/link/1p2il7e/video/vppwe3kiuh2g1/player
https://redd.it/1p2il7e
@rStableDiffusion
# The Results:
When applied, the LORA transforms the image into a perfect starting point for professional color work. The visual results are clear, but the technical data from the image's histogram tells the full story.
https://preview.redd.it/p98idfd7uh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=d109a8273a48d4d7bf539ea19aabf35c757b2fb0
https://preview.redd.it/aaxfvmo9uh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=f3c09c55df6ff7764af385b18d9e76825e9a576b
https://preview.redd.it/f2duah7buh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=42081de886f02a7c43bf6983565f5c1dea737a2c
https://preview.redd.it/4t8ys4lcuh2g1.png?width=4578&format=png&auto=webp&s=45e763abc7e376bf770ad9cdf6a50ee626c01afc
To demonstrate the effect and scalability of the **QwenEdit2509-FlatLogColor** LoRA, I created the articles linked above that dive deeper into histogram comparisons of the before/after effect of the LORA on a variety of styles of images ,both AI generated and real.
# A few more examples as final food for thought
https://reddit.com/link/1p2il7e/video/vppwe3kiuh2g1/player
https://redd.it/1p2il7e
@rStableDiffusion