Grain that sits heavier in the shadows and lighter in the highlights, the way it does on actual film. Not a flat noise overlay.
Open the editor with this effect
Film grain is the fine, shifting texture of the silver crystals that make up a film photo. Digital sensors do not have it, which is part of why digital photos can feel too clean. A little grain adds warmth, hides harsh edges and makes an image feel like it has been somewhere. The hard part is making it look like film rather than a layer of static.
Grain is not even. On a negative it shows most in the shadows and the midtones, and much less in bright highlights. A flat noise overlay ignores that, which is why it often looks fake.
Grain is random but fine. It should be smaller than the details you care about, so a face stays sharp while the background picks up texture.
Grain follows the light. Faster film and pushed development give a coarser, heavier grain, which suits gritty street and night photos. Slow film gives a gentle texture for portraits and landscapes.
For a subtle analog feel, keep it low enough that you only notice it when you look for it. Most people overdo grain on their first try.
For a gritty, pushed film look, go heavier and add a little contrast at the same time.
Think about where the image will be seen. Grain that looks right full screen can disappear when shrunk to a phone feed, and look heavy on a large print.
Add grain last, after colour and contrast, so it sits on top like it would on a real print.
Open the editor from this page. Grain is already applied to the sample, heavier in the shadows than the highlights. Drop in your own photo.
Raise or lower the grain amount until it feels right at the size you will share it.
For a full film finish, grade with a film LUT and add film dust or a vignette from the effects list.
Export PNG, at full resolution on Pro so the grain stays fine and does not get smeared by resizing.
Yes. The grain pattern is generated from a fixed seed, so the same photo and settings always give the same result. That makes it easy to match a set of photos.
Yes. The video editor has a film grain effect you can add to clips on a timeline, then export MP4.
No. The grain is a classical noise algorithm weighted by the brightness of each pixel. It runs on your device with no models involved.