Film · a look in liminal.repair
Thermal camera effect for your photos, free
A thermal camera does not see light; it sees heat, and maps it onto a palette — cold blues and purples through greens and yellows to hot reds and white. The look comes from that palette applied to brightness, plus the soft, low-resolution glow of a real thermal sensor.
beforeafter
Free · no sign-up · runs in your browser — your photo is never uploaded.
The Thermal look maps your photo's tones onto a thermal palette and adds the sensor softness, so a portrait reads like a security thermal feed and a landscape like a weather map.
How to use it
- Open the tool and drop in a photo — portraits and night scenes work especially well.
- Set Heat to decide what counts as hot on the ironbow scale — cold blues through to white.
- Add Soften for the low-resolution sensor and Heat bleed for the glow that spreads from warm areas; Amount mixes the look with the original.
- Export, or stack another look on top.
Tips
- Bright skin reads as "hot" — portraits against a dark background give the strongest result.
- Add CCTV on top for a surveillance feed, or Night Vision for the other kind of camera that sees in the dark.
- A little grain keeps it from looking like a plain gradient map.
Shot with Thermal on Explore
Cameras built on it — open one and it loads onto your own photo.
u @maul · used 11×
jor @dragonfly · used 7×FAQ
Is this a real thermal image?
No — a real thermal camera measures infrared radiation. This look maps the tones of an ordinary photo onto a thermal palette so it reads like one.
Can I use it on video?
Yes. Load a clip and the look plays back live; export it as MP4.
Is it free?
Yes, with no account. Everything runs in your browser.