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Browse all 60 presets →The Pulp Fiction photo filter: pulpy amber-red, retro diner glow.
A free Pulp Fiction photo editor and color grading preset inspired by the visual aesthetic of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, built to give photos the film's vivid, saturated, pulp-novel color without touching a curves panel.
Crime cinema, pulp-novel color
Cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła gave Pulp Fiction a look that broke from crime cinema's usual desaturated grit: rich, saturated amber and red tones borrowed from pulp paperback covers and mid-century diner culture. Jack Rabbit Slim's neon, sunlit LA streets, and warm apartment interiors all lean into that same vivid, stylized warmth rather than a muted, realist palette.
It's color as attitude: confident, a little garish, unapologetically pop. That saturated punch is tempered just enough by a warm sepia undertone to keep the image feeling like stylized film rather than an oversaturated digital boost.
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How the Pulp Fiction color grade actually works
The base adjustment pushes saturation harder than almost any other preset in this tool, paired with elevated contrast and a warm sepia layer to keep that saturation grounded rather than garish. An amber-red overlay then sits across the frame in overlay blend mode, deepening warm tones in both shadows and highlights for a rich, retro-pulp cast.
Grain and glow both run moderate to elevated, giving bright highlights, neon signage, sunlit windows, a soft, stylized bloom, while vignette stays restrained enough to keep the frame feeling open rather than closing in like a darker noir grade would.
What to shoot it on
- Diners, retro interiors, and neon signage. Warm, saturated practical light is exactly what this grade's amber-red overlay is built to amplify.
- Cars and roadside scenes. The film's road-trip visual language translates directly, especially under warm daylight.
- Portraits under warm ambient light. Incandescent bulbs, neon, or golden-hour sun push the grade's saturated, stylized punch further.
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Common questions about the Pulp Fiction photo filter
Is this an official Pulp Fiction photo filter?
No. This preset is inspired by the visual aesthetic of Pulp Fiction's cinematography, it isn't an official filter licensed by or affiliated with Miramax or the film's creators. It's an independent color grade built to echo the look, not a branded tie-in product.
Is there a dedicated Pulp Fiction photo editor?
This page is that dedicated editor — the Pulp Fiction grade loads pre-selected in the drop zone above, so you can drop a photo and immediately adjust its grain, vignette, and glow without hunting through the full 60-preset library first.
Why does the Pulp Fiction preset push saturation up instead of desaturating like most crime-film grades?
Cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła leaned into rich, saturated color rather than the desaturated, gritty look common to crime cinema, echoing pulp novel covers and neon-lit diner culture. This preset pushes saturation harder than almost any other preset in this tool to chase that same pulpy, retro punch.
How is Pulp Fiction different from the Joker preset?
Both are crime-adjacent grades with warm tones, but they split in saturation and mood. Pulp Fiction pushes color vividly, amber-red and warm, closer to retro neon than realism. Joker desaturates and grimes the image down, chasing a grittier, more unsettling 1970s aesthetic rather than Pulp Fiction's stylized pop.
Does the Pulp Fiction preset work on daylight photos?
Yes. The grade is a warm, saturated color and contrast shift rather than a night-specific effect, so it reads well in daylight or indoor scenes alike, especially anything with some existing warmth: diner interiors, neon signage, sunset light.
Why does this preset add sepia on top of an already saturated base?
The sepia layer keeps the elevated saturation from tipping into a garish, oversaturated look, grounding the vivid color in a warm, slightly aged tone that reads as stylized retro rather than an unfiltered digital color boost.
What kind of photos look best with a Pulp Fiction-style color grade?
Diners, retro interiors, neon signage, and cars all suit the grade especially well, since they carry the warm, saturated color the palette is built to amplify. Portraits under warm ambient or neon light also hold up strongly.
Prefer a different film's look? Browse the full library of 60 presets, learn more about cinematic color grading, or head to the homepage to start with a blank slate.