More photographers are asked for video as well as stills: a portrait session with a short film, a wedding with a highlight reel, a brand shoot with social cuts. That usually means a photo app for the stills, a video editor for the film and a design app for the covers, with three different looks to keep in line. cinemaOS keeps stills and film in one project on your Mac, so the photographs and the video can share a look and a brand.
The jobs you actually do
- Develop selected images with a gentle, consistent tone.
- Apply a film look to a set and keep it consistent.
- Retouch light and emphasis without damaging the original.
- Make covers, cards and social images with text.
- Cut a short film or reel from the same shoot.
- Match the video's color to the stills.
- Deliver web-ready files.
How cinemaOS handles each
Developing a still
In Atelier Photo, add Levels from Effects, set the black point and gamma gently and blend with Strength, then compare Original, Split and After before you export. The Shape a photo without losing its softness tutorial shows each step.
A look across the set
Apply a look such as 35mm Release Print with Physical Grain and Diffusion, then sync the look and its effects and layers to the rest of the set and export them together. Watch Build a film finish and sync the set.
Light and emphasis on layers
Paint soft light with a brush on its own layer, blend it with Soft Light and set the layer's opacity. The source image stays intact. See Paint soft light on a separate layer. If you need to work on the sky, our guide to selecting the sky in a photo covers the approach.
Covers and social images
Add a text layer and an image layer, set the type, size the inset and keep the title on top, then export the cover. See Build an editable photo cover. For multiple sizes, Atelier Layout adapts one design to 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5.
The film from the same shoot
Press Command 1 and you are in the Sequencer with picture and sound, trim tools, transitions and live titles. Three workspaces in 40 seconds shows how the project moves between editing, finishing and design.
Matching video to your stills
In Finisher, Shot Match matches a shot to a reference still, so a hero photograph can set the color for the film. See Shot Match from a still.
Delivery
Stills export as Web JPEG or PNG, and the film is delivered from Finisher. For a vertical reel, Reframe turns 16:9 into 9:16 with a tracked camera move.
Where to start
- Download cinemaOS and start the 60-day free trial, with no card.
- Import ten selects and one short clip from the same shoot.
- Develop one still, give it a film finish and sync it to the other nine.
- Build a cover with a title, then cut the clip into a short reel.
- Match the reel to your hero still with Shot Match and export everything.
If the stills and the reel look like they came from the same day, the workflow is doing its job.
Honest limits
- cinemaOS is not a catalog for a whole photo archive. For keywords, ratings and years of images, Lightroom or a similar library tool is better.
- Retouching depth is not Photoshop's. Detailed skin and product retouching belongs there.
- There is no phone or tablet app; it runs on Apple silicon Macs only. Windows is planned for November 2027.
- It is version 0.2, build 9. Try it on a real shoot during the trial.
Our guide to the best photo editing software for Mac compares these options by job, and the Lightroom side-by-side goes into detail.
FAQ
Can I edit photos and video in the same project?
Yes. Atelier Photo develops and designs stills, and the Sequencer and Finisher edit and grade the film, all in the same project.
Can I keep the same look on stills and video?
Yes. Sync a look across your stills in Atelier Photo, and use Shot Match in Finisher to match footage to a reference still.
Is cinemaOS a Lightroom replacement?
Not for managing a large library. It is a good fit for the stills that belong to a film or a video project.