Free AI photo editing
for Lightroom Classic
Retoucan learns how you edit from your own catalogs, then gives a whole wedding or portrait shoot a first pass in your style. It runs on your computer, it's open source, and it costs nothing.
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows. Needs Lightroom Classic 13.3 or later.
An editing assistant that stays on your computer
Paid AI editors charge per photo or by subscription. Retoucan does the first pass for free, inside the Lightroom Classic catalog you already use, and every edit stays an ordinary slider you can change.
Learns your style
Point it at a catalog you've already edited. It trains in about a minute and predicts exposure, temperature and tint for every new photo, the way you'd have set them.
Your presets and LUTs
Retoucan scans the presets and profiles already installed in Lightroom, LUT-based ones included, and lists them next to its ten built-in film looks. Nothing to upload: import a preset into Lightroom and it shows up. Preview the look on photos from the shoot and set its strength first.
AI masks and retouching
Adds Lightroom's own AI masks for subject, background, skin, teeth, eyes and sky with gentle adjustments, then removes any mask that found nothing, like sky indoors.
Works with Assisted Culling
Let Lightroom Classic's Assisted Culling flag your keepers, or cull by hand. Retoucan reads the picks, stars and color labels and edits just those photos.
Test batch first
Retoucan edits a spread of samples from across the shoot. If you like them, it edits the rest. If not, one click puts them back.
Built for big shoots
Edits hundreds of RAW photos in one run, with progress and time remaining. Edited photos are tagged so you can find them, and any that need a look land in a collection.
Private and open source
No account, no upload, no per-photo fee. The code is on GitHub under the MIT license, so anyone can check what it does.
How it works
Lightroom Classic stays open the whole time. Retoucan sends edits to it through a small plugin.
Cull in Lightroom Classic
Flag, star or color-label your keepers as usual, by hand or with Lightroom's Assisted Culling.
Choose photos
Retoucan reads the open catalog and filters by flag, rating, label and folder.
Pick a look
Choose one of your Lightroom presets or a built-in look, and preview it on samples from the shoot.
Pick retouching
Choose which AI masks to add: subject, background, skin, teeth, eyes, sky.
Review and send
Retoucan edits a test batch, then the rest. The edits land in Lightroom as normal settings, with a snapshot to go back to.
Ten film looks included
Written for Retoucan and MIT licensed. Use them as they are or as a starting point.
- Golden Film
- Golden Hour Film
- Sage Film
- Warm Negative
- Faded Vintage
- Soft Pastel
- Clean Bright
- Moody Matte
- Teal and Amber
- Classic B&W
Retoucan, Imagen AI and Aftershoot
Imagen AI and Aftershoot are mature, paid products with more features. Retoucan covers the first-pass edit, and pairs with Lightroom's own Assisted Culling for picking keepers, so the whole workflow is free and stays on your machine.
| Retoucan | Imagen AI | Aftershoot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Paid, per photo or subscription | Paid subscription |
| Where editing happens | Your computer | Imagen's cloud (photos or smart previews are uploaded) | Your computer |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No | No |
| Learns from your own edits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Culling | Use Lightroom's Assisted Culling; Retoucan reads the picks | Yes | Yes |
| Account needed | No | Yes | Yes |
| Edits stay editable in Lightroom | Yes | Yes | Yes |
More detail: Imagen AI vs Aftershoot vs Retoucan · Retoucan as an Imagen AI alternative · Retoucan as an Aftershoot alternative
Questions
Is Retoucan really free?
Yes. Retoucan is free and open source under the MIT license. There is no account, subscription or per-photo charge.
Do my photos get uploaded anywhere?
No. Retoucan reads your Lightroom Classic catalog and RAW files on your own computer, learns and edits there, and never uploads photos, catalogs or presets.
Does it work with Lightroom (the cloud version) or Capture One?
Not yet. Retoucan works with Adobe Lightroom Classic 13.3 or later, through a plugin that applies edits inside the catalog.
How many edited photos does it need to learn my style?
Any catalog you've already edited works, and more photos make better predictions. A single wedding of a few hundred edited photos is enough to start. Training takes about a minute.
Can I use my own presets and LUTs?
Yes, if Lightroom has them. Retoucan doesn't take uploads; it scans the presets and profiles already installed in Lightroom Classic, including LUT-based profiles, and adds ten film looks of its own. To use a new preset, import it in Lightroom (Develop, Presets panel, +, Import Presets). A bare .cube LUT has to be made into a Lightroom profile or preset first. Retoucan never copies or redistributes the presets you bought.
Does Retoucan cull photos?
Retoucan doesn't cull on its own. It works with Lightroom Classic's Assisted Culling: let Lightroom flag your keepers (or flag, star and color-label them by hand), and Retoucan reads those picks and edits them. Together they cover culling and editing for free.
Can I undo what Retoucan did?
Yes. Retoucan saves a "Before Retoucan" snapshot on every photo it edits and can undo a whole batch in one click. All edits are ordinary Lightroom sliders and masks you can keep adjusting.
Why does my Mac say the app can't be opened?
The builds aren't code-signed yet. Right-click Retoucan in Applications and choose Open the first time. On Windows, choose More info, then Run anyway.