Taking sometime this holiday weekend to take a look at some older images that I marked to edit but never got around to.
It is worth your time to go through your older images from time to time. As technology changes in photography software some of those images that you didn’t think would work may now be one of your better images. You never know.
Anyway, here is one of the images I worked on this weekend from a 2016 trip down to Fells Point in Baltimore with a photographer friend of mine. One of the early morning trips that I have taken. I’m not a morning person, so this took some dedication.
Two Baltimore Tug boats on the pier in Fells Point.
OK, now that you have your images in LuminarAI via the Catalog, on to the next section.
Templates
Templates in LuminarAI are what use to be called Looks in Luminar. In other programs they may be referred to as presets. But basically they all do the same thing. They are a pre-set set of settings that you can apply to your image to give it a certain look.
Getting started with Templates. Select the image you wish to work in in the Catalog, then click the Templates menu at the top of the window will bring you to the Templates view
The Templates Section Layout
As you can see from the above, this layout has several sections, but the default view you are brought to is the Templates with the recommended AI template collections shown at the top of the Templates menu. Below the AI Template section are other categories of Templates that you may choose to use and those include.
The Template Categories of Templates that come with Luminar AI
The top right of the window contains the Template Collection that Luminar AI has recommended based upon the photo that you had selected. In my example you will note that it recommended the “Monochrome” Template Collection as one it things I should like to try with this image. I suspect it choose this collection first since this is a Black and White image. There are additional recommended template collections to the right of the Monochrome Collection and to view those, you swipe to see the additional recommended Template collections.
My Collection
The Star below the “Magic Wand“ as I’m calling it is the “My Collection” menu selector. In this section,you will see any templates that you have marked as your favorites, any that you have purchased via Luminar Marketplace, User Templates (Those that you have created yourself, Yes you can do that), and lastly, Legacy Templates. The Legacy templates are where you will find any templates you have from the previous version of Luminar that are compatible with Luminar AI. Most seem to transfer in my case, but any that use depreciated tools that are no longer in LuminarAI will not transfer and would not be shown.
My Collections Menu
I’m still deciding on my new favorites, I haven’t purchased any yet, and have yet to create any myself, but you can see I have several Legacy Templates to go through in my “My Collections” menu. I’m not sure yet if LuminarAI will use any of these in the recommended Templates yet, but I suspect not. My thinking there is the newer template collections probably have additional information as part of the collection that is used the AI when determining if it is a good fit. That and I have several templates that are shown in my Legacy Templates section that are good for Black and White images and they were not included in the recommend Template collections section. If I find out otherwise, I’ll update you here.
Template Collection
Once you decide on a template collection to use, you now get to choose the specific template from that collection. Each will have its own settings and a slight variation or adjustment, That’s what makes them their own template. but have the same general theme, thus the collection.
Template Collection
Above is the view of the Monochrome collection that was recommended for my image. In this collection there are 5 templates. To see your image with each template, all you need to do is click on each template and LuminarAI immediately applies the templates settings to your image.
Be sure to slide the adjustment slider to see if your image looks better with a bit less of this template applied. This is one feature of LuminarAI and for that matter, other Skylum programs that I’ve always liked. When you select a template, the effect is shown at 100%. I’ve often found templates that I like but I sometimes do not like the effect at 100% so I just slide the slider to the left to back it off a bit.
And if you don’t like the template applied, you can select another, or just choose the Reset Adjustment to go back to your image without adjustments. You know if a template has been applied as the name of the template will show at the bottom right of the window. If no template is applied, there will be no name listed, just a grayed out “Your Template”
And out goes without saying, you don’t have to just use the template collection that the AI recommends, There is many more template collections included and you can always use on of the templates included with them.
Editing a Template
Now if adjusting the slider still doesn’t get you the look you want, you can still use that template as a base. Choose Edit in the template’s menu in the bottom right to see the adjustments made in this template and to make additional changes to get the look you want.
Editing a Template’s settings
Now if you have made adjustments and really like the new look you have created and think you can use this on other images, you now have the option to save this base template with your adjustments as your own custom template. Note, the save button will only show up as being available if you have made your own adjustments. The name of the new template will be the name of the Template you used with the word Edit added. But if you go to the My Collection section and go to the User Templates section, you will now see your modified template saved in this section and you can rename it here if you want by choosing the menu on the right of the new User Template.
User Templates
We will get more into the whole editing section in Part 3 of the review.
My Thoughts on Templates
Part of the focus of LuminarAI is to make it easy to do things that use to take multiple steps or were complicated to do.
I think LuminarAI accomplishes this fairly well especially with the new AI template recommendation that is based upon it analyzing the your image and recommending which template to use. I think this recommendation is going to be very helpful to you especially if you start collecting templates. If it didn’t do this for you, you could end up going down a rabbit hole of trying to find which template may work best with your image. You could spend all your time picking a template instead of creating your work of art.. Just let LuminarAI make that selection for you and save some time.
If you are new to Photo editing, this feature will help you get the best out of your images without much work, but you don’t have to stop there. The templates are just a starting point. There is much more that this program can do for you. More on that in the Part 3 – Editing Review.
For me, I use the templates as a starting point. Either to give the overall picture a certain look before I go in and make minor adjustments, or to use as a base for creating my own custom template that I would apply to similar images.
How to update to or purchase LuminarAI
LuminarAI is offered in a couple variations as of this writing. There is a 1 Seat and a 2 Seat version.
What is meant by Seat? In short, each seat is each single installation of LuminarAI by device. So if you want to have LuminarAI on two computers you need to purchase the 2 Seat license.
LuminarAI 1 Seat – Cost is $79 before discount.
LuminarAI 2 Seats Cost is $99 before discount.
Don’t forget to use my LuminarAI Coupon Code of MARKDODD to save an additional amount when you purchase.
There is a 30 day money back guarantee from the time of shipping, which is currently set for December 15th, 2020; so if for some reason you are not happy, you can get your money back.
Please make sure your system is up to the task by checking it against the System requirements listed at the bottom of the product page. And yes, it does work with Mac OS Big Sur. But one note: LuminarAI is not yet been certified as of this writing with the new Apple M1 chip computers. I fully expect to be, but Skylum is still doing its testing on the new M1 chip hardware.
This review is based upon a beta version of LuminarAI, Skylum’s latest photo editor. As such some things may be a little different between the version reviewed and the final released version.
I have been a long-time Skylum customer, back even to the MacPhun days, and as such, I have seen their programs evolve over time. Some things I agree with, some I do not. I hope this to be an unbias review of their latest program LuminarAI.
What LuminarAI is and What it is not.
This is NOT an upgrade/update to Luminar 4. Despite having the base name, this is an entirely new program. Instead of just patching things in Luminar 4, Skylum made the decision to start from scratch with this new program. They, I believe, have taken the best of all their previous programs and some they acquired to make this new Photo editor that combines everything into one application.
This is NOT a cataloging program, aka DAM (Digital Asset Manager). Although you can view your images in what they have labeled a Catalog, in my option, this is more of a browser than a catalog. My view of what a catalog is is something that lets you tag, keyword, label, or add other metadata to your image. LuminarAI does not do this. There are many other programs that can serve this function well, those include Adobe Lightroom, On1, Capture One, ACDsee Photo for example.
Some initial comments
LuminarAI is intended to be a program for everyone. It has been designed for the beginner photographer and has options to add that level of user improve their image using AI but it also has the full set of tools a more advanced photographer would want to make more finite adjustments.
As part of this, LuminarAI is taking advantage of AI (Artificial Intelligence) that will analyze your image and make adjustments with little effort on your part. This seems to be a trend in photo editors, the AI bit, and I see this as becoming the norm for all photo editors. More to come on this in the part 3 review post when we get into editing.
In order not to have it be one very long post, I’m breaking it down into several parts. Part 1 will start out with the Catalog, Part 2 will be Templates, Part 3 will be Editing/Exporting
The Catalog
The Catalog in LuminarAI is quite functional for its purposes of letting you view your entire photo library. This is the view you are brought to when you open the program.
For you Luminar 4 users, important note, it does not open/convert your Luminar 4 catalog. When you open LuminarAI for the first time, it will ask you to locate your images so that it can create a fresh catalog of all your images. So, this is a bit of a repeat step but is necessary as they have written the catalog file to improve performance. At first, I thought this would be a bit deal, but after thinking about it what would I rather have done, have a new catalog that is much faster at responding and have to create my Albums from scratch, or have my albums with a slower catalog view. I’d take the faster catalog,
It has default items of All Photos, On this day, Recently added, Recently Searched (although this will only show up after your first search), and Trash (contains items you have trashed in LuminarAI, but they are not yet deleted from your physical photo library). Items are added when you select Move to Luminar Trash on any image.
There is a Folder section that shows what folders you have added to LuminarAI for it to show in your Catalog view. This folders section can contain 1 or many folders, and if you subfolders, you can expand the top-level folder to show those subfolders. The Albums section is where you can create your own Albums to help you organize your images locally or any other way you would like. It doesn’t physically move the image on your computer but lets you group images together in any way you would like.
It has a built-in search function that does let you search but image or folder name, date, or extension to help find your images wither they be in a folder, Album. Once you have found your image, you can see a bit more metadata of the image by clicking the little “i” icon on the bottom left of the Luminar window to show basic metadata information about the image, such as filename and extension, the ISO, Focal length, EV, F stop, and the shutter speed of your image; the date/time, dimensions, and file size of the image; and lastly the device it was taken on including the lens.
The interface
How to update to or purchase LuminarAI
LuminarAI is offered in a couple variations as of this writing. There is a 1 Seat and a 2 Seat version.
What is meant by Seat? In short, each seat is each single installation of LuminarAI by device. So if you want to have LuminarAI on two computers you need to purchase the 2 Seat license.
LuminarAI 1 Seat – Cost is $79 before discount.
LuminarAI 2 Seats Cost is $99 before discount.
Don’t forget to use my LuminarAI Coupon Code of MARKDODD to save an additional amount when you purchase.
There is a 30 day money back guarantee from the time of shipping, which is currently set for December 15th, 2020; so if for some reason you are not happy, you can get your money back.
Please make sure your system is up to the task by checking it against the System requirements listed at the bottom of the product page. And yes, it does work with Mac OS Big Sur. But one note: LuminarAI is not yet been certified as of this writing with the new Apple M1 chip computers. I fully expect to be, but Skylum is still doing its testing on the new M1 chip hardware.
The new version 2021 for computers includes new organizational tools, full integration of ON1 Portrait AI, numerous all-new creative features, many other workflow enhancements, and several new features in the integrated Photo RAW for Mobile app. The new versions include some incredible enhancements for all photographers, regardless of the type of photography they shoot.
New Features
Full integration of ON1 Portrait AI, a new and faster method for organizing photos using a powerful new Smart Organize mode
Color range selection technology that combines the color and edge detection from the popular Perfect Brush with the flexible gradient masks
Custom brush shapes
Healing brush
Full-screen preview mode
Quick Slideshow mode
Camera-based presets
Color Replacement filter
Method to batch HDR and panoramic photos
Support added to work as a plug-in inside of Corel Paint Shop Pro or Affinity Photo, with Capture One support coming soon.
includes everything from ON1 and is the best workflow for ON1 Photo RAW with its seamless cloud syncing of photo organization and editing between computers and mobile devices. Photo RAW 360 plans include ON1 Photo RAW for computers, ON1 Photo RAW for mobile devices, and the ON1 Photo RAW cloud syncing.
Coupon Code = extra 20% discount
use code MDODD20
Extra limited time bonus
For a limited time, any purchase of the new ON1 Photo RAW includes bonuses of 20 additional ON1 Watercolor Brushes and 20 additional ON1 Presets covering Light and Airy and Monochrome Style looks.
A license purchase includes Windows and macOS versions, for use on two computers, and support for 11 languages.
Today On1 announced a new app geared towards the Portrait photographer that is both a standalone app or a plug-in for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Corel Paintshop Pro, Apple Photos, with Capture One support coming soon.
This new On1 application is meant to assist those portrait photographers who currently are spending hours retouching single images or entire shoots to present to their clients using the latest in machine learning AI. The AI finds every face in a portrait and applies settings to make your subject look fabulous without you having to lift a finger. While many other Photo editors offer either on-off edits or require manual controls and at times a steep learning curve with no way to batch process and entire shoot, On1 Portrait AI takes care of all of that for you
On1 Portrait AI Standalone App/Plug-in will is available now for the introductory price of $59.99 for a limited time. The reverts to the regular price of $79.99 (Or 63.99 if you use my Coupon Code MDODD20)
Don’t forget about On1’s other Standalone/Plug-in Apps of
New enhancements coming to the On1 Photo Raw Mobile app for both iOS and Android today.
Masking has come to the Mobile App. This includes the edge-detecting Perfect Brush for precise masking while just using your finger. The new masking tools also include support for the Apple Pencil and the Andriod Stylus.
Local adjustments make use of On1’s proprietary raw processing engine to get the best from your raw images.
New Effect and Filters have been added. Those include Dynamic Contrast Filter, Curves, HDR Look and Glow to go along with the built-in filters of Split Tone, Black and White, Film Grain, Vegnettes, and Color Adjustments.
And more will be on the way.
Pricing.
The new masking capabilities are free for those who subscribe have a On1 Photo Raw 360 Subscription. Otherwise to get the masking fuctions in On1 Photo Mobie it will be either the $4.99/ Month or the $49.99/year.
For those who do not wish to use the Masking option, there is no additional cost for the other updates of On1 Photo Mobile.
On1 Photo Raw 2021
The 2021 release will be coming next month (October 2020) and will include a host of new features.
New Features
Full integration of ON1 Portrait AI, a new and faster method for organizing photos using a powerful new Smart Organize mode
Color range selection technology that combines the color and edge detection from the popular Perfect Brush with the flexible gradient masks
Custom brush shapes
Healing brush
Full-screen preview mode
Quick Slideshow mode
Camera-based presets
Color Replacement filter
Method to batch HDR and panoramic photos
Support added to work as a plug-in inside of Corel Paint Shop Pro or Affinity Photo, with Capture One support coming soon.
On1 Photo Raw interface images with the new features
On1 Photo Raw 2021 Pre-Order
You can pre-order the new On1 Photo Raw 2021 beginning today and will receive it when it is released in Late October, 2020.
New Customers can order for $99.99
Existing Customers can upgrade for a 20% discount of $79.99
Or you can get On1 Photo Raw now, On1 Photo Raw 2021 when released, and one year of On1 Plus training for $129.99
Today Skylum is announcing LuminarAI. It is an all-new program and plugin that is part of the Skylum family of Photo Editors. This is not an upgrade to Luminar 4, but an entirely new program built from the ground up.
LuminarAI is focused on an entirely new, non-conventional approach to photo editing. Using the Power of AI, some of which have been in previous Skylum products, to focus on results, not the process. It is designed to remove the boring more complex aspects of photo editing but still give a professional quality image.
Part of the intent is to no longer make it about the complex tasks and processes of photo editing but to simplify complex tasks and processes for you and let you concentrate on your creative side. The AI does the work and your creative side is let loose.
Features
Portraits take on new life.
Use BodyAI and FaceAI to gently sculpt and refine a portrait.
Create eyes that are rich and expressive with IrisAI.
Remove blemishes and imperfections naturally with SkinAI.
Landscape photography has never looked better.
Add depth and detail to skies with AtmosphereAI and Sky Enhancer.
Transform a photo and add an all-new sky in seconds with SkyAI.
Bring warmth with Golden Hour or even enhance the sun with Sunrays.
Professional finishing with less hassle.
Looking for more detail and texture? Then StructureAI is the perfect addition.
Get the perfect crop with CompositionAI and fix crooked images.
With AccentAI, a photo has perfect exposure and color.
LuminarAI Does the work for you.
LuminarAI recognizes the contents of your photo and suggests what it thinks are the best templates based upon that content to speed up your workflow. You can then easily apply and refine your image from those template starting points, or just leave it as shown form the template. The choice is yours.
Early-bird pricing for the first 30,000 customers
You can pre-order LuminarAI now and not have to worry. Skylum is offering a 30-day money-back guarantee from the time of shipping, not the time of purchase. So you can purchase now, when the product ships if you are unsatisfied, you can get a full refund within the 30 days. But I”m sure you will be happy with your purchase.
Early bird pricing will be available for the first 30,000 artists worldwide to preorder LuminarAI. Once these copies are sold, the price will go up.
LuminarAI is just US$69 with the loyalty discount (for those who have purchased Luminar 4, Aurora HDR 2019, or Aurora HDR) and includes access to the LuminarAI Insiders community.
LuminarAI is just US$79 for new customers and includes access to the LuminarAI Insiders community.
Note: The Skylum discount code does not apply to the pre-Order special pricing of LuminarAI, but it does still apply to Lunimar 4 and Aurora HDR 2019 (That code being MARKDODD)
Comparison of Luminar 4 to LuminarAI
Luminar 4
LuminarAI
Catalog AI Sky Enhance AI Accent AI Structure AI Portrait AI Skin Enhancer AI Sky Replacement AI Augmented Sky Looks a Multitude of controls
Rebuilt from the Ground up
New Catalog (cannot import a Luminar 4 catalog) BodyAI FaceAI IrisAI SkinAI AtmosphereAI and Sky Enhancer SkyAI Sunrays StructureAI CompositionAI AccentAI Intelligent Templates (based upon your photo)
And more information to come as we get closer to the ship date. No specific ship date has been set other than during the Holiday Season this year.
Trial version will be available when the product starts shipping.
LuminarAI is not an upgrade replacement for Luminar 4 but is an entirely new program. Luminar 4 will continue to be sold during the Pre-order timeframe of LuminarAI and then Luminar 4 will get support, and updates for at least 1 more year after the shipping of LuminarAI. After that time you can still use Luminar 4, but updates will end. This is so folks who have an older system still have access to a Luminar 4 version for editing.
Since it is just around the corning Exposure software is offering that if you purchase Exposure X5 now, you will get Exposure X6 for free when it is released.
It is available for Windows and Mac. For Full System requirements see here
Can also be used as a plug in to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
ON1 360° is a new end-to-end photography workflow solution for capturing, editing and accessing photos seamlessly between multiple computers and mobile devices. ON1 360° connects ON1 Photo RAW 2020 on macOS and Windows computers with the new free ON1 Photo Mobile on iOS and Android devices. ON1 360° is the complete photography ecosystem that photographers have been waiting for; giving them more choice and more control. Multiple options for syncing files, control in file storage methods, and new capabilities for managing and editing across devices no matter where files are stored are available in ON1 360°.
At the core of ON1 360° is ON1’s new cloud storage service and sync technology, which allows photographers to sync photos, metadata, and edits, as well as albums, cataloged folders, and more between all their computers and devices, external hard drives, or even network drives. Unlike other cloud service offerings, ON1 360° will allow customers to choose which files or folders to sync, where the files live, as well as their preferred storage format.
Key Features
One Workflow — A complete end-to-end workflow between desktop and mobile with just one desktop application in ON1 Photo RAW 2020. No bouncing between organizers, raw processors, and layered pixel-editors. ON1 Photo RAW 2020 is a modern photo organizer, raw processor, layered editor, and effects app, all-in-one well thought out and affordable application.
Value — ON1 360° plan options start out at 10x the storage amount for 20% less cost compared to competitive plans available today.
Complete Control of Photos — Photographers can organize how they choose, where they store photos, and how they back up their photos. Whether photos are on local drives, upload some or all of them to the ON1 360° cloud storage, it’s their choice. All metadata and edits will back up automatically with ON1 360°.
High Quality with Less Space — ON1’s unique compressed-raw file format will also allow photographers to store more photos in the same amount of space without noticeable loss in image quality when processing. The new file format will also let photographers view, edit, and share their photos without having to store the original photo in the cloud.
ON1 Photo Mobile — The new free ON1 Photo Mobile will be a single app for capturing, editing, and syncing photos back to desktop computers, where each photo will also be re-editable. More than a basic raw processor, ON1 Photo Mobile uses the same RAW processing engine developed for ON1 Photo RAW. Adjustments will include Exposure, Contrast, Shadows, Mid-tones, Highlights, Whites, Blacks, White Balance, Noise, and Sharpening. Built-in filters will start with, black and white, adding film grain, darkening the edges with a vignette, and enhancing local contrast. ON1 Photo Mobile will be available for both iOS and Android devices and is free for anyone.
Capture and Create Anywhere — The new free ON1 Photo Mobile’s camera mode works like your device’s camera app but with many more advanced features. Capture raw photos on your smartphone with all the tonal range and details you expect from an interchangeable lens camera. The pro-level manual controls include the ability to adjust exposure, shutter speed, depth, and white balance.
Photos Stay in Sync — Automatically or selectively sync photos and edits from ON1 Photo RAW 2020 on desktop or laptop computers back to the free ON1 Photo Mobile using ON1 360°, providing a complete, photo editing and organizing system. ON1 360° will allow photographers to wirelessly send photos between desktop and mobile devices. Photos can be viewed, edited or downloaded directly to ON1 Photo RAW 2020 on both desktop or laptop computers with the non-destructive editing settings intact. You can also push edits from ON1 Photo RAW 2020 on desktop or laptop computers and automatically or selectively sync them back to ON1 Photo Mobile.
Privacy — Privacy is most important, and with ON1 360°, all photos will be kept private. ON1 will never analyze any photos using ON1 360° to build ways to market to photographers.
Availability and Pricing
ON1 360° subscription plans will be rolled out gradually starting today and continuing to the full release in late June 2020 when the ON1 360° service officially begins and all purchasing options become available.
Today, owners of Photo RAW 2020 can take advantage of special introductory pricing on a 1-year prepaid subscription for ON1 360° (service only edition) with reduced pricing and pre-order bonuses including a new ON1 Pro pack with 360 custom presets ($100 value) delivered today, and a new ON1 360° Training Course delivered in June when the ON1 360° service begins.
New customers can purchase a perpetual license for ON1 Photo RAW 2020 at a reduced price and the ON1 360° Service Add-on or the ON1 360° Software & Service subscription which includes everything.
For a limited time, ON1 is cutting the price of ON1 Photo RAW 2020 by 50% during the lead up to ON1 360° availability in late June.
This is a little departure from the previous buy once and own forever, but On1 is still offering the base On1 Photo Raw application as a one time purchase, but now you have the option to purchase the On1 360 service that will let you sync your photography to all of your devices.
As you now I’m not a fan of subscription software. I believe the On1 approach doesn’t make me stray from this belief since the On1 Photo Raw is still a one time purchase, but this add-on service is something that I will be purchasing. I’m already using online storage for my photography. After this service has been released, I may be canceling those other services and move to just the On1 360 Syncing service.
ON1 360 Release schedule
In June 2020, ON1 will roll out all ON1 360° plans including monthly subscription plans which include ON1 Photo RAW 2020, the ON1 Photo Mobile connectivity, and the 360° syncing service. As always, ON1 will continue offering Photo RAW as a perpetual- license product separate from ON1 360°, for those who prefer to own their software. This allows customers to upgrade to future versions at a time of their choosing, and it allows them to add or cancel any ON1 360° subscription without losing access to ON1 Photo RAW or their photos.
