Author: Peter Forsgard

Luminar Neo: First Set of AI Features revealed and explained!

Skylum had a second briefing about it’s new image editing software Luminar Neo. Some of the AI tools were covered.
The main thing in these new tools is subject recognition. It is a big thing in Mask AI and also Relight AI. I think those two AI tools are the most interesting at least for now.
Relight AI
In Skylum’s examples of the Relight AI it seems that the Relight AI works excatly the way a photographer would light a scene. Sometimes it is not possible to adjust the light and the propositions of them when photographing. Relight can help with that.
As you see from the photo example from below it works very well. Of course we have to remember that these are samples taht are provide for us. The actual quality of all these tools will be confirmed when we can actually test these on our on images.
photo: Skylum
Mask AI
Mask Ai is using object recognisition to mask out area in an image. The traditional way is to paint the mask or select an area. Neo uses object recognition. They way you mask is just choose the object from the menu.
photo: Skylum
At the first stage Luminar Neo will have Portrait Mask, Sky Mask, Water Mask, Mountain Mask, Architecture/Buildings and Vegetation. The second upgrade will have roads, vehicles etc. All these are subject to change. Let’s hope that Skylum can keep this schedule up.
Luminar Neo is on to something.
The tools that Luminar Neo has are really exciting. Even though I am a bit disapointed about Skylum’s software release policy I have to admit that Luminar Neo is something I want to try. Then I can make my final thoughts about it.
Good deal on Skylum’s website!
Even though the early bird deal is over, there is another quite good deal. The price for current Luminar software users is 47€ for one computer. (Price is valid until 17th of October). I think that is good deal. What is good about the deal is that there is a 30 day money back guarantee. That starts when the software is available.

If you are interested in getting Luminar Neo here are my Affiliate links:

Link to Luminar Neo.

September 21, 2021
Want to be a Better Photographer 👉 Check out my New Course!

I know you are reading this because you want to be a photographer. Learning new skills in a craft where you already have some knowledge is fun.
My new course
I have just launched a new or actually two new courses on the Retrieve platform. The courses that I have there are Improve Your skills and Know your gear. Both courses can be bought as a bundle at a reduced price.
Improve you skills
Like the name indicates in this course we will concentrate on your skills. The course includes lessons about exposure, manual focus, shooting modes, and tips about different things in Photography.
Know your gear
Know your gear is all about cameras and lenses. You will learn how the image differs if you are using a wide-angle or a telephoto lens. You might think that it is only about the field of view, but there is more to it.
How does it work?
The courses are structured like in many other similar platforms. The content is a mash-up from my YouTube video. Wait a minute? Can’t I get that for free on YouTube? Yes, you can, but if you can wait a minute I will explain.

The content is searchable from the transcript and with your voice. There is also a possibility to ask questions. There is also a transcript in Spanish. You can also choose to listen to me in Spanish if you prefer. Isn’t great to be able to find that video that you have found useful? On YouTube, it is sometimes impossible to remember where that piece of information was. Retrieve and my course is the answer for some of my videos.

The best way to see how it works is to watch the video clip below.
How cool is that!

If you are interested in this course click this link to get the course.

September 17, 2021
Luminar Neo, again a new software from Skylum.

Skylum announced their new software on the 9th of September called Luminar Neo. What is going on? Luminar AI came on the market last December. Why a new software again? Will it replace Luminar AI?
Why was Luminar Neo made?
Luminar Neo is built on a whole new image engine. It will mean that it will be faster than Luminar AI that is based on an old image engine. Luminar Neo will also have new features that are not possible in Luminar AI.
Most likely Luminar Neo will be faster. The old image engine needed to calculate again all the previous edits on the image before it could apply the new one. When having a lot of edits the process will slow down as you go forward with your edits. The new engine does not have to do this. Luminar Neo is also a modular software which I who know nothing about coding have learned that it is the new way to do software.
Is Neo compatible with Luminar AI catalogs?
Short and straight answer: No. It is a pity and will make a lot of us a bit annoyed. The reason is that new image engine.
What is new in Luminar Neo?
It will have all the same AI tools that Luminar AI had and a lot more. Skylum said that it has 30 Ai tools. Here are some of the new tools that Luminar Neo has.
Mask AI
Masking is one of the most boring things in image editing. Luminar Neo will do that automatically for you. Mask AI is most likely a time saver for many. Of course, it has to work perfectly in order for it to be useful. Fixing bad masks is almost the same as making the mask by hand.
Layers
Layers are useful. Luminar AI did not have them. It was based on a different method. I am personally quite used to using layers. It is an easy and good way of adding adjustments. The strength can be adjusted in many ways. I think having layers back is a good move.
Background Remove
If this works perfectly it is a quite powerful tool. It is nothing new. Adobe Photoshop and many other image editing software have a similar tool. Luminar Neo has to be better. This tool is very useful for product photographers and for those who make composite images. It will most likely make the workflow faster.
Relight AI
Relight AI is an interesting tool for changing the light in an image. The example photo is just one part of it, fixing poor photographs. If it is also good for actually relighting a scene then this could be something bigger than just a fix for mistakes that the photographer made. That remains to be seen.
A great deal for existing Skylum software users.
Skylum offers a great for existing Skylum software users. An early bird price is only 34€. (valid until 19th of September). There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee that starts when the software is available. Not a bad deal. in spite of the disappointment that the fast pace of introducing new software Skylum has Luminar Neo is interesting software. I will definitely try it.

This is a good deal, but I think they should have given the Luminar Neo to all Luminar AI users for free. That would have been a really great deal. It would have also made people a lot happier. Now many of us feel a bit fooled.

👉 Click this link takes you to that deal: Luminar Neo deal. (valid until October 17th, 2021)

👉 New users: Luminar Neo deal for new users. (valid until October 17th, 2021)
My video about Luminar Neo.

September 12, 2021