Peter Forsgård

photographer

  • Luminar AI – a New Image Editing Software

    Luminar AI is a new image editing software from Skylum. You might be familiar with Luminar 4.3 and Aurora HDR 2020. Luminar AI is a brand new software and it is not an upgrade to Luminar 4.3. Luminar 4 will be supported until the end of 2021 and after that, it won’t get any updates, but of course, the software works after that if the computer supports it.

    Meet-Luminar-AI-2_1920.jpg


    Alternative to the traditional way of editing images.

    Richard Harrington from Skylum said in its webinar that Luminar Ai is an alternative to traditional editing. They said that they are focusing on the results and not the process. They have built the code from scratch and it is not based on the same 35-year approach that other image editing software is based on.

    Luminar AI uses AI to analyze your image and it will give you suggestions. Accent AI is the AI that analyzes the image. The material that they showed on the webinar said that many controls like shadow/highlight, contrast, curves, etc. are reduced to one slider. AI is the key here. This will make it easier to start editing. Richard Harrington from Skylum said that for many the problem is where to start. With Luminar AI it will be easier.

    I think this is an interesting new approach. to image editing. Skylum is very ambitious about this they said that they want to be a global leader in computational photography. I like that kind of attitude. They call the suggestion that AI has made a template. Of course, that template can be adjusted and saved.


    Skin AI helps with portraits.

    Screenshot from Luminar AI and its Skin AI. Image: Skylum
    Screenshot from Luminar AI and its Skin AI. Image: Skylum

    The feature to help to retouch portraits is called Skin AI. It will totally replace frequency separation. That is a time saver. Saving time is one key thing that Skylum is aiming for with it is Luminar AI.


    Works as standalone software and as a plug-in.

    Good thing is that Luminar AI will work as a plug-in for Lightroom. A t least for me that is very important. The Library in Lightroom is the database of my images. Luminar AI does not have some kind of database functionalities as Lightroom has. If you want to use Luminar AI as standalone software, it will work fine. It works from Lightroom 6 and up as a plug-in. The oldest Photoshop version it works with is CS5.

    Specifications for your computer

    For macOS, you need at least i5, 8GM RAM (16GB is recommended), macOS10.13.6 or higher. It will also support OS Big Sur when it is launched. In PC you need to have Windows 10. Win7 and 8.1 are not supported. The processor needs to be at least i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 or better. Also, you need Open GL3.3. or later compatible graphics cards. (disclaimer: This info is copied from the presentation material Skylum presented in their webinar on the 31.8.2020.)


    How does AI work?

    The success of Luminar AI will be based on its ability to give the right suggestion for the edit. We all tend to like a bit different thing and hopefully, Luminar AI is good enough to learn from the user. I think that would be great. Otherwise, it might be that we all are going in the same direction with the look of our images.

    Skylum claims that its AI will recognize different elements in the photograph and make suggestions based on that information. It will recognize skies, water, faces, etc. Those who have used Luminar 4 and its Sky Replacement tools know that its recognition works pretty well. If Luminar Ai is an improved version I have no doubts about its capabilities.

    image: Skylum
    image: Skylum


    You can override the AI.

    You have three options, choose the option that AI suggested, customize it, or edit from scratch. I think that is a good approach that it is not fully automated.

    Lens correction is possible

    I found that one of the biggest downsides in Luminar 4 was the lack of lens corrections. I am glad that that will be available in Luminar AI. It is an essential tool because. all lenses have a bit of distortion and CA.

    Pre-order and Availability

    You can pre-order Luminar AI from this link. Pre-order is possible for the first 30.000 early birds. It will have a special price. As an early bird, you will also be invited to the Luminar AI Insider program. It is a private community and you will get special deals, tutorials, etc. that others won’t get.

    If you have doubts, do not. You will a 30-day money-back guarantee from the day the software actually ships. So no risk getting Luminar Ai now.

    The price for early birds is US$69,- for new customers. If you already have Luminar 4, Aurora2019, or Aurora HDR the price is US$59,-. After the 30.000 is sold the price will go up.

    Preorder the Luminar AI now and get all the benefits.

    The final release date is not confirmed yet. Skylum said that it will available this holiday season.

    disclaimer: some of the links are Affiliates links. If you buy something I will get a small commission, but you do not pay anything extra.

  • Does Gear Matter in Photography?

    Does gear matter in photography is a question that I get asked quite a lot. There is no one answer to this. You can answer No and you can answer Yes. It all depends on the perspective you take on this one.

    aloituskuva2.jpg

    Let’s start with No.

    Many of us think that getting new gear will make you a better photographer. In my opinion that is false. To be better you must learn how to use your existing gear. Getting new once won’t help in that at all.

    Sometimes limiting yourself will be a better solution. Having limitations makes you think more. You need to solve problems and that will make you better. You might come up even ith new ideas and totally new kinds of images.

    For example, in landscape photography, most of us think that a wide-angle is a must. Yes, a wide-angle lens is often used in landscape photography. If you do not have an ultra-wide-angle, what then?

    Why not try a standard lens or even a telephoto lens. That can give you a totally new kind of landscape photos.

    When the answer Yes?

    When you get better here might a time to start thinking about better gear that actually will make you better. Well it is maybe a bit too much to say that it is the gear, it is the possibilities that the new gear gives. What I mean by that is that it might open up all new ways of making photographs. Sometimes it might even give a possibility to try new genres.

    One example is bird photography. You can photograph birds with a wide-angle, but getting a longer lens will give new possibilities and new kind of mages that was possible for you before.

    In the video below I talk more about the No and Yes.

  • Beginner Photography Mistakes.

    Beginner Photography Mistakes.

    We all make mistakes and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Without mistakes, we would not learn anything. We learn from our mistakes, but to learn we do not have to make mistakes.

    Beginners and a bit more experienced photographers make a lot of mistakes. Trying to avoid those mistakes will make your learning less steep.

    Here area few mistakes that I have noticed a lot of photographers make when they are starting out and these are the same mistakes I made when I started. (and I still make some of them…)

    There is no subject in your image.

    Try always to have something that interests the viewer’s eye. Without any places for the viewer’s eye to rest most likely the image is very boring. Having something in the foreground will lead the viewer’s eye into the image. Making a good composition is crucial. Having layers, something in the front, something in the middle, and in the back will make the image more interesting.

    Learning how to make a good composition makes a big difference.

    Learn how to make a perfect exposure

    Getting the exposure correct when making the image will give you the best possible image for editing. With modern cameras, there is no excuse to over or underexpose your images. I have plenty of videos about exposure on my YouTube channel. Watching those videos will help you to be better in your exposures.

    Check your background

    Having distracting elements in the background can ruin your image. Those distractions will draw attention to your subject. Always check around your subject that there are now elements that will steal the attention of the viewer.

    Learn more about how to avoid those mistakes that beginners make from the video below.