Video: 7 ways that the AI in Luminar Neo can make photo editing easier

 

 

Artificial intelligence is showing up in more places with photography, including AI-powered autofocus in cameras like the new Canon EOS R7 and R10, and in software from companies like Adobe, ON1 and Skylum. Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect just published a new video highlighting seven "insane" AI tools in Skylum's Luminar Neo. While you can use AI to dramatically change the look and feel of your photos with a single click, you can also use AI to make your existing editing workflow even easier.

A great example of making editing easier is using AI to create masks. In Luminar Neo, you can click on the sky when in the AI Mask panel, and the software will automatically select the sky. Instead, you could click on a person, mountain range, or some other subject, and the software will automatically create a mask, often with impressive precision. You can use masks to perform local adjustments to different parts of your image. Creating some of these masks by hand could take a long time, so to be able to do so with a single click is incredible.

Luminar Neo has many other interesting AI features, such as Relight AI. In the video below, Dinda highlights Relight AI, which uses AI to create depth masks in your image and allows you to adjust brightness in different parts of the image depending upon how far or near they are to the camera. You can also tweak the "depth" slider manually to help dial it in.

For landscape photographers, you've likely heard about Skylum's Sky Replacement AI technology. The company was among the first to introduce sky replacement technology, and it's only gotten better with time. In the latest version of Luminar Neo, you can even replace skies in scenes with reflections, and the software will automatically create a realistic-looking reflection with your new sky.

AI isn't perfect, but it has significantly improved over the last few years. I also like how the software uses AI to make your editing workflow simpler and easier, rather than automatically changing your image for you. I like to have control over my editing, but who wants to sit there for hours meticulously creating manual masks when AI can do it for you in a few seconds?

Have you tried Luminar Neo for yourself? If not, you can head over to Skylum to download a free trial (no credit card required). If you're unsure which photo editing software is best for you, check out our new "best photo editing software" guide.

(Via PiXimperfect)