It’s not uncommon for me to go back into Luminar Neo two or three times in a layer stack to build up effects. After those initial steps, it’s back to Photoshop to save and export or to continue editing. And 9.5 times out of 10, I’ll visit Luminar Neo for some creative touches or to begin some serious compositing. In fact, the two steps in my current workflow don’t change: I import into Lightroom and do some editing and then I export the image to Photoshop as a Smart Object to continue. When I want complete control over all the minutest of details or want to experiment with new photo editing techniques, nothing beats Photoshop for overall capability for photo editing. I think of Photoshop and Lightroom (and Adobe ACR) as my Manual Mode. I usually know what sliders I’ll be working with before I import the image into Luminar Neo. After nearly a year of using it, I know its strengths and weaknesses. I view Luminar Neo as my favorite go-to semi-auto mode that allows me to make effective and creatively dramatic changes without a lot of fuss and in a short amount of time. My answer is analogous to camera modes and the differences between your favorite semi-auto mode (Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, etc.) and Manual Mode. Someone will eventually ask me why I use Luminar Neo as a plugin versus a standalone app if I think Neo is so great. Why I Use Luminar Neo as a Photoshop Plugin Apart from Photoshop and Lightroom, Luminar Neo has sealed the deal to complete my Holy Trinity of go-to apps for all my post-processing needs. And now more than ever, image compositing is front and center in my workflow, whether it’s simply overlaying a subtle lighting effect in Luminar Neo or applying multiple layers of images, textures, and other digital tidbits. Part of the reason is that I source more than 90% of my prints from street photography, or public photography if you prefer. I no longer needed this clean look, which I now think was really a form of aesthetically-inclined OCD.Īlthough my pursuit has become producing limited edition fine art prints, I still have a passion for street photography and always will. I was free to explore other looks, and styles, and dig deep until I discovered that I really was a frustrated artist masquerading as a photographer. Suddenly, I didn’t have to corrective edit so much. When I went full frame with the Sony A7iii, I found myself in an entirely different world. And I had to rely heavily on Photoshop and third-party plugins to achieve the aesthetic I sought. At the time, I wasn’t happy at all with the prospect of anything but a very clean-looking image. In the beginning, when I crossed over into the mirrorless camera world with the Sony A6000, a good chunk of my photo editing techniques were geared toward corrective editing, mainly when it came to low light situations and battling noise. Looking back over the past seven years, I’ve never settled on a permanent photo editing workflow or photo editing app, for that matter. But to my more than a pleasant surprise, it’s more of an exception to the rule if I omit it entirely from my photo editing workflow. I initially thought that I’d be able to use this new AI stuff for a few things. My intention was to not only be able to claim that I was one of the early adopters but more importantly, see if it was something I could incorporate into my post-processing. Luminar AI was the world’s first photo editor that was powered 100% by artificial intelligence. As someone who has had to come to terms with the fact that he’s always late to the game in regard to most technical innovations, I made it a point to jump aboard the artificial intelligence ship before the official passenger list was tallied. I’ve been using Skylum’s Luminar AI, and its successor, Luminar Neo, since before the public launch dates for each of these apps.
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