A quick flick through the comments tells me that some people think I've made a sponsored video about the joys of AI. Maybe I should watch the video back, but I tried to explain what the software became known for before going on to talk about how I like to use the product, which is a long way from sky replacements and generative fill etc. Anyway points taken onboard, new video next week!

couldn't live with myself if I started replacing my skies tbh

I may be the odd one here, but I happen to think this video was an honest assessment of Luminar's capabilities. I moved from Photoshop to Luminar last year and, while I don't care for the gimmicky features, I agree with James that basic editing functions are faster in Luminar. I still have Photoshop for about 10% of what I edit, but for 90% of what I do, Luminar just does it faster. There is definitely a danger with over processing in Luminar, which I think James demonstrated, but to me that is a user issue, not a software issue.

James a couple of weeks ago - embrace imperfections in photos. James now he’s being paid - use AI to remove power lines.

Luminar has the most aggressive sponsoring of photographers on youtube. I have seen every photographer I follow go from hardcore Adobe users to .... (paraphrasing) Luminar is such a great and easy tool to use. It is what it is, and hopefully it helps some people to edit images. I have to say three things about Luminar a) it is super easy to overprocess images 2) it is easy to fall into their gimicky features 3) it always runs like a dog on my computer. I just have a super hard time taking these sponsored videos seriously, we all have to make a living I guess.

I have been using this for over a year as a cheaper alternative to lightroom, I struggled with lightroom but have learned to edit with neo really fast. Also I have been amazed on how many updates neo has put out since I started to use it. Very impressive program and highly recommended for an amateur photographer.

The question is, does it still bring you joy, when generate most of the image?

Key phrase: "for most photographers". Many photographers are perfectly happy to automate the processing, hence the many preset packs that are scooped up to simplify the process. It comes down to personal preference. Enjoy the emerald isle. Carry on. 👍🥂

I agree. In my mind currently the best combination is DxO, for precision and noise, and Luminar Neo for ease of use and fun stuff.

For me, I love the process of taking photos. The editing part? Not so much. I prefer quick and easy edits. Luminar seems a perfect fit. But somehow I feel it takes the joy and the art out of photography. It seems to me like the days in which photography was invented and people said it couldn’t possibly be an art. Taking pictures of scenes without the skill and hard work of the painter wasn’t art, they said. Is letting AI take over the majority of edits still art, I wonder…

Although not the topic of the video, the discussion about how much it’s OK to edit a photo (using AI or not) is relevant and interesting in my opinion. I personally hope C2PA will become a standard certification method for photographers to share with their audience exactly how a photo has been altered since it was captured. The transparency that this offers will be helpful, I think.

I am a pro photographer and use 5 brackets for most photos and merge in LR... you can automate it sort of. Select your entire shoot, chose 'stack by capture time' 4 seconds seems to work for me. It will them make each bracket into a separate stack, then select the whole shoot again, right click and choose photo merge, merge to HDR, and go for lunch... the pixies batch process it all while you are away.

I look forward to watching this, this evening.

That was extremely helpful, James. Thanks.

Thank you for this. It is really interesting and helpful.

A lot of people commenting apparently without watching the video

It helps when the shots are already insane raw like these 😅

The thing I can see this being most beneficial for is people who get it right in camera. They can largely ditch raw files and let ai figure it out. Most of what I'm using raw files for is data recovery in highlights or shadows. This seems like the ideal jpeg editor.

Cheers for that James, very tempted. And thanks for featuring the Cromlech Bridge.

I'm pretty sure what Luminar is using to identify bursts is the EXIF data. On at least some cameras, if you take a burst, the EXIF gets annotated with "1 of 3", "2 of 3", etc.

Neo has all the features I would find useful in Lightroom, and was a breeze to learn. You don't have to replace your skies or use generative functions of course. I have used the AI features which deal with noise and sharpness to good results. The nuts and bolts are all there too. One of the most useful features for me has been the Supercontrast panel, allowing highlights, midtones, and shadows contrast to be adjusted independently.

I picked up Neo a few years ago on your recommendation of the Mystical tool. It's only gotten so much better with updates like the HDR, Relight, and Erase tools since then. I can't recommend it enough. One other thing that Neo has that Lightroom is missing is the ability to do layered overlays. Adding a slight overlay of light rays, swirling mist, or subtle lens flare or bokeh can yield some lovely results. I'm not a huge fan of the fad of putting things like flower wreaths around pregnant mom photos or adding fake falling leaves and sparkles to autumn portraits, but I have to admit, the layers function in Neo makes stuff like that super easy and very powerful.

I want to see that one photo you took in february, must have been something special 😂 Great vid as always, thanks!

Looks interesting worth a look.

I think the issues with AI depend on how it’s used. Luminar (like most other software nowadays) uses AI tech to speed up some tasks such as masking and adding localised contrast etc and I happily use those tools. I can do the same edits more quickly in Neo than I could have done with Photoshop for example, as James has demonstrated in this video. There’s nothing wrong with speeding up the creative process when the end result is the same as we would have produced a decade ago with our Photoshop skills. People were arguing 20+ years ago whether any digital manipulation was “photography”. However, I’m not in favour of the generative AI tools that have been added more recently. I don’t agree with adding components (skies, fake lighting etc) that then create a new composition. Erasing is a fine line. Removing small details akin to spot healing seems acceptable. However, erasing people/large areas where the background has to be AI generated seems wrong to me. On the whole, I think Luminar Neo is a great piece of software, but like all photo editing, it depends how far you go with it as to whether your image loses its authenticity. Luminar Neo offers a lot more than just its generative AI tools, it’s a shame that the marketing seems to promote that side so strongly.

I've had some Luminar products in the past but wasn't really blown. However, this is clearly a step up for them. This was a great little runthrough!

You had me at “remove power lines” 😮

Don’t see any issue with suggestions like these… many people don’t have the time or skill for photoshop or Lightroom. Even more people just use phone editing software or insta editing… Maybe this is a good in-between thing to use? Never used it but looks ok.

Thanks!

Maybe Luminar is "best for most photographers" when it comes to quickly getting results, but I'm not sure it's a useful tool for beginners looking to learn skills. I still think there's value in learning more traditional methods first before moving on to something like this that automates time-consuming work. I think this takes "I'll fix it in post" to the next level where you can actually say "I'll do it in post", making you a lazy photographer that doesn't get it right in-camera or doesn't even go to a certain location at a certain time to get the shot.

I have a weird issue with Luminar Neo. Whenever I adjust a slider, the image becomes temporarily blurry, like it’s rendering or something. It goes back to normal as soon as I release the slider. It’s super annoying. Any fix? It’s not my machine as I’m on a MacBook Pro M2 Max.

How do you get that even ambient blue light on the wall behind you? Really like it. Trying to recreate it on my photo wall.

For years now I've had Luminar AI, and since the mystical slider was really the only thing I ever did, I've never felt the need to move to Neo. Even now, I'm still not sure it's worth paying a subscription (or paying the lifetime price) for what Neo has that AI doesn't. Sure, cheaper than Adobe, but I wouldn't replace it.

Nice does this mean there is going to be a luminar version of your presets to buy?😜 I used the previous version of Luminar and liked it a lot. But it kept crashing when Neon came out.

For Relight AI there is also a depth slider, which in most cases makes it unnecessary to use masking.

Lightroom can automatically stack images based on their time stamp.

Thank you. Being relatively new to Neo, I have just run through the vid for a second time to get your take on some of the features. I have used PS and the Topaz trio (with a very light touch) and find neo to be a nice addition, but not necessarily a replacement in the editing process. I agree though that for most of my edits, it does speed things along quite nicely. After taking a quick look at a few of the comments below; please forgive me for wanting to make a couple of points. Firstly, the information in the video is very helpful. The program is complicated and the more hints as to how to best use it are appreciated. Secondly, there is no small amount of time and effort exerted to learn the nuances of a beast such as this and I for one am not only OK with but very happy that you are compensated for gathering so much information and passing it along. I have never had cause to doubt that the observations you make are anything other than your honest opinion. Finally, when it comes to our new found ability to over process the work; with the advent of the digital age, the degree to which editing is applied is completely the judgement of the editor. The purest form of photography remains film, and even that has a darkroom between the subject and the final viewer. Thanks again.

Luminar moved history into edits because it works in layers now. For example let's say you take a portrait of someone and use A.i. bokeh it will move that to edits. And you can slide it again to add in even more bokeh. Its weird as first but once you understand what its doing it makes sense. But it would be nice if you could go back to that took and there was a edit tab right there.

Would love to see you revist a little bit of your composite days James! Do you ever composite your landscapes? :)

That looks like a really cool software, that I haven't heard about before. I can see a lot of people liking this. Thanks for sharing, and thanks to luminar neo for sponsoring you. Ironically the easier stuff like this gets, the less interested I am. Then again these days I'm a true and true analogue nerd, with the end goal of doing all editing in my darkroom instead of the computer. But that's just me, I'm probably in the minority.

James you had me at auto removal of electrical wires 😂❤

80% off with 6 days 23h left before it ends. 3 weeks later - still 80% off and 6 days left.

I was so hyped for having some editing advice (i love your style) but ending with some promo of smth i dont really see as editing but as a photomontage

Wish it was on iPad! That’s the best thing about Lightroom, makes editing so fun!

The main thing I dislike about this software is how there seemingly isn’t any performance difference between my old MacBook Air m1 and my 64gb ram MacBook Pro m1 MAX. I feel the lack of utilization of powerful computers, would drive professionals towards Lightroom. I’ll stick with luminar since I hate subscription services.

I’d give it a go if they did a full iPad version like lightroom

For pros this may be a must but I'll take the grey sky with electrical wires.

The sliders are reset because you can use any given tool more than once.

The application of the same tool multiple times is Neo's version of adjustment layers. It takes some getting used to just because it's different but once you get it, it's great! (The nearest equivalent IME is Nik ColorEfex and the way you can apply the same filter multiple times) Neo also has "layers" but they are really for compositing not editing. My biggest dislike with Neo is that many of the AI tools are nearly great, but not quite. Noise reduction is heavy-handed, sharpening can be too strong, HDR gets to HDRish , Face enhancement can be downright weird(it adds other people's eyes etc!) If they could improve the quality rather than just adding more features it could be truly great. As it is, I mostly use it for sky replacement and motion blur enhancement. But the latest upgrade with Luminosity masks and object selection is a huge step up so I remain optimistic...

I have been considering Luminar. One question do you do the monthly subscription or did you buy the lifetime? I’m my research it seems like them made changes to what the lifetime gets and it’s not necessarily for the better, on the consumers side. Great video as always.

I am an old fart that, at my age, is hard to learn (my tolerance is like a short fuse 😂) new complicated software (my wife is the expert, she is a graphic designer). 95% of my photos were taken (and still are) with my Yashicas 124G and Canons AE1Ps. Last year, I decided to jump into the digital realm, and I must admit that it is a slow learning process. Most of my lenses are manual lenses. This software looks so uncomplicated, thank you very much. You earned my sub. Stay safe.

James look into stacking groups in LR, that'll group your exposure bracketed shots. I use it for my focus bracketed shots which coukd have up to 80 shots in a run. As for the video, it has kind of piqued my interest in Neo, so may have to give it a whirl.

I've loved Luminar sofwares but one thing make me quit : no side car files to save your editing. So no archiving ability. Is it still the case ?

James, from the video it seemed you may have been unaware of Lightroom's ability to stack by proximity in time. I use it all the time to keep bracketed photos together.

How are people so upset about him talking about a tool… you can literally do sky replacement in photoshop too… doesn’t mean you have to, just means you can do that in neo and it can do that better and faster than other TOOLS… It’s a Tool you can use if you want to… Also if you use a Software you don’t have to use every single feature of it. You can choose what you integrate in your workflow and what not…

Me even as a weekend photographer i don't change the light of the photo or remove stuff from it, but i love my film simulation filters which work only in ps, so this software won't do it. I tried it for free and i couldn't decide how i want my final photo to look like

If that HDR-merge-tool doesn't arrive in LRC very very very soon, I'd be really down. It's what it needs. It's good LRC have the sorting where you can automatically jada jada jada if you do bracketing. But it stops working if you DON'T bracket in between. I'd might be getting that luminar neo soon.

Biggest issue I have with any plugin, is the lack of a plugin feature in lightroom cc... I hate having to go via photoshop, which is so unwieldy, and it returns tiff files which are space hogs... The workflow I generally use is I don't save back through photoshop, I export a tiff into a folder with an auto action that converts to heif (they may have improved things but it wasn't great with heif a while back), and i then import that back into lightroom...

Luminar also came to prominence (along with Affinity Photo) because it was subscription free. Both were seen as a great one time purchase alternative to PS and LR. Shame that's no longer the case.

I'm willing to give it a go. Adobe charge an extortionate amount of money for Adobe cc now. This is £50 a year and significantly undercuts lightroom. Worth a go - if it gets me back to some actually photo editing and taking it might just be worth it!

and here's me thinking it was going to be crank the oranges right up and you're good to go

This is alright to replace Lr, but if you mostly edit in Ps (and need what it can do over Lr, not just to be fancy)...

I'd consider Neo if it didn't have generative AI. Since they aren't clear on how their generative AI was trained (i.e. did they use a bunch of artists' work without permission and compensation, or using medical record photos without patient knowledge or consent like the LAION-5B dataset), it's a hard no from me. I'm not big on art theft, considering how badly gen ai is affecting my artist friends. If someone from Luminar wants to hop in on the comments and clarify what dataset the AI was trained on, however, I'm happy to change my tune.

Interesting video James. Faster isn't always better but I like to take my time with editing. Perhaps I'm too ingrained in the world of Adobe too (PS user since v3/late 90s).

It's a useful app for stuff like real estate photography when photographic integrity is irrelevant, but not for landscape photography where the intent is to honestly capture a real scene. The AI stuff is clever, no doubt about it, but the Lightroom equivalent stuff - the RAW development sliders - they're pants.

It's great we'll see the same 12 types of sky in all pictures 🙂. And no wires anywhere.

An ethical point: sky replacement that is not clearly acknowledged is a form of deceit. This is because the portion of the image that consists of the replaced sky is not your image - it's a portion of someone else's image that has replaced that portion of your image. Your image consists entirely of what was captured by you at the scene at that time.

The shadow lift on the scene with bridge and waterfall looked rather heavy handed. I'm not tempted thanks.

I would agree that Neo is very intuitive and the quality of the final product is pretty good, I have a few issues but overall I will say Neo is my primary tool because it is quick and gets the job done. any with any software with AI, you can use or not use the AI as you wish. Oh and let me point out NO OTHER program eliminates DUST spots as fast nd effectively as NEO

I used luminar in past, was very slow and i miss layer merge for macro stacking. I would like to switch to it, tired paying ransom money to Adobe.

The idea that luminar neo is 80% off + 10% off makes me think they must have a new version ready to go and yet again like luminar 3 and 4, I'll buy it and they'll obsolete it within a month 😂

What's the price after the 83% sales

KZfaq hid this video from me. No just stumbled across it accidentally while going through my subscribed tubers. I hate it when youtube does that

What about more auto settings ?

at the same price of 83% off its still more expensive compared to adobes photography bundle, along with the HUGE pain in the backside it is when trying to edit multiple photos one after the other, I own luminar 3 , 4 and AI after luminar 4 when they moved away from multiple layers things got bad to the point where even with a high end system you cannot edit more than lets say 15 photos consecutively since it just crashes ether the application or your entire computer, not to mention that it does not support high resolution RAW photos meaning your having to convert to DNG via lightroom first anyway before editing in neo , no thank you comes to mind sadly

Can’t understand why so many are getting upset. I’m not a lover of Squarespace but don’t care if James makes a few quid promoting it. If you don’t want to change skies, then don’t! KZfaqrs like James depend on sponsorship like this to keep doing what they do. They don’t have the luxury of a day job to pay the bills.

Great vid and demonstration - love comment section going off 🍿. Has anybody used the latest mac desktop version of Apple Photos app? I had Lightroom for 20 minutes, then canceled my free trial lol. Apple Photos has a lot! It handles my RAW canon files 👌🏻. I touch a few sliders, pull out certain colors and I can’t see wanting more. Best part is it only costs about $5k / year (to keep up with latest Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) lol

Yep, well expressed. Have been using Neo for a couple of years and fully appreciate the speed with which I can achieve acceptable results. Agree with the negg regarding the "un-do-ability" of the functions; to body-swerve this, I always copy a file and work on this first, if it's a blow-out, I can delete and copy again.

Shut up and take my freaking money Jim mate ❤

I’ve not used Luminar, but heard a common complaint, (which is what’s putting me off purchasing it), that it’s very “laggy”, or slow to show the changes as you do them, so it takes the system too long to catch up with the sliders, is this something you’ve noticed?

If it can handle the overhead wires on the streets of Metro Manila I’m in

Sponsored video or full blown advert ?

Yay, a new video from Jame..... oh, it's a 12 minute ad for AI :(

I felt really burned by Luminar. In 2021 I purchased Luminar AI at full price. Just 5 months later they came out with Luminar Neo and essentially gave people like me the middle finger. No new feautures, no real support. Simply a barage of emails telling me I should buy Luminar Neo. Yeah, once burned I don't return for more. Pixelmator Pro and Photomator, both on a lifetime option, that's the way to go.

Computer storage and costs are the issue here - perhaps not a problem for pro Photographers like yourself - I would opt for 'one off' payment editing software instead (No names mentioned, wouldn't like to upset your sponsors who genuinely provide a good product)

Why not just sell your camera and start making photos with an AI image generator? 🙃

Thanks James for exploring the uses of Neo. Would I use it, I'm not sure. We've all cloned an item out of a photo, made skies & clouds brighter so I don't see am issue with some of this AI shizzle. I think it all depends on your audience. If you photos for fun and personal pleasure, then it's fine. If you used AI to fake photos then sold them or passed them off as genuine, then it's not right.

Ai can go pound sand.

And now you have the exact same sky as thousands of other photographers.

Is the Mystical slider worth $100? Yes, probably... maybe. So the rest is basically free!

Had this program a few years ago till I realized how poorly it was optimized to run on anything. Honestly, it turns your computer into an easy bake oven. I would rather keep my Adobe subscription and have cross platform use with editing on the go.

Thanks for this! Very interesting. Considering downloading it. Cheers!

As much as I love your videos, photos and the rest of your work James. There is one thing that I don't agree with in this video. When your talking about bracketing and how it can be difficult to sus out which photos belong together, you could just take a blank black photo between each set.

interesting.....

Interesante.

I dont believe as a pro that you dont look at your histogram or have highlight protection on etc... Plus cant a sony 60mp camera capture all that you need shot underexposed and you just raise the exposure in post?

Oh dear, you’ve offended all the ‘real’ photographers. 😁

Is there any point in taking the original photo if you allow AI to change it so drastically? Why not just stay at home and generate the whole image? I don't get the appeal.

AI...taking the art out of photography since 2024.

I'm gay, you helped me come out the closet