CCC Forum

Frank and I have been discussing Skylum's new Luminar AI editor in a separate post. Based on the previews I have seen, it looks promising but the best way to to test it is to put a few photos through it. So here is my first example which was taken earlier today. After a remittingly dull day, a gap in the clouds allowed some late afternoon sun to break through. I slung a camera into a bag and went up into the woods to see what I could find. This was the best shot from the session which I processed both in Luminar AI and a combination of Lightroom and Nik.

So, drum roll, here is the Luminar AI version.



And now the same shot afterbeing processed in Lightroom/Nik.

I think I prefer the Lightroom version - the person stands out much more clearly.

Nice shot, incidentally.

Hello Mike,
Were the image transformations with the two systems on an automatic setting or a manual setting?
Is it possible to manually brighten the sky a little more in Skylum's new Luminar AI editor so that it mirrors the combination of Lightroom and Nik?
Kind regards,
Iggy

davidb wrote:I think I prefer the Lightroom version - the person stands out much more clearly.

Nice shot, incidentally.

With the Skylum software, I was struggling to get the range of adjustment I wanted with the local masking function and did not get the result with the figure that I wanted. Moving the sliders has very little effect and is something I have noticed on other images. I am not sure why Skylum opted to implement it that way. Maybe I should have tried adding a second mask overlaying the first, but that really should not be necessary.

Thanks for the comment on the image.

Iggy wrote:Were the image transformations with the two systems on an automatic setting or a manual setting?

A mixture of both. Adobe and Skylum have different approaches to automation. I find that the Auto function in Lightroom's Basic panel provides a good starting point these days. That used not to be the case but Adobe enhanced it a while back. One of the benefits of having the subscription software is keeping up to date with the latest features.

Skylum's Luminar AI takes a different approach and suggests a range of templates based on its analysis of the image. The templates are divided into separate groups such as Landscape, Portrait or Close-up although I find that the subject of the image frequently fails to match the suggested category. It is then a matter of clicking on templates to find the best starting point. There is no option for a preview by hovering over the templates, so it can get a bit longwinded clicking on each. Ironic really, as the stated raison d'etre of Luminar AI is the use of artificial intelligence to apply manipulations automatically to make edits quicker. I find that It takes me far longer to get to the desired result using Luminar AI than Lightroom as the functions are poorly organised and the AI has limited utility.

Iggy wrote:Is it possible to manually brighten the sky a little more in Skylum's new Luminar AI editor so that it mirrors the combination of Lightroom and Nik?

Probably. I did try to get the two as closely matched as possible but did not want to spend too much time on it. After the initial application of the Lightroom Auto function or a Luminar template, the types of manual adjustments on offer are very similar. Luminar AI goes a bit further by offering features such as "Enhance" or "Glow", but Lightroom's Clarity and Texture controls often achieve something similar.

Thank you Mike for that definitive reply.