Luminar AI Review: Is It Worth Your Money?
Fully powered by Artificial Intelligence, Luminar AI is a first-of-its-kind photo-editing software. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between amateur and professional images by automating basic editing tasks through which tons of time can be saved. It is designed to make editing short and fun with tools that do the majority of the work for you on brief movement. Its features are great for beginners making editing effortless and providing a strong starting point.
Like Affinity Photo, Luminar AI also makes clean workspace a priority by splitting the UI into four modes namely Catalog, Templates, Edit, and Export. It has the ability to import not only one but several images or even entire folders at once. Images are added by simply dragging them in the Luminar AI window. It works on catalog system i.e., added images are presented in a grid, making them easily organizable.
Let’s go through the elements that make Luminar AI stand out amongst all other editing software. Luminar AI offers template-based editing, making it very easy to test different combinations for a specific picture. Templates are basically AI-powered presets which are provided automatically for a specific image after analyzing its different aspects. The analysis is based on colors, scenery, and objects present in the image. The software then presents a template that is best suited to the picture. Not only that it also suggests the same template for other images but with minor alterations. Although template-based editing is ideal for beginners, Luminar AI also offers manual masking by giving complete controls to make changes or adjustments in the recommended template.
Luminar AI has powerful features to offer which is a great value for its cost. These include landscape enhancement tools that strengthen the image quality by replacing dull skies, adding fog, mist, or even haze. In addition to this, Luminar AI adds or removes reflections, which is very advanced compared to other standard editors. Skin tools are also designed in order to sculpt, refine, or fine-tune portraits.
Editing is made quicker through before and after sliders. The tools used are simple and due to their descriptive names, very easy to understand. A history panel is also provided where you can see and access all your previous edits.
Luminar AI is available on both Windows and Mac and although the pricing is a bit confusing, it is available for $99 at Skylum, which is a one-time payment for a lifetime license on one device. The site also offers a free trial during which you can apply templates and get a 30-days money-back guarantee. It can be utilized as a separate app as well as a plugin for Lightroom/Photoshop and Mac Photos which is also one of its amazing features.
However, its image management isn’t its top quality, it does not excel in layer-based editing, and export options are also limited but this is what makes it a great plugin option. If these things are not at the top of your priority list, Luminar AI is the perfect way to start your editing journey!
