Adobe

Of course, when it comes to photo editing, we have to start Adobe, the leader in the industry in terms of the number of users, name recognition, and overall company value.

Adobe is constantly updating its software and adding features based on AI to Photoshop and Lightroom.  For example, they added a Denoise features that automatically removes noise/grain from images shot at high ISOs.  This new feature goes beyond the previous, simple tools, and creates a whole new raw DNG file.  They also added the ability to make precise edits to clothing and facial hair, as well as new AI mask categories (eyes, eyebrows, lips, hair, etc) for automatically generating a mask in any portrait. These are just a few of the features powered by AI in the Adobe ecosystem.

When it comes to photo editing software, the question, for most photographers, is not whether you should use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but, what else should you add on top of Adobe Lightroom to help your workflow? In other words, most photographers’ workflows will begin and end in Lightroom. Beyond that, however, you may add additional apps, extensions, or plugins.

Luminar Neo

Luminar Neo is a standalone photo editing software application developed by Skylum, a Ukrainian company. Luminar NEO is the newest version in their long line of capable software; this one adds the power of AI to almost every feature. Primarily, Luminar Neo includes what they call Enhance AI, which has two components, Sky Enhancer AI and Accent AI.  Accent AI balances hue, saturation, highlights, contrast, and details, while Sky Enhancer AI automatically detects and enhances the skies in a photo.

You might consider Luminar NEO if you’re a landscape photographer, a photographer who edits each image individually, or a photographer with a bold and vibrant style of photo editing.  You could also consider Luminar NEO if you don’t like the pricing structure of Adobe and you’re looking for Adobe alternatives, however, the overall workflow is more convenient in Lightroom.

Impossible Things

Impossible Things is a new AI Photo Editor from the creators of DVLOP and SLR Lounge.  The AI works inside Adobe Lightroom, automatically adjusting 38 different settings for each image to arrive at a final result.

In addition to its advanced capabilities, Impossible Things is the only AI editing solution that natively works with Lightroom Presets, allowing it to adjust itself situationally without requiring extra training or uploading new catalogs to a cloud or server. For photographers who don’t have their own presets, Impossible Things provides an expanding collection of “cloud styles” that offer instant access to a range of popular looks. (DVLOP is known for its world-class development of “looks” that range from vibrant & punchy to muted, pastel colors, as well as accurate film emulation.)

The AI also incorporates camera profiles and features a patent-pending “Lighting Condition Based Development” system that adapts image color, contrast, and dynamic range to specific lighting conditions.

Retouch4me

Retouch4me specializes in creating A.I. powered photo retouching tools, which you can use as standalone apps or also as plug-ins for Photoshop. Portrait photographers, in particular, will appreciate Retouch4me’s current selection of AI plugins. Among the collection, you’ll find specialized plugins for masking and healing skin, dodging and burning, smoothing fabric, cleaning up backdrops, and color matching, among others.

Check out the video below to see how SLR Lounge Co-Founder Pye Jirsa made the plug-ins a regular part of his post-production workflow.

These AI plugins are available for individual purchase (prices range from $124-$149), but they can be stacked together. Retouch4me delivers on quality and the time saved from using their tools adds immediate value. After all, the real benefit of integrating AI tools like this into your workflow is to get professional-quality results and streamline your workflow to make time for other, non-editing tasks. It’s worth noting that you can try each plugin for free before you purchase it (and pick up a free plugin for frequency separation).

Special Offer: 20% Off for the SLR Lounge Community

SLR Lounge community members can save 20% on any or all of Retouch4me’s plugins. Just use the following code during checkout: SLRLounge20

Topaz Studio

Topaz Labs is a software company that creates powerful and easy-to-use editing tools.  Topaz offers three primary pieces of software that use AI for more technical tasks:

• Topaz DeNoise AI – Eliminate noise while recovering detail in high-ISO and low light images.
• Topaz Sharpen AI – Sharpen images without artifacts to help with shake reduction, focus correction, and blur removal.
• Topaz Gigapixel AI – Get better photo quality by enhancing the detail and upscaling for printing, cropping, restoration and more.

You can purchase any of these applications separately and integrate them into your Lightroom workflow, or you can purchase Topaz Photo AI, which offers a combination of all three applications. Topaz Photo AI offers slightly less advanced tools than the individual applications.

Topaz is a great tool to have in your software lineup, as it can help you save photos that might otherwise be discarded. On the one hand, things like noise, sharpening, and enlargement all lend themselves very well to being assisted by AI. On the other hand, of course, these aren’t the artistic aspects of photography itself, so they are definitely meant to just complement your main creative workflow.

Aftershoot

Aftershoot CULL is a feature that enables you to sort through each pose, variation, or group of people in a photo shoot and select the best image. You can set your own preferences and determine the “keepers” based on factors such as image sharpness or the subject’s smile. You can also adjust the number of keepers for each pose, selecting only a few images based on specific criteria.

Aftershoot EDITS is another feature that allows you to apply your own personal style of color correction and artistic editing to your photos. It learns from your existing work and can automatically perform technical corrections such as straightening and cropping. You can also use your own creative profiles to switch up your editing style.

See our full Aftershoot Review here.

ACDSee

ACDSee, which has been in existence since the early days of digital photography, is comparable to Adobe in terms of its longevity. Although it is not as well-known, the company’s Photo Studio Ultimate software for photo workflow and editing has garnered a loyal following among users who prefer it over Lightroom.

ACDSee’s Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 has been updated with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, including a fresh Face Edit feature and subject removal, aligning it more closely with rival offerings from Adobe, Capture One, and Skylum.  The latest version of the app, released in 2023, features layer-editing capabilities similar to Photoshop, and some of its tools, such as Light EQ adjusters, are particularly effective.

However, it lags behind top competitors in areas such as initial raw camera file conversion quality, import speed, the effectiveness of some corrections, and interface usability. For these reasons, our Editors’ Choice photo workflow app, Adobe Lightroom Classic, is recommended for those with higher volume workflows.

Spyne

Spyne AI is an app that takes advantage of AI’s powerful ability to identify mechanical things, cars in this case. Entirely dedicated to auto vehicle photo editing, Spyne allows users to create a “Virtual Car Studio”, putting your car on a showroom floor, and making adjustments such as controlling tint on windows.

The app offers over 100 backgrounds, from showrooms to on-location photo scenes, and a scalable (high-volume) workflow. Last but not least, you can use their technology to turn your own car

Remove.bg

With a straightforward interface, Remove.bg allows you to easily eliminate the background of an uploaded image. Within moments, Remove.bg will return the image without the background.

The standard definition image is available for free download, but higher resolutions require credits, which must be purchased.  Remove.bg also provides options to replace the background with a new one. You can choose from the given backgrounds or upload your own. If you prefer, you can blur the background of the image instead of removing it.

While Remove.bg is free to use, there are limitations. The tool allows unlimited low-quality versions of an image for free. Additionally, creating a free account enables you to download one high-quality image for free.  To access further features, payment is required. As you purchase more image credits, the cost per credit decreases. If you plan to use Remove.bg programmatically, you must pay for API calls too.

autoRetouch

This AI-powered retouching software is made for all types of product photographers, it offers a host of features that may be attractive to e-commerce type businesses.

In addition to basic tools such as automatically removing and changing subject backgrounds, autoRetuoch offers tools such as various cropping, alignment, and border padding tools. Also, besides simple portrait retouching and background “cleanup” tools, there are advanced tools  for product photographers such as extracting a fabric swatch from clothing photos, and generating/exporting different vector paths.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a photo editing software that comes in both free and paid versions. The free version includes standard photo editing features such as background removal (with a separate app available), filters, effects, animations, and collage creation.

The paid version provides access to a vast selection of photo overlays, stickers, assets, exclusive editing tools, and tutorials. Additionally, Pixlr allows users to open images from cloud storage platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox, making it a preferred choice for professionals who need to make quick and simple edits.

Capture One

Capture One is the biggest rival to Adobe Lightroom, because it too offers a catalog system. This means Capture One is capable of a start-to-finish workflow, in addition to special editing tools.

Catering primarily to all types of portrait photographers, the software’s Smart Adjustments tool uses AI to apply exposure and white balance corrections to any photo with a face in it. Of course, Capture One also offers some highly useful tools that all types of photographers will appreciate, and is known for film-like colors that portrait and landscape photographers alike appreciate.

Other AI Photo Editing

Below are other AI Photo Editing options to consider and research.  As we explore each of the companies mentioned below, we’ll expand on them and update this article.

• Movavi Picverse
• PortraitPro 23
• Imagen AI
• Leawo PhotoIns
• Lunacy
• Quik.ai
• Claid.ai
• Slazzer
• Prisma
• Lensa

Conclusion – AI Photo Editing Is Getting Even Better!

As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it is clear that AI photo editing is the future. What is possible now will seem very common in a few years or less! Thanks to its ability to save time and improve results, AI is poised to revolutionize the world of photography. We created this article to help you understand and utilize this powerful tool to your advantage! Be sure to check back regularly for news about improvements and new opportunities.

Before we dive in, be sure to download the exercise file here and follow along as I edit!

Video: Add Bokeh to Your Portraits Using Skylum’s Luminar AI

How the Portrait Bokeh Feature Works

The “Portrait Bokeh” feature will be in the Portrait panel of the toolkit. Right off the bat, Luminar does an excellent job masking out the subject using their AI. Now, the feature currently only detects and applies the effect to the background.

Under “Brush Control,” we refine the mask around the subject. Luminar uses this mask to determine where to apply the effect around. To add to the mask, stay on the “Focus” tab and simply paint over additional areas you’d like to keep in focus. To de-focus, go over to the “De-focus” panel and paint away the mask.

Inevitably, using only brushes to adjust the mask can lead to some mistakes. Instead of just undo-ing it all, go to the “Restore” tab on the right. Then, simply paint over your subject and Luminar will restore the original detected mask.

Out-of-focus blur has interesting qualities such as a slight bloom or brightening of the highlights. Luminar allows us to replicate those features under the “Background” section.

“Depth Correction” can be used in tandem with the main blur amount to get that perfect bokeh look. Lastly, “Edge Correction” can be used to tighten the mask around your subject. Note that when applied too high, it cuts into your subject and we don’t necessarily want that. I usually leave it alone or subtract the effect out.

Getting Creative With a Tilt-Shift Effect

Now that we know what all the settings do, let’s put it to practice on this image. I started right off the bat by getting my bokeh to my initial desired settings.

In order to replicate that tilt-shift effect, I simply drew a mask straight across. Be sure to use an extremely soft brush to let the effect gradually fade off.  Notice that Kiara’s face is well in focus as well as everything along the same plane. The top of the image falls away nicely into a soft blur. We don’t yet have foreground control but I anticipate the developers at Skylum will add that soon.

Here is the final before and after.

Conclusion

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this article/video. Give this bokeh effect a try during your next photoshoot and see for yourself the intuitive power of Skylum’s Luminar^AI. If you want to try out Luminarᴬᴵ you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!

Video: Next Level Portraits for Social Media With Luminarᴬᴵ

In today’s fast-paced social media culture, our photographs need pop in order to catch the viewer’s attention as they scroll through their feed. With today’s tech, we can do just that with minimal gear and great, intuitive software. Luminarᴬᴵ provides a plethora of editing features such as sky replacement without all the complexity. Paired that with their easy-to-use workflow and you can level up any social media portrait. I’ll be walking through how I edited this image I took with my iPhone 12. Before we begin, be sure to download the exercise file and follow along as I edit!

Luminarᴬᴵ Sky Replacement

I like to start with the biggest changes first, so we’re going to jump right into the edit with the Creative Sky Replacement. Luminar provides a wide array of skies to choose from and their automatic masking is extremely accurate.

I selected this sky because I liked the subtle clouds and the sunset lighting. I mirrored the sky to match the lighting in the image and I refined the mask to better blend with the photo.

This feature also provides a panel to “re-light” the original scene to match that of the sky. Playing with these dials will allow you to fine-tune the lighting conditions in the background or even your subject.

I made some final tweaks in the Sky Adjustments panel and you can see the before and after here.

Applying the Basic Adjustments

In the Lighting panel, I slightly raised the temperature as well as raised the highlight, shadow, white, and black values. In the curves, I pulled the end of the shadows slightly up and pulled the brightest whites slightly down for a subtly grayed-out image. I then dialed the Structure up to bring back mid-tone contrast and detail.

Tweaking the Colors

In the HSL panel, I decided to edit the Saturation first. I brought back the saturation in the sky and toned down the excessive yellows. I also toned down the oranges in the skin tones. This helps enhance the complimentary colors. I then toned down the excessive greens in the palm trees. In the Hues, I wanted to enhance the complimentary colors. I tweaked the oranges and yellows to the reds while I pulled the greens and cyans towards teal. I then shifted the blues toward purple.

At first, I turned the vibrance down, but I revisited it after dialing in the HSL. I turned down the saturation while kicking the vibrance back up to let it play with the new colors from our HSL adjustments.

Refining the Image

I apply the AI Accent as one of my last adjustments to let it affect the image over all our other adjustments. I then added a subtle vignette with these settings above. The vignette helps pull the attention right to our model’s face by darkening the surroundings just the right amount.

Lastly, I adjusted the Details. I slightly softened the skin by lowering the Small Details. Be careful with this dial as going too much can make the skin look plastic. I then adjusted the medium and large details carefully for a nice sharpening effect across the entire image.

Final Touches

I made the final touches in the Creative panel. Then, I added the effects Dramatic and Mystical. I was careful not to overdo them as you can see that they can have undesirable effects if turned all the way up.

Before & After

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article/video and saw just how powerful Luminar is for editing next-level portraits. The tools are intuitive and the AI-based effects and adjustments are stunningly precise and realistic. The entire interface is easy to navigate and is perfect for photographers looking to level up their photos without the hassle.

Make sure you download Luminarᴬᴵ (you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!) to save the settings seen in the video and create this street portrait Luminar preset for yourself!

Video: Creating Luminarᴬᴵ Presets for Street Portraits

Street portraiture is one of my favorite niches of photography that has turned into somewhat of a hobby over the past couple of years. There is something so beautiful about capturing random strangers just going about their day and living their lives that I like to contrast against posed wedding portraits. In this tutorial, I am going to create black and white Luminar presets specifically for the gritty look of street portraits. In order to follow along with this Luminar presets tutorial, make sure you download the exercise file that corresponds with this video.

Luminar Presets: How to Create a Template

1. Creating the Black & White Luminar Presets
2. Enhancements & Fine Tuning
3. Save as New Template

1. Creating the Black & White Luminar Presets

Even though we’re going to be converting this image to a black and white, I do like to have a starting point where we have the right exposure and white balance because it will affect the black and white mix. This follows my process of making the largest adjustments first and then working our way down to the smaller enhancements. Next, we convert the image to black and white under Luminance and Saturation which gives us the ability to dial up the brightness or the saturation of any of all the tones in the photo. Here is a screenshot of my final adjustments to the color:

2. Enhancements & Fine Tuning

Now that we’ve got our colors and tones dialed in, let’s start enhancing the image to really bring that street portrait punch to the edit. Luminar presets are so handy once you’ve fine-tuned your style and edit because then you can batch process a bunch of images to look consistent and cohesive. In this section, we are going to dive into multiple portions of the AI enhancement tools to bring out that detail and grit that you find in street portraits. Here is a closer look at some of the changes I made for these black and white street portraiture Luminar presets

Related Reading: Cinematic Street Portrait Presets Using Luminarᴬᴵ

3. Save as New Template and Add to Luminar Presets

When you’re creating Luminar presets you really want to have all the different settings dialed in because you’re going to be applying the preset on multiple images.  In order to save this as a template,  you’re going go to ‘My Templates’ and name and save out this template.  I usually struggle with naming these on the spot but I have a good one for this one – Intense Black and White Street Portrait…creative, I know.

Final Before/After

Make sure you download Luminarᴬᴵ (you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!) to save the settings seen in the video and create this street portrait Luminar preset for yourself!

Luminarᴬᴵ Tutorial : Creating a Realistic Sky Swap with Water Reflection

Find the Perfect Sky for You

Head to the Creative panel and preview each of the options to replace the sky. This is a new feature added to Luminarᴬᴵ that allows you to see which sky works best for your image without having to select each option. There are some basic photography considerations that you need to keep in mind when swapping skies. Make sure that the light direction matches the existing light in the scene. Luminarᴬᴵ allows us to use change the light direction and location of the sun depending on the image you use.  I used Dramatic Sunset 3 to arrive at this image:

From there you can make other sky adjustments to ensure everything is blended correctly. One of my favorite sky adjustments is Atmosphere Haze which gives you the ability to dial back the overall opacity of that sky and help the added sky blend in seamlessly.

Make Essential Edits

Now we will go into the basic editing to work on the image as a whole now that we have our sunset added. Luminarᴬᴵ has a great way of adding mid-tone contrast in a really controlled way. Make tweaks to the exposure, contrast, and color.  I managed to edit this image without even having to use my left hand. The beauty of Luminarᴬᴵ is how easy it is to edit using only sliders and your mouse. Here is the final before and after:

I hope you guys get a good idea of what’s new in terms of the sky replacement technology, the ability to now detect water and reflections, and the more exciting features we’ve showcased in this video.  Make sure you download Luminarᴬᴵ (you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!) to try out this incredibly powerful sky swapping technology.

So let’s dive into what’s new!

First up is a new and improved Edit Panel. In LuminarAI 1.0.1, you’ll find a simpler, more accessible Edit panel that displays all Edit tools in a single list. Essential, Creative, Portrait, and Pro tools are now color-coded for easy identification, but you no longer need to switch between tabs to access them. You now have all the tools you need at your fingertips! This new design will make things in a more convenient list, making everything you need easy to find with a quick scroll.

[Related Reading: AI-Based Landscape Worfklow Via Luminarᴬᴵ]

A new Import interface

Enjoy a more intuitive interface when importing photos. Click the + icon in the toolbar and choose between adding a folder and adding a single image. Importing images has never been easier.

Enhance^AI by default

The Enhance^AI tool is now first in the Edit tools list and opens by default when you access the Edit panel. It’s now even easier to improve a photo with just one Enhance^AI slider.

Simpler Template selection

Now, when working in For This Photo, use the left and right arrows to scroll through the smart Templates which Luminar^AI selected to get the most out of your photo.

Redesigned Toning tool

The Toning tool now has Shadows and Highlights buttons to match the design of other Luminar^AI tools.

[Related Reading: AI-Based Batch Portrait Workflow via Luminarᴬᴵ]

Tooltips

Now, hover over the icons in Luminar^AI to learn what each feature does and how it can help you make better images. Explore Luminar^AI in a new way and find all the tools you need.

Localization

We’ve improved user interface localization in French, German, and Japanese. Also, the names of Templates in History are now localized.

Bug fixes

The development team at Skylum has also caught and fixed a total of 111 bugs for this update! Below, is a curated list of fixes that should definitely improve the Luminar^AI experience.

macOS

• Export photos and replace existing files in folders without crashes.
• Move subfolders within a folder without a hitch.
• Use Clone & Stamp on zoomed photos and enjoy a smooth result, without any artifacts or crashes.
• Smoothly switch between Template previews with no more overlapping of the previous and next Templates preview.
• Add PNG files to your textures in the Local Masking tool.
• Use Cmd+Z or Undo in the Erase tool to go back one step instead of removing all previous adjustments.
• The Sky^AI tool now shows all images in the Custom list, including images with the TIFF or TIF extension.
• Install Luminar^AI as a plugin in Lightroom and Photoshop in a beat without duplicate files in the plugin folder.

Windows

• No more issues with working in the Edit panel, when the screen is scaled to 150% and you’re viewing in full HD.
• Apply changes in the Optics tool and switch to other tools without loss of image sharpness.
• Experience a smooth, crash-free migration from Luminar 4 even if the Looks folder is inaccessible.
• Achieve a realistic background blend when adding your custom Objects in PNG format using Augmented Sky^AI.

This update (1.01) is free for all owners of Luminar AI and can be installed simply by clicking on the Luminar Menu Bar and selecting “Check for Updates” (on mac), or under the Help -> Check for Updates menu (on Windows). It’s also recommended that once you’ve done this update, to re-install the plugins for Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom by rerunning the plugin installer.

I’ve not had a chance to test out this update yet personally, but please let us know if it improves your user experience in the comments below!

Video: Landscape Editing Workflow in Luminarᴬᴵ

Step 1: Select a Template

We covered a batch portrait workflow as well, but I wanted to briefly mention how this process will work. The way I like to work inside of Luminarᴬᴵ is to start with major adjustments like stylistic edits and sky swaps and then start working on global adjustments like exposure, contrast, and white balance. The great thing about this software is that it detects that this is a landscape photo so it gives me suggestions on different categories to select from. I selected ‘Scenery’ because I am going for more of a cinematic and dark vibe to the image.

Step 2: Edit the LUT

Luminarᴬᴵ gives us the option to basically be able to choose from existing LUTs, load our own, or even create our own. This is very powerful because we can layer these on top of everything else that we’re doing now. I chose the ‘Beijing‘ LUT and then flattened out the contrast and saturation a bit.

Step 3: AI-Based Adjustments

When it comes to sky swapping, and this is regardless of what application you use, you have to choose the right sky. What I mean by that is that the sky has to naturally have a light source that looks like it matches with the image that you’re adding it into. You can see that in the original image the sun is on the right and it’s behind the mountain so we have this halo along the mountain. You don’t want to add sun coming from the opposite direction because then there will be a visual disconnect. Once you’ve selected the desired sky zoom in to see if it looks blended and adjust accordingly.

Step 4: Base Editing & Tweaks

First, I want to create a subtle matte look to this so I’m going to delete one of these control points by just double-clicking and then pull up from the bottom. I want the whole image to appear very flat and that’s because we need to bring the mid-tone contrast back. Next, I tweaked the color temperature a bit and the magentas as well. You can make other necessary adjustments here similar to how you would traditionally edit an image, starting with the base adjustments. I do this step in this part of the process because I want to see what the potential image can look like with the AI-alterations already applied and then make the smaller tweaks to make it all work together seamlessly.

Step 5: Save as a New Template

In the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll see three dots that allow you to save this edited template as a new template. Now, if we go to Templates and select the Star icon in the top right corner you’ll see the new template under ‘User Templates’. I called this template ‘Cinematic Landscape’ but feel free to name it whatever you want. From there I can do ahead and batch process multiple images with this same preset and it will sync the edit.

Final Landscape Edit in Luminarᴬᴵ

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial showcasing some of the powerful and resourceful tools offered in Luminarᴬᴵ for landscape editing and retouching! If you want to try out Luminarᴬᴵ you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!

Step 1: Pick a Template

Instead of fine-tuning from the start, we’re going to take a different approach to post-production here. Typically, whether you use Lightroom or Capture One, you’re used to making small tweaks and adjustments to the base settings. For this tutorial, we’re working backward, starting off with the broad vision of the photograph and then working on all the nuts and bolts. We’re gonna start with a template which is basically a collection of settings that will either be your starting or ending point for your image, just depending on how far you want to take them. Because my subject is super small in this photograph, Luminarᴬᴵ is probably detecting this image as more of a landscape photo, so let’s select a photo where our model is the dominant subject in the frame.  It’s interesting to already see how the software assesses your files and detects what type they are. Each template acts as a stylistic edit so select one that works best for the style intended for the image. I wanted to test out more of a stylized edit so I selected Feather Light. The templates aren’t only a collection of settings but they also include overlays, like light leaks.

Step 2: Modify Your Look

If you head over to the Creative panel and select ‘Mood’ you’ll see a selection of LUTs A LUT is a mapping of colors which is essentially the same as color grading your photography. As my starting point, under the Cinematic Toning, I chose ‘Santa Barbara’ (even though this was actually photographed in Santa Monica) and played with the Amount slider to get it to look the way I wanted.

Rewind: [How to Replace Skies in Seconds: Complete Lightroom to Luminar 4 Editing Tutorial]

Step 3: AI Editing

Head over to the Skyᴬᴵ section under the same Creative panel. This is likely one of my favorite tools in Luminarᴬᴵ because of how transformative it is. I’ve taught tutorials about sky-swapping using Luminarᴬᴵ in the past so feel free to check those out if you want more guidance on how to accomplish this. The key here is finding a sky replacement that matches the same direction of light in the photo, that’s how you make it convincing. Let’s say you found a sky you really thought worked for the photo, for example, for this image I loved the ‘Dramatic Sunset 7’ option, but the sun was in the wrong position. You have the option to go to the Advanced Settings and flip the sky to match the light direction in your photo. From there, we take the Atmospheric Haze slider all the way up to blend the background sky with the sky replacement (I suggested anywhere from 50-100).

Step 4: Base Editing & Tweaks

Now the most familiar part, base adjustments. Once we’ve gotten close to the big picture (replaced the sky and added stylistic effects) we now tweak the exposure settings and add any additional color grading. This is what I was mentioning earlier, that we’ve essentially flipped the post-production process on its head. We do it this way because we are adding in large portions of the image, like the sky, which serves as the background of the photo. We want to make overall adjustments to the photo so that it affects the entire photo with the new additions.

Step 5: Save New Template

In the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll see three dots that allow you to save this edited template as a new template. Now, if we go to Templates and select the Star icon in the top right corner you’ll see the new template under ‘User Templates’. Due to lack of originality, I named this one ‘Pye’s SoCal Edit’, don’t hate. Now that the template is made, you can batch process similar images with this edit. All of the AI-based tools you used get synced to each photo so I like to give them a once over in case the effect doesn’t apply the same to different compositions.

Final Before/After

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial showcasing some of the powerful and resourceful tools offered in Luminarᴬᴵ for portrait editing and retouching! We have a Landscape editing workflow coming up that is sure change the way you edit using Luminarᴬᴵ. If you want to try out Luminarᴬᴵ you can use the code SLRLOUNGE for $10 off!