Unlock the Secrets of Luminar Neo

Outline – Table of contents 

 

This blog post opens up the secrets of Luminar Neo. The first section of the article defines the software, and the rest of the blog post gives beginner and in-depth tutorials about:

  • The software interface
  • importing photos
  • processing photos, and sharing and exporting images

Feel free to skip to the section you want to learn in the table of contents.

I am a Luminar Neo partner, so if you like this software and would like to purchase it, click the link below for a 10% discount and a link to my personal Luminar Neo store.

What is Luminar Neo?

 

Luminar Neo is a novel photo editing software that empowers beginner, intermediate, and advanced photographers. It has many advanced editing tools and features that could drastically change your workflow. Neo puts the power of professional-grade photo editing at your fingertips with AI-powered editing tools.

Image comparison of a woman facing water looking behind
Luminar can add subtle and strong effects to an image. There are many artistic and practical possibilities!

From basic adjustments to advanced techniques, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to transform photos into works of art. 

In addition, Neo can act as a standalone software or a plugin in Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.

Photoshop interface with arrow pointing to the filter tab
Once installed as a plugin in Photoshop or Lightroom, you can apply it as a filter to a layer.

Features and capabilities of Luminar Neo

 

In 2023, Luminar Neo has undergone significant upgrades. It offers cataloging, one-click presets and in-depth AI photo editing tools. You can pick and choose but also allow the AI to provide edit suggestions.

Luminar Neo interface with arrow pointing to the Cold Edit preset
This RAW photo was taken in a studio with natural light. I applied a one-button preset
Profile image of an asian woman on a stool looking toward the camera
I chose the "Experimental" group of one button presets and chose "cold edit" for this shot. Note: This was done with one simple click

Even though the one-click solution is there, many AI-assisted tools are available once you decide to personalize your photos. Among them are:

  • Crop AI

    This is a crop tool with a twist. The Neo crop tool is trained on hundreds of photos by talented photographers, so you can get an instant crop to optimize photos. You still have the usual cropping capabilities oncve you want to personalize your work.

  • Enhance AI

    Involves refining various aspects such as colour, sharpness, contrast, and detail to create a more visually appealing and impactful photograph.

  • Sky AI

    Refines various aspects such as colour, sharpness, contrast, and detail to create a more visually appealing and impactful photograph.

  • Structure AI

     

    -Structure AI content-aware, giving you detailed backgrounds and objects without overprocessing the people in your images.

    -With Boost, you can adjust details. Moving the Boost slider to the right accentuates details. Compared to StructureAI, it emphasizes smaller details and is more aggressive.

    -Keep the background detailed and sharp and your model beautiful for the perfect landscape

     

    Click this list item to get Luminar’s take on the details of this tool

  • Relight AI

    Analyzes a scene in three dimensions. By creating a 3D map of a photo, Luminar Neo can spread light naturally in 3D space across a 2D image. This produces photorealistic results when you want to change the lighting of a scene.

  • Atmosphere AI

    This tool allows you to add and enhance fog, mist or haze in your photos with simple sliders.

  • Portrait Bokeh, Skin, Body, AI

    -Portrait Bokeh: Isolate the subject by keeping them sharp and blurring the background naturally

    -Skin AI: Eliminate blemishes without an artificial look

    -Body AI: Slim a body with a slider

CropAI tool within the Luminar AI interface
The crop AI tool can also be automatic using the Composition AI tool within the crop tab.
Luminar Neo tools list from the Luminar Neo interface
Luminar Neo is equipped with many excellent standard AI tools, but you can even add on more tools if you like via Extensions
Asian woman in leotard sitting on a stool in a photo studio
Luminar Neo has many black and white options available. These black and white options include red, yellow, green, blue filters, and various levels of film grain. In this photo SkinAI, Beijing creative LUT , and Black and white were used.

How does Luminar Neo differ from LuminarAI

 

If you’re familiar with Luminar AI, you might wonder how Luminar Neo changes your workflow. While both software are similar, Luminar Neo takes photo editing up a notch with more advanced features.

Skylum software has improved Luminar features by giving:

Luminar Neo advanced masking panel
In addition to offering brush, Linear, and Radial masking, Luminar Neo goes further by giving you MaskAI and intuitive mask actions!
Luminar Neo Layers panel
Luminar Neo comes with an expanded layer arsenal giving photographers some really fun creative options
  • More layer and mask option

  • More in-depth layer and masks

  • All-around more perfected AI

  • More AI-based tools and presets

System requirements for Luminar Neo

 

Luminar Neo runs Mac OS and PC. These are minimum requirements, so make sure that you consider an even stronger system. These days, all photo editing software is resource-hungry.

 

Your PC or Mac computer should have a minimum of: 

  • Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor
  • 8GB of RAM
  • At least 10GB of free hard disk space. 
  • A dedicated graphics card with at least 4GB of VRAM

 

Luminar is also compatible with both M1 and M2 Mac processors.

Getting started with Luminar Neo – installation and setup

 

Installing Luminar Neo is easy. Download the software (trial version) from the official Skylum website and follow the on-screen instructions. Once the installation is complete, the software prompts you to create or log in to your Skylum account. This account will give you access to updates, tutorials, and other resources that will make the most of the Luminar Neo editing experience.

before and after images of a rainbow over a cityscape
This city scape was treated with Supercontrast in the midtones. I applied a LUT called Beijing as wel

After setting up your account, open up the Luminar Neo (The icon will be on your desktop or in the start menu). Take the time to get used to the various panels, tools, and menus. Luminar Neo is pretty user-friendly. Exploring the interface right away will help you navigate the software more efficiently. Don’t worry if some panels seem tricky or complicated; the tutorials in this blog post will get you up and running.

I am a Luminar Neo partner, so if you like this software and would like to purchase it, click the link below for a 10% discount and a link to my personal Luminar Neo store.

The Luminar Neo Workspace

 

Understanding the workspace will allow you to make the most of Luminar Neo’s editing capabilities. Neo divides the workspace into panels and tab tools. The first top center tabs from left to right are

The first top center tabs from left to right are

  • Catalog
  • Presets
  • Edit
Arrow pointing to the catalog, preset, and edit buttons in the Luminar interface
These three buttons are the place to start in Luminar Neo. Click on the photo to go to the Luminar instruction manual.

– The Catalog tab

 

The catalog tab is where you can organize folders and projects. How you use this is up to you because you can create as many catalogues as you wish. You can name them by date, photography type, or rating. Within the catalog tab is the Albums menu. Albums are part of a catalogue.

The catalogue view in Luminar Neo
This is where you organize photos in Luminar. Click the photo to go to the Luminar instruction manual. Click on the photo to see the Luminar instructions on this tab.

– The Presets tab

 

Once you have organized, rated, and culled your photos in the catalogue, You can click the photo you want to edit. The Luminar screen will fill with the photo you picked to work on. By clicking the presets tab, Luminar Neo displays the following sections: 

 

  • For this photo
  • Favorites
  • My presets
  • Purchased
  • Get more presets
a view of the Luminar Neo presets panel
There are many presets that come with the base version of Luminar Neo, however, you can purchase others. The "Favorites", "my presets", and "Purchased" panels will fill up as you use the software.

By picking a preset, you are choosing a set of edits. This choice allows you to get an instant result. Remember that even though the preset results are pretty impressive, they are still editable. Check the videos below to see how you can customize them.

– The Edit tab

 

To me, you have to look at the Edit tab as the broken-down version of the Presets tab. You can access this tab directly when editing your photos or through the presets tab. The Edit tab lets you work on the nitty-gritty of each adjustment. 

The luminar Neo-favorites and extensions panel
Favorites and extensions are straightforward and, much like the Presets Favorites panel, will fill up as you use the software
The Essentials and Creative panels in Luminar Neo
The "Essentials" panel has basic adjustments anyone would need to do. The "Creative" panel has adjustments which will affect the image artistically.

– Tools in the edit tab (The right side of the interface)


The right side of the interface is devoted to specific edits. They are grouped in the following groups:

 

  • Favorites
  • Extensions
  • Essentials
  • Creative
  • Portrait
  • Professional

The best way to approach the Edits section is to consider adjustments at the top of the column as more basic and user-friendly, while the edits near the bottom get more pro-level.

Below are brief explanations of how these sections function.

– Framing and Cropping in Luminar Neo

 

Framing a photo is THE first step in any photo edit we will get into the details a bit later, but Crop AI is a fantastic introduction to what Luminar Neo excels in.

Luminar Neo interface with photo of woman smiling in the edit screen
Luminar sees the face of a woman and works on a compositional decision based on decisions from thousands of photographers
Luminar Neo interface with photo of woman smiling in the edit screen. There is a crop box to show a crop suggestion
The CompositionAI button sees the face as the center of attention but also takes into account the compositional rule of thirds and places the eyes at an intersection line.
– Favorite and Extensions sections

 

The Favorites section is there to store all favourite adjustments. To me, it is crucial to know how to allocate favourites. There will be a couple of videos explaining how to add your adjustments and presets to Favorites, but for now, know that you can find your preferred settings here.  The Extensions section is where you will find purchased add-ons for the software.

– Basic adjustments and enhancements – The “Essentials”

 

Luminar Neo offers all the basic adjustments and enhancements of any other software out there.

The second step in any photo edit is fine-tuning the exposure and colour settings. Luminar Neo provides a range of adjustment tools, such as 

  • Exposure, 
  • Shadows and Highlights
  • Vibrance
  • brightness, contrast 
  • saturation

 

Making subtle tweaks to these settings will give each photo that little oomph!

Have fun with the “Creative” section

 

Luminar Neo has creative filters and effects that can be applied separately instead of using presets. From vintage film looks to modern cinematic styles, Luminar Neo’s extensive presets and filters allow you to experiment and find the perfect look for your photos quickly.

Image of man walking with phone
Creative filter called "Smokey" and "blur" were added with an AI mask to keep the subject in focus

Advanced editing techniques in Luminar Neo – using AI-powered tools

 

While Luminar Neo offers a range of basic adjustments and enhancements, its true power lies in its advanced editing capabilities. Thanks to its AI-powered tools and features, Luminar Neo has become a serious Adobe Photoshop alternative.

These AI-powered tools are offered throughout your editing process. From basic to more elaborate editing techniques, Luminar Neo assists you all the way. Since Luminar Neo’s first version to its latest in 2023, AI assistance has been added through and through. I have loved this software since its infancy with versions 2 to 4. Stay tuned as I will show you how to use these tools or hacks to get even more stunning effects on photos. 

Here is a list of some interesting AI tools

Create stunning effects and styles in Luminar Neo

 

In addition to its advanced editing tools, Luminar Neo allows novice and intermediate photographers the ability to create effects and styles. You can add a vintage film look, create dramatic black-and-white images, or experiment with textures and overlays.

You can apply a specific style or effect to your photo with a single click and see the immediate results. And now, with the help of the new MaskAI tool, you can get subtle enhancements or even bold and dramatic looks.

Luminar Neo tutorials and resources for further learning

 

This page has a collection of my ways to edit and have fun with the software, learn more advanced techniques, and get into cool workarounds, but do not forget that if you want to expand your knowledge and learn even more techniques, Skylum provides a wealth of tutorials and resources to help you continue to master Luminar Neo.

On the Skylum website, you’ll find a dedicated tutorials section to explore a wide range of video tutorials and written guides. Click this button to see what they are all about.

More images made with Luminar Neo. Click on the image to make it larger!

Bookmark the Secrets of Luminar Neo Blog post

 

I will be updating and feeding this blog post for a full year. Make sure to come back and learn many tips and tricks in this powerful software. In the meantime, here is a list of other fantastic resources I and others offer to take master Luminar Neo. 

 

  • Link to my YouTube playlist and YouTube channel
  • Link to Jim Nix and others
  • Link to Luminar resources and tutorials

On the Skylum website, you’ll find a dedicated tutorials section to explore a wide range of video tutorials and written guides. Click this button to see what they are all about.

About me

 

I am a photographer, videographer, and copywriter living in Quebec City, Canada. I also have a YouTube channel and an Instagram account dedicated to creation and creativity via my main loves of photography, music, and writing.

To get in touch with me and discuss your collaboration, service needed, or advice, write to me via the contact page by clicking this link.

Jacques Gaines in his office looking up

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