Capturing a photograph and image editing are two very different processes. And yet, in this digital age, the latter is a vital component of the end product. For beginners, the marriage of these two disciplines is a mountain to climb, which is why I think Luminar Neo is a great choice for anyone who’s just settled on photography as a serious passion.
That’s because its uncluttered layout and easy-to-use AI-infused tools are highly accessible, yet powerful enough to deliver great results. For those same reasons, the photo editor makes a tantalizing case for prolific enthusiast photographers who have already earned their editing stripes, but want to get the job done so they can spend less time sitting at the computer and more time out and about with their camera.
Luminar Neo is a generalist in that it boasts a roster of tools that can be used for almost any genre, but the recent version 1.27 update gave its portrait tools a much-needed glow-up. What you’re left with is a lovely little toolset for upping the production value of your portrait images, without having to spend hours learning exceedingly intensive manual retouching techniques.
Easy and effective
Luminar Neo’s most accessible tool is Enhance AI. It’s largely built around a single Accent slider. Shift it to the right, and the tool will intelligently lift shadows, boost contrast, add saturation, reduce noise and more. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that a casual photographer looking to touch up their holiday snaps or family photos for social media could get by using this single slider and never touch anything else. As such, it’s always a good place to start before you head into the meat of Luminar Neo’s portrait functionality.
All of the portrait retouching tools are neatly stacked within the ‘Portrait’ panel. You’ll find Studio Light, Bokeh AI, Face AI, Skin AI, Body AI and High Key. I’ll take you through a few of the most powerful examples...
Studio Light lets you simulate studio lighting by adding up to five light sources, each appearing as a point on the image. You simply click and drag a point to change the position of the light, while an X-Y graph allows you to fine-tune the positioning further. But that’s not the half of what this tool can do. Various sliders allow you to refine elements such as the intensity, softness, contrast, hue and saturation. You can also apply a range of lighting textures to simulate light passing through a window, shutters, foliage, reflections bouncing off water and more.
While there’s certainly no substitute for shallow depths of field created in-camera, Bokeh AI is a useful tool for anyone who doesn’t have access to a fast lens or longer focal lengths where shallow depths of field are easier to come by. When selected, the tool masks the subject, allowing you to increase the Blur slider to soften the background. The really clever bit is that it creates a 3D map of the image in question, allowing you to control the depth of the focal plane. This essentially means you can capture a portrait with a wider field of view and end up with a medium-format/Brenizer-style effect.
Advanced retouching in a few clicks
Face AI and Skin AI are where the real portrait retouching happens. These tools enable you to perform advanced techniques that require layer-based software to perform manually, such as skin smoothing, in just a few clicks. Face AI’s Face Light slider is a useful tool for instantly illuminating the entirety of your subject’s face, while you can drill down for more detailed retouching with various facial feature sliders. My favorites are Eye Enhancer, which selectively boosts iris detail and contrast, and Dark Circles Removal. This feature brightens dark patches beneath the eyes, but crucially, it retains detail in the skin.
Moving onto Skin AI, you can achieve studio-esque looks with the Face Smoothing, Shine Removal, and Blemish Removal sliders. The former automatically masks the face and smoothens the skin, but even when maxed out, it still retains the skin’s texture, which is a huge plus in my book. Shine removal won’t fix blatant hotspots – and I wouldn’t expect it to – but it will reduce bright patches for a more evenly lit face.
And finally, Blemish Removal does exactly what it says on the tin. I never used this feature before the recent update, which I'm pleased to say has improved its effectiveness tenfold. It does tend to remove permanent elements such as moles, but you can reverse this effect easily enough by using the masking tab within the tool and manually painting them back in.
Of course, beyond the Portrait tab, Luminar Neo has a wealth of additional tools on offer. It even has a Develop RAW tab section so you can edit your images the old-fashioned way. And if you’re an absolute editing beginner, you can also take advantage of the software’s new AI Assistant.
Simply click on the speech-bubble roundel in the bottom right corner of the HUD to access it. You can then select from a list of pre-defined actions, or ask a ‘How to’ question, such as "How to retouch skin" to receive guidance as to what tools will do the job. You can even click on the tools that AI Assistant suggests and it’ll take you straight to the function in question.
If you don’t own Luminar Neo and would like to try it out, you can take advantage of a seven-day free trial. Plans start at just $119 / £99, with access to generative tools and new upgrades lasting a year. Otherwise, the software is yours to keep.
