Before I went to Italy for a couple of weeks, I started experimenting with Luminar 2018 from Skylum. Now I’m back I have been looking at the software more and I’m even more impressed with the results I’m getting. Looking back to the earlier versions of Luminar this wasn’t the case, but they have improved the software significantly.
I now see myself working more with Luminar, On1 and Alien Skin in the future (as well as some Topaz tools). This is especially true now the future of Nik is uncertain once more, with DxO Labs in financial difficulties.
Anyway, I wanted to return to some images from the end of last year to see how they could be improved with Luminar. The one at the top of this post is an example of one that I initially passed over. After a little work in Luminar it seems to have an appeal and has retained a natural look.
I just love learning and working with new software.
Have a great weekend.
(This page contains some affiliate links. If you buy any of the software following these links, I earn a small commission but it doesn't cost you anything extra. This helps me continue publishing free photography resources.)
The Lightweight Photographer 
Too bad it is not released for Linux. Looks like some great software, and the price is excellent.
If you’re using Linux you will always struggle for native editing tools. Have you considered running Windows as virtual machine inside Linux, or perhaps using “Wine” to run Windows applications?
Lovely image, makes me quite nostalgic.
Thank you.
Lovely image, Robin! I purchased Luminar a few months ago when the had their big sale, but I’ve done little with it. This encourages me to delve into it. Thanks!
I would encourage you to explore it. Have you seen the Youtube video I did this week using it?
Enjoyed the video but it left me thinking I could do the same in LR or PS with similar ease. I also noted some of the comments (on YouTube) about difficulties with the Windows version, which would be a concern for me.
You will be able to achieve the same in Lightroom as I demonstrated quite easily. Photoshop would take a little more work unless you’re referring to ACR and not Photoshop. The is a lot in Luminar that Lightroom can’t do though. I only demonstrated a few of the controls and filters. I also find it a lot quicker than Photoshop. BUT I’m not trying to say people should use this and drop other tools. I’m just exploring different packages that I like. Each person has their own needs and preferences. As for the comments on the video about problems in Windows, I haven’t experienced any as yet. I’m running it on Windows 10 with a 5 year old PC and so far it’s behaved itself fine.
Enjoyed your exploration of Luminar. Running on a Mac in the video not PC?
Thank you.
Yes, it was recorded on a Mac because I had some technical problems with my PC.
Stunning image, Robin. You always make good use of the ND grad filters. Discrete and very hard to notice the transition band. Greetings from Brazil.
Thank you. To be honest, it’s not too hard to grad well when the grads are very high quality and neutral. All you need to do is avoid using too strong a grad.