SHOULD YOU BUY LUMINAR AI? - Review of Skylum's New AI Photo Editor Based on What We Know So Far

In this video I review the information we have on this new AI photo editor so far, so you can decide if it’s worth taking advantage of the introductory discount offer. Or whether you should stick with Luminar 4. Ultimately the decision is yours, but hopefully, this will help you.

We’re going to talk about what’s new, why Skylum has released Luminar AI, why you may feel peeved if you already have Luminar 4 and I’ll throw in my 2 cents as to why you probably shouldn’t.
I also offer my thoughts on the pricing of Luminar AI. So let’s go.
Overview – In a nutshell
Luminar AI is a completely brand new editor that is built on a powerful yet easy to use AI engine. The first of its kind. Its main goal is to help you edit amazing photos simply and efficiently. The developers say, “ LuminarAI simplifies complex tasks and removes boring manual work.” And if the current version Luminar 4 is anything to go by, I have no reason to doubt that.
It’s a brand new photo-editing application that has been rebuilt completely under the hood. The software is the first photo editor of its kind that is completely driven by an AI engine. Whereas in the past, Luminar was a photo editor that contained AI tools to make your editing easier. Now Luminar IS a full AI engine that enables the help of Ai right from start to finish.
For example, its neural networks recognizes scene elements and then makes enhancement recommendations using templates, sky, water, skin, trees, etc. it’s pretty amazing stuff.

What’s New in Luminar AI
As well as a host of new AI tools, Luminar AI Templates are at the very core of the new LuminarAI. LuminarAI recognizes the contents of a photo, suggesting the best templates to speed up the editing process. Each template collection helps tell a story. These edits can be applied and refined instantly. While artificial intelligence guides the way, throughout the entire editing process, artists retain complete control over the edits they make, the tools they choose and how they interact with their photos.
What Are The Main Benefits?
AI is at the core, rather than just used in specific tools which means it should make editing photos quicker and easier than ever.
AI scene recognition means Luminar AI can make suggestions straight away about how to edit your photo. This can really help if you’re creatively stuck. Remember – it’s just a suggestion and you’re still in control.
Removes stress from editing for newcomers and hobbyists because you can get the results without having to know or learn a bunch of techniques like you do in Photoshop or other photo editors.
Creative liberation. Because results are so quick, you’ll be free to play around and try different looks without losing a whole heap of time.
It’s a photo editor that gives great results for a beginner but grows with you and still has huge benefits even for working professional photographers (I know – I am one, and I use Luminar 4 almost daily).

Is Luminar AI worth it?
This is a really valid question and the answer depends on your situation. Watch the video and make a decision that's right for you.

While an official release date has not been confirmed it has been given the loose timeframe of this holiday season. So that’s probably sometime from November or December 2020 through to January 2021.

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[mariannaoneill]

Thank you, Anthony. I liked your authentic delivery and was persuaded to buy, which I did with your link. Keep creating great content.

[Graygeezer]

The reason some of us are still so angry with Skylum here in June 2021 is that they put on a huge marketing push to sell us on Luminar 4 knowing full well they were about to release this whole new version. The car analogy falls apart because everyone knows when new models come out and can use that foreknowledge to get a better price on the old model or wait for the new on. Informed choice is one thing, hoodwinked is quite another. That’s no way to win friends!

[jimfok]

I completely agree with the car analogy. Keeping it in mind however, I would like Skylum to honor the older car and fix the issues it has. For example, fix the Windows version abilities so that they match the Mac version's. - Elaine J.

[bkyle]

Nicely done. I was thinking that I would drive my older model for a while longer but what you have presented here has me thinking again. Thanks for making us informed.

[epiac]

Anthony, it's a fact and it's on their official website. The launching date is December 15, 2020. I already bought it and can't wait until it's in my paws. Great video. I have subscribed to your channel. They are always fun. Thanks a bunch.

[pajonazare]

Mas, just wanted to say you're so friendly. Funny and informative, always a good combination I must say. Thanks for making me decide hahaha

[wogslu]

Is Lumina AI a one time bye or a monthly subscription

[nathanthournmy]

Luminar has been a valuable tool for me in my editing for some time. Can't wait for the AI version to drop. Probably still use it as a plugin for PS and Lightroom but I love that it's an option to do that!It will still be both a standalone and/or plug-in? And you get both when you buy it, right?

[andregrizzle]

1st time watcher and subscriber. I have been using photoshop, affinity photo, and darkroom. Just now looking unto Luminar for the first time. Is it cheaper to just get bundle now then just to buy standalone Luminar AI on it’s own? I don’t mind waiting for Luminar AI so just curious. I will definitely use your link as you are the first person I have watched regarding Luminar products. Thanks in advance.

[chipblock]

I bought this program along with their HDR editor. I really liked the price point on the two

I haven't had much time to play with them since I got them two days ago. I did import two photos into the HDR editor and it was amazing! Open the photo and press a button and that's about it. I will learn to tweak the photos thiss coming weekend.

My current HDR program is not well designed. I don't like how you have to save the files and there is no easy way to minimize the program to go back the desktop.

[daniel-lee]

Just ordered with your link. I'm getting back into photography (from film days) and have never done any digital editing before - so this is a no brainer for me.

[JB-xiek]

Hi Anthony,
I opine: one aspect of Photoshop I miss is when straightening a picture, instead of cropping any subsequent white areas, Photoshop will fill in the white areas based on what is left using its own AI. I have not seen this in any other photo editors. I do not see Photoshop being replaced quite yet but I opine if it was combined with Lightroom, rather than accompanied by it (in the Photography Suite), it would enhance its ease of use. Luminar 2018, & Luminar 4 for Windows are amazing programs and I hope Luminar AI is too. To date, I have found the much less expensive Photoscape X Pro so good that I only load Luminar occasionaly afterwards eg for portrait adjustments. So as my copy of Luminar AI has been bought, I hope it is good, and I understand, in my opinion, that much of Luminar 4 may be available in the AI version so your Luminar 4 tutorials will still be relevant. Even the AI has sliders. I am sure you will still be as helpful as you have been in the past Anthony. Thanks snd regards, JB.

[dshowhomes]

Hi Anthony, I find your tutorials exceptionally good and was glad to use the link for luminar AI as a Luminar user as recommended originally by you. I look forward to the new tutorials which I know you will do anyway. Many thanks for the help

[vincentoliver]

It's a pity you haven't got the software to demonstrate this new version. I will tune in again when you do have a review copy to demo.

[tabbycatman]

Good video Anthony. I was going to upgrade my Nik Photo but I have decided to go with Luminar AI. I have used your link. Many thanks.

[billwendry]

When L-AI drops for download, is the install a replacement for Luminar 4 or will I then be able retain and use both AI and 4?

[ximevaldivia]

Hi Anthony. Thank you very much for your videos. I am an amateur photographer and I mainly take photos of my family and the trips we take. I also love to edit the photos and try to get the best out of each of the moments reflected in the photo!
I used Apple's Aperture and after looking for a long time for a photo editing software that was powerful, but also simple to use and affordable, I have decided to finally buy Luminar, but I will wait for the new version, Luminar AI.
I've reviewed a lot of videos and tutorials and there are a couple of topics I'd like if you could make one video (or several):
First, could you give me suggestions on how you categorize, store and back up your photos? in what format do you take the photos? in what size and quality? When you edit your photos, do you keep the original? How do you save the versions?
Another issue I need help with is that I have many family photos, since 2001, and many of them are in low resolution and honestly they are very low quality, but I need to keep them because they are important moments in my life. Could you give me some tricks to try to recover a very bad photo?, for example when a person appears extremely overexposed in the front and very dark in the back, or other typical problems of complex photos, such as birthdays (candles) or a very bright day on the beach ...
Thank you very much and I hope we keep in touch. Ximena

[MarkPatten]

Just preordered the software and thank you for the in-depth, sometimes comical, introduction to the product.

[souviksamanta]

Luminar AI does not support green screen and blue screen. Please enable these features in future updates. Also I have seen if I am exporting 8K RAW images from Canon 5DSR then it will take time. If you enable Nvidia GPU hardware and max RAM used options like adobe then performance can be very fast. We can manually set up max RAM as 64Gb like that.

[chillimocha]

What I am really, really keen to know is how is the performance on PC? I have a fairly new Windows 10 PC that can easily handle anything I throw at it. I edit my 4K drone footage without any problems using different video editors. When I try and work with RAW photos in Luminar 4 my PC basically slows down and chokes completely and quite often Luminar hangs and I need to force close it to get going again. I’ve messaged them on their forums where hundreds of other people have reported similar issues and they are quite dismissive. I love the software but for me most of the time it painful to use and very slow and time consuming due to these performance issues.

Really keen to know if Luminar AI has been written any better and suffers the same problems or not. Without a free trial that would only require payment at the end if satisfied I won’t be bothering with it.