Today, Skylum continued its torrid update schedule for Luminar AI, releasing the third major update to the AI-powered editing tool since its release late last year. The latest update focuses on making it easier for photographers of all skill levels to achieve the desired results in Luminar AI.
‘Skylum is built around the concept of continuous improvement. Our goal is to improve the quality and speed of Luminar. Even more important though is inspiring creativity and control for amazing photos. We constantly listen to our community to discover ways to add to their photography. Luminar is all about creativity and making photo editing easier. Update 3 reflects this ethos,’ said Ivan Kutanin, Skylum’s new CEO.
Joining the likes of Adobe Photoshop and Capture One, Skylum’s Luminar AI now has Apple M1 support. Luminar AI Update 3 adds full, native support for Apple Silicon, allowing macOS users fortunate to have one of Apple’s impressive machines to take advantage of the M1’s speed when using Luminar. For users on all machines, Update 3 adds HEIC image support. This means that users on Windows can now open and edit photos taken on iPhones and other iOS devices.
With Update 3, Luminar AI is now natively supported for Apple M1 Macs.
Sky AI has undergone even more improvements in Update 3. Skylum promises improved, more photorealistic results with improved control and accuracy. When a new sky is selected, Sky AI includes better horizon detection, refined edge detection and improved sky integration.
In an earlier update, water reflections were added to Sky AI. This means that when you replace a sky in a scene with water, the new sky will be reflected in the water, even when that water isn’t perfectly smooth. Reflections should be more accurate now with improved sky placement performance. Further, sliders for Haze, Warmth, Brightness and Water Blur are now available.
Luminar AI added water reflections to Sky AI in Update 2. With Update 3, performance is further improved with more realistic reflections, colors and additional user control.
When you choose a new sky for your image, especially one with dramatically different colors, Luminar AI works to relight the entire scene to fit your newly selected sky. This relighting effect has been enhanced with improved color accuracy and better performance in reflections. With the addition of three relighting controls, users now have more control over how the scene is relit.
In terms of workflow improvements, there are a couple of big ones in Update 3. When using Augmented Sky AI, ‘Now, sky objects you add to the custom folder are instantly available for preview. Speaking of previews, you can now select any sky object in the visual browser to instantly preview it in your scene.’ To get users started with this new feature, three free Augmented Sky Objects are available now in the marketplace.
The existing Dodge & Burn tool has improved usability, too, thanks to the new Softness slider. This allows you to refine the edges of the area you’ve dodged for a more natural result.
Luminar AI Update 3 is a free update for current Luminar AI users. Standalone versions on macOS and Windows can be updated via the applications or on the App Store on macOS if that’s where you originally purchased Luminar AI. If you are running Luminar AI as a plugin with Photoshop, Lightroom Classic or Photoshop Elements, Skylum recommends using the plugin installer. If you run into any roadblocks while using Luminar AI, Skylum also expanded its user manual for the software.
To learn more about Luminar AI or to try it for yourself, visit Skylum.