I’ve used Lightroom for a good long while, and I’m happy with the features it offers me to improve the quality of my photos.
But now there’s a new sheriff in town that is sure to give the Develop Module a run for its money – Luminar.
In the video above, post-processing master Serge Ramelli offers his thoughts on the Lightroom vs. Luminar question.
In the screenshot above, you can see Serge’s original image from the Imperial Dunes in California.
In Lightroom, Serge’s usual workflow would include bringing down the highlights, opening up the shadows, working on the blacks and whites in the image, adjusting the white balance and tint, and so forth.
Each of these adjustments is made in Lightroom using a different slider or tool in the toolbar, so it’s not a terribly complicated process.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Serge was able to make pretty drastic changes to the original shot by using multiple tools in Lightroom.
The final product is an image that I would certainly describe as being beautiful.
The problem with Lightroom is that it isn’t exactly cheap. That’s particularly true since it shifted to a subscription service a couple of years ago.
But with Luminar, you can do everything you can do in Lightroom – and for less money.
In the screenshot above is the Luminar workspace. You’ll notice right off the bat that it’s a familiar arrangement with similar tools as Lightroom. That makes learning to use Luminar a breeze for Lightroom users.
But Luminar has features that Lightroom doesn’t have, which make it a more effective tool for post-processing.
Take the Boost Slider as a prime example.
In the image above, you can see the Boost Slider’s artificial intelligence-powered filter at work. It magically takes into account over a dozen different aspects of a photo and makes your photo better.
The colors are bright and vibrant, the foreground has been lightened, and there’s more definition in the sky.
Luminar has a host of other filters as well, including a polarizing filter, a channel mixer, a golden hour effect, and just about anything else you can think of as well. You have dozens of filters from which to choose that makes for fun experimentation with your photos.
Serge also used the Image Radiance Filter and the Fog Filter on the image above, adding more interest and depth to the shot. Not bad, right?
In fact, if you look at this image next to the image from Lightroom, they look really similar.
A lot of photographers use Luminar and Lightroom together when processing their photos.
But as these images demonstrate, Luminar is a more than capable editor on its own. For more information about Luminar, head over to their website.