If you're like me, you love taking landscape photos, but sitting in your home office editing them...not so much.
Part of the reason why editing seems like a drag (for me, anyway), is the length of time it takes to make the edits I want to make in programs like Lightroom and Photoshop.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not a lazy photographer looking for an easy way out. What I want is a powerful tool that helps me enhance my images quickly and easily in a non-destructive manner.
Luminar does just that. With one swipe of a slider, you can achieve more dramatic skies. There's no need for messing around with neutral density filters in the field, nor do you have to learn how to use layers and masks to isolate the sky in post-processing, either.
What is Luminar?
First things first...If you aren't already familiar with Luminar, it's an incredibly powerful, yet easy-to-use photo editor.
I've been using it for months now, and I can say without hesitation that it is on par with Lightroom. In fact, it might just be better.
Luminar's claim to fame is its Looks - presets that allow you to make instant changes to your images - as well as its AI-powered filters like the Accent AI Filter and the AI Sky Enhancer.
I've taken a deep-dive into these and other features in my Luminar Review, so for a detailed look at these, be sure to check that out.
Learn More:
Now, What About the AI Sky Enhancer?
In the video above, David Johnston takes us on a complete tour of Luminar's AI Sky Enhancer.
As you'll see, the power of this tool to bring out the details in the sky is quite astounding.
Using Sky Enhancer is a Breeze
Before even discussing the power of this tool, it's worth noting that it's incredibly easy to use.
Just open an image, open the Luminar Filters Catalog, and select AI Sky Enhancer.
But don't think that because it's simple to use that it doesn't work very well...
Just take a look at the starting image above and the image below, and you can see quite a difference after making one simple change.
For one adjustment that literally took two seconds, the image sure has a much better look, doesn't it?
Notice how the second image has a much more defined sky that's darker with clouds that have more definition.
The Sky Enhancer is able to do this because it uses artificial intelligence to apply the changes only to the sky - that's true if it's a blue sky, a sunset, or just a hint of sky peeking through a canopy of trees.
First, Sky Enhancer analyses the photo to identify the sky, then it precisely forms semantic segmentation to separate the image into layers depending on the objects it detects, the tones of the sky, the definition of edges, and so forth.
Then, it applies an invisible mask to the sky to enhance it based on its colors, texture, size, and more. All that occurs in milliseconds!
No matter what the sky looks like or how much of the image it occupies, Sky Enhancer is able to work its magic - all the while saving you tons of time.
What Does the Luminar AI Sky Enhancer Do?
As noted above, the AI Sky Enhancer gives the sky more definition and drama without changing how other elements in the shot look thanks to its ability to intelligently analyze the image.
As David demonstrates in the video, the effect on the sky is done without changing how the lighthouse looks, or how the grasses in the foreground look, for that matter.
That means that essentially the AI Sky Enhancer is doing the job of a graduated ND filter, but on a higher level.
That is, using an ND filter in the field for David's shot of the lighthouse would be impossible - the filter would darken the lighthouse along with the sky.
But since the AI Sky Enhancer is so intelligent, it can separate the subject from the sky, allowing you to create more precise, impactful edits.
This works with all kinds of skies and subjects, too. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see how the Sky Enhancer darkens the sky, again, without darkening anything else in the shot.
Not bad, right?!
Learn More:
Final Thoughts: Luminar vs. Lightroom
As I mentioned earlier, Luminar is certainly on par with Lightroom, if not better, and the AI Sky Enhancer is just one reason why.
That's because it makes editing the sky a simple, easy task using just one slider.
In Lightroom, by contrast, the process is more difficult and generates less pleasing results.
As you can see in the screenshot above, David applied a roughly 2-stop ND filter using Lightroom, but just like using a filter in the field, the effect has darkened the lighthouse.
You can lighten those areas using the Brush tool in Lightroom, but that takes a lot of precise editing, which takes a lot more time.
In other words, you can use Lightroom to enhance your skies, but it's difficult, to say the least.
Why spend more time getting less pleasing results when you can get just what you want using Luminar's AI Sky Enhancer?!