GetIntoGear
130 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
SKYLUM
Luminar3 is Skylum’sanswer
toAdobe’sall-in-oneCC
Photographyplan.Introducing
a Libraryfeature,whilealso
offeringthetraditionalsuite
of simpletoolsthathas made
Luminara householdname,it’s
definitelyoneto consider.While
organisingyourbestshotsis
nothingnew,it doesawaywith
the hassleof importing,andis
now ableto syncwithyour
hard driveto displayand
updateimagesdirectlyfrom
yourdesktop.It’sa handy
featurethat’sdesignedto
st reamlineyourworkflow.
Theeditingsection,though
se eminglyverysimilarto its
pr edecessor,hasreceived
so menotableupdates.The
AIfilters,comprisingAI Sky
EnhanceandAccentAI 2.0
Filter,havebeengivena
smarteralgorithmformore
naturalresults.Thismeansyou
cancompletea singlebasic
editby allowingLuminarto
analyseyourimageandapply
in itialexposure,contrastand
saturationadjustments.It’s
ra therimpressive,andidealfor
thosewhowanta simple,yet
instant,boostto theirimages.
Theoverallspeedhasalso
beenrampedup comparedto
it s predecessor,andyoucan
edit non-destructively,keeping
youroriginalfile intact.
The editingprocessis
completedwithfilters,which
of fereverythingfromRAW
developing,Curvesand
exposuretoolsto more
fantasticaleffects,suchas
sunraysor atmosphericfog.
It’sa greatsystem,andcreates
powerfulresultswithouthaving
tospendhourslearninghowit
allworks.Thereareevenmore
Looks– one-clickpresets–
thaneverbefore,witha wide
varietyavailableto download
fo r freeor buyin thestore.
Theinterfaceis simplylaid
out,andthereforeit’seasyto
pickup,evenif you’renewto
editing.Switchingbetweenthe
libraryandeditingmodulesis
assimpleas clickingon their
tabs,andthehandybefore-
and-aftertoolsallowyouto
keepan eyeon youreditto
makesureyou’renot overdoing
it. If youwantan all-in-one
software,withbagsof power
anda simplisticapproachto
creatingcomplexedits,then
th is is wellwortha look.
PROS
Greatlibraryfeature
fo r shotorganisation
Makescomplexedits
in crediblysimplewith
a ra ngeof filters
CONS
Can sometimes run
markedly slower on
underpowered
computers
R ATING
AboveLuminar’sLooksallowyouto instantlychangethefeelof an imagewitha singleclick.You can
alsoheadto thestorefora mix of freeandpaid-forextras,or makeyourown.
AboveLuminaroffersan intuitivesystem,witha rangeof filterson
th e right,libraryon theleftandLooksalongthebottom.
MINIMUMSPEC
OS:Windows7,
Mac OS 10.11 64-bit
RAW conversion: Yes
System requirements:
8GB RAM, Intel Core i5
or better
LUMINAR 3 £65
ORGANISED
The newly added
library feature is
perfect for keeping
shots organised. It
syncs straight to your
desktop and allows
you to rate and review
your images.
FILTERS
As with Photoshop
and Affinity’s powerful
Adjustment Layers,
Luminar offers a
range of creative and
essential editing tools
under the guise of its
wide range of filters.
#3
HI G H LY
R ATED
