Description
Luminar Neo reframes photo editing around results, not ritual. Where traditional apps lean on a maze of sliders, masks, and adjustment stacks, Neo front-loads a set of AI tools that handle the heavy lifting for skies, lighting, depth, and cleanup—so you can move faster without living in panels.
At the center is Relight AI, which generates a 3D depth map of your image and lets you re-balance foreground and background illumination independently. It’s particularly effective on backlit portraits and uneven indoor lighting where a global exposure change would break the scene. Accent AI functions like a context-aware master slider that quietly coordinates exposure, contrast, color, and presence across the image, dialing in a balanced baseline in seconds.
For landscapes and travel, Sky AI replaces flat skies while applying scene-aware relighting and reflections, keeping the overall mood consistent. It’s reliable on clean horizons; very fine edges (tree branches, wires) may require a touch of manual cleanup, but the speed tradeoff is usually worth it. Portrait shooters get Portrait Bokeh AI for believable background blur, helpful when you didn’t have a fast lens on hand, and Atmosphere AI to layer fog or mist that respects depth rather than pasting a uniform haze.
Production tasks are covered by GenErase (object removal that blends surroundings), Supersharp AI (recovering soft detail), batch processing, and full RAW support across major camera brands. Edits are non-destructive and layer-capable, so you can stack creative looks without locking yourself in. If you already live in Adobe or Apple ecosystems, Neo installs as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Apple Photos, adding speed boosts without forcing a workflow overhaul.
In practice, Neo shines when deadlines are tight and output is digital. It’s ideal for wedding and event photographers turning around hundreds of images, solo creators publishing frequently, or marketers who need polished results quickly. While the interface is generally approachable, some tools live in less obvious places; after a short ramp-up, the efficiency gains outweigh the learning curve.
If you need pixel-perfect composites, elaborate frequency separation, or print-critical finishing, you’ll still pair Neo with a more manual editor. But for everyday photographic reality—mixed light, flat skies, minor distractions—Neo eliminates the bottlenecks that used to soak up your evening.
Key Features
- Sky AI for automatic sky replacement with scene relighting
- Accent AI combining 12+ tonal and color adjustments in one slider
- Relight AI using 3D depth mapping for selective lighting control
- Portrait Bokeh AI for artificial, natural-looking background blur
- Atmosphere AI to add fog, mist, and haze with depth awareness
- GenErase for clean object and blemish removal
- Supersharp AI for sharpening and detail recovery
- Batch processing to speed high-volume edits
- RAW support for all major camera brands
- Plugin compatibility with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Apple Photos
- Non-destructive editing with layers support
- 100+ manual tools alongside AI features for finer control
