Luminar Neo

I often shoot in low light conditions - in the evening outdoors, indoors without a flash, while traveling, where I just don't want to waste time on a tripod. And with Luminar Neo, this is now possible. Automatic processing of night shots works great: noise is muffled, but detail does not disappear, and all this - without having to manually tinker with each setting. Photos literally "come to life" - you can see the texture of the walls, the texture of clothes, even subtle details in the shadows become noticeable. I especially like that the program does not make the picture too bright - the balance is preserved. It is very convenient that you can get a professional result in a couple of clicks.

I've already completed three full projects with Luminar Neo, and I can honestly say that for the first time in many years, I felt like I wasn't wasting hours on basic operations. I especially want to highlight Smart Presets, which adapt to the type of scene. They don't just apply a template, but actually analyze the composition and lighting. For example, the same preset on a portrait and a landscape gives completely different and appropriate results both times. The new version allows you to flexibly work with LUT files and custom styles. I import a LUT, and then I can manually tweak it through the color correction module (HSL, Color Harmony, Supercontrast). Tone processing after that is at the level of Capture One, but much faster. I was also pleased that Neo now works better with the catalog: tags, ratings, filters, and search have become more responsive. I compared: keyword search works 2-3 times faster than in the previous version. This became especially important when loading projects with hundreds of folders. Integration with noise reduction (Noiseless) in low-light mode is another must-have. I tested shots with ISO 3200 and higher - the result is better than in Lightroom. Moreover, the detail is preserved, and there are fewer artifacts.

After the spring 2025 update, Luminar Neo has really changed: Auto Adjust appeared, which automatically sets the exposure, white balance and contrast - a great start before manual fine-tuning. Clearing the cache in the settings now frees up space and speeds up the catalog, especially when working with hundreds of RAW files. It is very pleasing that interest in user convenience is noticeable even in such trifles.

After the spring 2025 update, Luminar Neo has really changed: Auto Adjust appeared, which automatically sets the exposure, white balance and contrast - a great start before manual fine-tuning. Clearing the cache in the settings now frees up space and speeds up the catalog, especially when working with hundreds of RAW files. It is very pleasing that interest in user convenience is noticeable even in such trifles.

Photos are an important part of my content, but I spend less and less time on each shoot. What I liked about Neo is that you can take a series of photos and process them in the same style without spending an hour on each one. The retouching is soft, the colors are natural, the result is stable. Even when I add a slight vignette or export for Instagram, everything looks uniform.

Switched over from Lightroom and am genuinely impressed. The Enhance AI and Relight AI tools bring out vivid colors and beautifully balanced lighting in portraits and landscapes with just one slider. Sky AI effortlessly swaps out dull skies and blends new ones seamlessly into complex scenes, even around tree branches—adding cinematic flair in seconds.

After years of avoiding auto-enhancement tools, it was surprising to find a program that doesn’t ruin images with over-processing. Luminar Neo keeps things clean and tasteful. The way it handles RAW files — especially with color depth and clarity — deserves praise. While speed could be improved, the tool itself is powerful and reliable.