There are quite a few extensions available by Luminar. Deciding which one is right and if it does what it says can take a while. This excellent video takes a look at all of the extensions and explains how each one works and what it does.
HDR Merge
HDR Merge is a feature that allows you to take several images and create a single frame where the shadows, highlights, and everything else are perfectly exposed. One problem I always had with HDR was aligning the photos. Unless you use a tripod, it is very difficult to do HDR. Fortunately, Luminar’s HDR extension allows you to merge images into an HDR file even if they were not taken with perfect alignment. This will come in handy for people shooting architecture or landscapes, as getting a perfect exposure can sometimes be very difficult in one frame.
Focus Stacking
One of the most used techniques in product photography, focus stacking allows you to combine images taken at different focus points. This is helpful with macro photography, and I have yet to find someone who does macro photography without focus stacking. Again, the Luminar Neo Focus Stacking extension will align the images for you. This extension will combine your photos into one in no time.
Upscale
Upscaling is a feature that lets you make the resolution of the image larger. For example, if you are looking to print a large photo, you might want to consider using an upscaled version. Most cameras shoot at 20-30 megapixels, which may not produce enough resolution to fill a large A0 scale print. By using the Upscale extension, you can enhance this and produce a more detailed file that will print nicer. Since the files get really large, it makes sense to use the 2x or 4x options. If the file is extra small, you can even use the 6x option. If you ever set your camera to small raw or medium raw by accident, this feature is for you.
Supersharp AI
Motion blur is one of the worst enemies of photographers. It can ruin an otherwise perfect shot. Be it a slow shutter speed or an accidental shake on your part, blur shows up in the smallest details. Luckily, Sharpen AI is the perfect solution for such things, as it allows you to greatly improve the image quality by sharpening your image. The difference between regular sharpening and Supersharp AI is in fine detail. By using AI-enabled algorithms, Supersharp AI is able to keep the sharpening natural, as opposed to the unappealing sharpening that other software produces.
Magic Light
Lighting is the key to photography. However, it is not often that you get to control natural light. By using the Magic Light extension, however, you can do just that and change the properties of your light source. For example, you can change the intensity, size, beam width, glow, brightness, number of beams, and even rotation of your light source. This extension is able to easily identify any light sources present in the photo (for example, the sun) and change how they appear in the photo.
Background Removal
If you’re new to photography, then removing the background may be something you want but are not able to do. Buying more software just to do one feature doesn’t really make economic sense either. This is why the background removal feature is so good, as it lets you change backgrounds without having to use external software.
Noiseless AI
Noise is another enemy of many photographers. Having taken a lot of photos with bad lighting, I often dealt with bad noise and got complaints about it too. The denoise function in editing software does eliminate some of it, but you can clearly tell if an image has been de-noised. This is why Noiseless is yet again a useful extension in Luminar. To use this, you need to have a raw image. In her excellent video, Julia Trotti takes an image at ISO 80,000 and processes it with Noiseless. The results are definitely impressive and show just how powerful the software is.
If you want to learn more about the extensions in Luminar Neo, be sure to check out the video and Luminar’s website to learn more. If you don’t have Luminar Neo already, get it HERE. For a limited time only, you can use the code FSTOPPERS10 to get a discount for Pro and Explore subscriptions, as well as the lifetime option. This will work for all subscription models, except for monthly.
