Whether you’ve made the switch to Luminar Neo, or you’re using it along with other image-editors, the tutorial below is sure to improve your work with a revealing look at how one pro uses seven new tricks when processing his photos.

Luminar New is rapidly gaining in popularity, as it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create most of it’s magic. And that means that despite it’s wide array of tools, Neo is very easy to use. And, of course, this affordable software delivers impressive results—or we wouldn’t be discussing it here.

Professional photographer David Manning is a convert who says the new tools he describes in this 12-minute tutorial are “leveraging AI to make our job as photo editors very easy.” In fact he now accomplishes editing tasks with “clicks or sliders” in Luminar Neo, that he spent 20 years perfecting in Photoshop and Lightroom.

The first timesaving trick he describes involves using HDR Merge. He explains this technique using real estate photography as en example: “You need to create well exposed indoor images with windows that aren’t blown out, but the camera often lacks sufficient dynamic range to accomplish this in one shot.”

Focus stacking is another way Luminar Neo uses AI to make quick work of combining multiple images that Manning says  “used to take me forever in Photoshop.” The example he uses here is a tight shot of a Polaroid camera with everything in focus.

As he notes, this would have been a very difficult challenge using conventional methods because of the very close camera-to-subject distance. He also demonstrates how to use Neo to upscale images, and use Supersharp AI to achieve very impressive results.

Other topics of interest include Magic AI, Noiseless AI, and Background Removal AI—all made fast and effective using Luminar Neo’s powerful tools. If you’re a diehard Adobe user you may have second thoughts after this revealing lesson.

You may want to head over to Manning’s YouTube channel after watching this video to learn more editing tips and tricks.

On a related topic, check out the tutorial we posted earlier, explaining three editing mistakes that ruin photos in Luminar Neo.

We have a special treat for you today and for the next few weeks, with the first episode in a 10-part masterclass from our friends at the Phlog Photography YouTube channel. So if you want to expand your Lightroom skills the lesson below provides a great start. 

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a noteworthy landscape photographer who says he created this powerful series with a specific goal in mind, “I’m going to go through all the editing tools Lightroom has to offer, and explain them in detail.” What makes this opportunity so helpful is that Mohrle’s tips are divided into separate relatively brief videos, so you’ll never feel intimidated or overwhelmed.

Today’s premier episode covers everything you need to know for using Lightroom’s most basic tools, so you’ll be well prepared for more involved tasks. In future weeks Mohrle’s topics run the gamut from color grading, masks, lens correction, and tone curves, to HSL adjustments, sharpening, and more.

If you’ve watched Mohrle’s editing tutorials in the past, you know that his first step is always to select Lightroom’s most appropriate Camera Profile for the image at hand. Today he explains why doing this creates a good “base image” for all adjustments that follow.

Another key basic task is modifying White Balance for the specific look you’re after. Here Mohrle explains various ways to do that by using the Auto setting, choosing a pre-defined setting, employing the White Balance Selector tool, or by adjusting Lightroom’s sliders manually. And all are viable options.

Mohrle then moves on to Tone settings and the oft-ignored Histogram. This discussion includes simple steps to take for properly setting the contrast and brightness of an image. The lesson wraps up with a basic overview of Lightroom’s Presence settings, with a straightforward explanation of how to use simple sliders to quickly give photos more detail, clarity, and saturation.

There’s a lot going on in barely 11-minutes, so you may want to jot down a few notes for future reference. And we’ll be sure to post new episodes in this series as soon as they’re available.

There’s much more to learn about shooting and editing outdoor images on Mohrle’s YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look,

We’re also sure you’ll like an earlier tutorial we featured recently, explaining five “secret” Lightroom tools for better, faster edits.

The history of photography and camera technology is littered with controversies about the “best” way to capture an image. For a while shooters questioned the value of autofocus, then there was a debate regarding the quality of digital images vs. those shot with film.

Today much of the conversation centers on file formats—namely Raw vs. Jpeg. Frankly we’re not a fan of preemptive claims by so-called “purists” who insist that you’re not a real photographer unless you shoot Raw (or always set your camera’s mode dial to Manual).

While Raw files undoubtedly have benefits for capturing and editing photos, one of our favorite pros insists that this debate has yet to be settled, at least for some photographers. In his view it all depends upon the subject hand, how you intend to use your work, and a few other issues worth noting.

Canadian pro Simon d’Entremont is an accomplished nature and wildlife photographer, and he asks this question to kick off the interesting tutorial below: “Can Jpeg dethrone the king of the hill, Raw?” You may be surprised by his conclusions.

For this file-format shootout Simon pits his Raw files against JPEGs to see when one format beats the other. He also adds Compressed Raw to the mix to make the comparisons even more thorough. So is the “always Raw” notion a myth? Watch the video and see for yourself.

Along the way, Simon says he knows photographers who shoot both Jpeg and Raw, and actually “like the Jpegs better” for reasons he explains. He begins by getting all the definitions and technical stuff straight, with a quick discussion of how various file formats work, and what this implies for the editing process.

Simon’s shootout includes plenty of helpful information, including this interesting fact: “Even if you Shoot Raw, the image on your camera’s LCD is actually a Jpeg.” So Raw shooters need to interpret that screen with care. And Camera Profiles are important too. Take a close look and see what file format makes the most sense for you.

There’s much more to see on d’Entremont’s popular YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time.

And speaking of evolving technologies, check out the earlier tutorial we posted, explaining how to shoot amazing landscapes photos with a modern phone.