Luminar 3 update kills it with object extrusion

Skylum has just announced its latest update to its Luminar photo editing software. The Luminar 3.1.0 brings new and improved Accent AI filter, which now features content-aware recognition. There are a few other improvements, so let’s see what the upgraded version of Luminar brings.

Luminar 3’s Accent AI automatically handles tasks such as enhancing shadows, highlights and contrast. Still, it wasn’t ideal for every photo, considering that it didn’t do a fine job on photos of people. But this has changed with the Luminar 3.1.0 update. The Accent AI 2.0 has become “completely human-aware,” as Luminar describes it. Accent AI 2.0 features facial and object recognition technology, helping you create a more realistic image.

The Accent AI 2.0 is trained on more objects than before, and now there’s a new “person” class. This means that the software now can recognize facial features and selectively apply the adjustments, which should result in more realistic images.

In addition, the Accent AI 2.0 also includes more careful color correction, as well as a smarter detail boost. Luminar explains that “if it can’t make an object in a photograph look better, it won’t be touched.” This is pretty clever, in my opinion, and perhaps it can make you rely on automatic enhancements with more confidence.

Here are two teaser videos of the latest upgrade:

And if you want a more detailed preview, check out the video below and see what the Luminar 3.1.0 update brings:

As I mentioned, Luminar 3.1.0 features a few other improvements other than the Accent AI 2.0. These apply to the software’s organizational tools, and they include:

• RAW + JPEG (Mac and Windows): Easily organize file pairs in a more convenient way. Photographers can view as a single image and switch between the two versions easily. Organize and rate pairs simultaneously, no matter how you view the two formats.
• Improved Selective Sync (Mac and Windows): Synchronize image adjustments across your photographs. Image layers, crop, erase, clone & stamp no longer affect syncing.
• Import Images (Windows): You can now copy photos to a folder right from inside Luminar. Use this option to pull images from a memory card or other drive and copy them to a new destination.
• Gallery Selection (Windows): Now it’s easier to precisely select and deselect photos in your Gallery. Select non-adjacent photos with Ctrl-click. Click outside a photograph to deselect all photos.

How to update

If you use Luminar 3 and want to update, you can do it for free to version 3.1.0. Mac users can update by choosing Luminar 3 in the top menu bar, and then clicking “Check for updates.” Windows users can choose Help > Check for updates on the top toolbar.

Pricing

With this update, Skylum will also be offering a special price on Luminar 3 until 14 May 2019:

• $60/€60/£56 – Luminar 3.1.0
• $70/€70/£65 – Luminar 3.1.0 + Photography 101 Video course by SLR Lounge
• $129/€129/£118 – Bundle (Luminar&Aurora) + Photography 101 Course by SLR Lounge

After 16 May, standard pricing of Luminar 3.1.0 will be $70/€70/£65 for all new users, and there’s a free 60-day trial in case you’re still not using the software.