Luminar Neo becomes Luminar: photo editing tutorial

Luminar Neo is becoming simply Luminar, according to this sponsored walkthrough by Mark Denney. He edits Lake Tahoe photographs to demonstrate the interface update and describes navigation and preset previews as faster. His three-image HDR merge takes roughly three seconds by his own estimate; he does not time it or provide a controlled comparison with other editors.

The landscape workflow starts with Accent and Sky Enhancer, then adjusts exposure, contrast, highlights and shadows. Denney reduces vibrance and uses Water Enhancer to bring out green and blue tones. He also demonstrates Light Depth and an object selection mask for foreground rock texture. A customized Favorites section keeps his usual tools in editing order, while catalog breadcrumbs and visible camera settings help him navigate and check ISO.

A second example uses Gen Expand after a crop leaves submerged rocks close to the frame edge. Denney extends the bottom of the image with the prompt "more of the same water" and saves the result.

He describes phase one as a free update for Luminar users at the time of recording. His preview of phase two includes Atmosphere 2.0 fog, Crop 2.0 composition suggestions and more natural Enhance AI adjustments. The tutorial does not establish hardware requirements or whether the generative features work offline.