Frequently Asked Questions

You will be able to activate Luminar Neo by logging in to your Skylum account. No license key or activation code is required.

Luminar Neo launches in trial mode when you open it for the first time. When you start Luminar Neo, you’ll see a window that prompts you to log in to your Skylum account.

Please note that your Luminar Neo purchase is automatically linked to the billing email address you provided, so make sure to log in to your Skylum account connected to that email address or create a new Skylum account tied to your billing email address if needed.

To activate Luminar Neo:

• If you already have a Skylum account, sign in with a linked Google, Facebook, Microsoft, or Apple account, or sign in with your email and password.
• If you don’t have a Skylum account, click Register and create one. You can sign up with a Facebook, Google, Microsoft, or Apple account, or you can sign up using your email and a password.
• If you have a Skylum account but purchased Luminar Neo using an email address not tied to it, you can merge your accounts in the My Software > App isn’t showing? section of your Skylum account.
• Congratulations! You’ve activated Luminar Neo.

Still don’t see Luminar Neo in your account? Our support team will help you with that.

The Skylum Team has been working hard to bring you a satisfying editing experience with Luminar Neo. Here’s what you can enjoy in the first official Luminar Neo version:

• New Core Engine

• Luminar Share

• Remove Power Lines

• Remove Dust Spots

• Layers

• Presets 

• Relight AI

• Basic and AI-powered features from Luminarᴬᴵ (Sky AI, Portrait Bokeh AI, Accent AI, and so on)

• Support of new cameras. You can check a full list of supported cameras here. 

Luminar Neo will become even more powerful with future updates. In the Luminar Neo 1.1.0 update, you’ll be able to enjoy such features as:

• Mask AI — smart AI-based masking that detects specific elements in your image

• Portrait Background Removal AI — smart AI-based removal of the background behind a portrait without manual masking

• Histogram 

• Clone & Stamp

• Dodge & Burn

• Undo and Redo

• More Hotkeys

• More functionality when using Masking (Copy/Paste, Pen Pressure for Radius/Opacity, and Linear/Radial gradient)

There are also a few known issues that will be resolved shortly. They include:

• LUTs are not applied on hover in the Mood tool

• Erase steps in History may show wrong states

• On macOS, the context menu is currently absent on Single Image View for both the Catalog and Edit tabs

Your satisfaction and happiness are our number one priority. That’s why we’re extending the money-back guarantee period on Luminar Neo. 

You’ll have the chance to try Luminar Neo’s features, including Mask AI and Portrait Background Removal AI to the fullest. The money-back-guarantee countdown will start from the Luminar Neo next major feature update 1.1.0 and continue for 30 days. This proposition is valid for all customers, including Early Birds.

Have you ever wanted to achieve more with your images? Luminar Neo is an innovative image editor powered by AI technologies of the future that simplifies complex editing routines and enables creators to bring their creative visions to life. And enjoy it.

• Get speed and flexibility in your editing with our brand-new core engine and layers workflow.
  The new engine we built for Luminar Neo is based on all the best solutions from our combined and evolved experience for maximum performance and creativity and is developed for achieving complex creative results.

• Adjust the light in your photo for creative control over the lighting in a scene. You can control the exposure of an image based on the distance from the lens to independently adjust the background and foreground exposure.

• Automatically remove spots on your images caused by dust and dirt on your lens and sensor.

• Clean up unwanted power lines from the skies in your cityscapes.

• Experiment with infinite creative possibilities by effortlessly combining two or more images in a shot.
  
  

...And much more.

The new technologies and innovative user experience in Luminar Neo make creative image editing simple and fun.

Luminar Neo comes out this winter, but you can preorder it today and invest in your photography success.

Luminar Share is an app that allows Luminar Neo users to transfer photos from desktop to mobile (and in the opposite direction) wirelessly.

It also makes it easy for users to share edited photos to their social media accounts.

Features of Luminar Share include:

• Wireless transfer of photos between the desktop Luminar Neo app and the Luminar Share mobile app
• Mirroring of photos from Luminar Neo on a mobile device
• Easy sharing of photos to social media

The Luminar Share app is available on both Android and iOS and is free for all Luminar Neo users.

We are pleased to announce Luminar Neo and will be revealing its full feature set in the coming months. Luminar Neo is a giant leap forward to more innovative, AI-based editing that targets the pains of photographers. Its goal is high-quality, fast, easy, and enjoyable results for anyone who wants to edit their images and channel their creativity in new ways.

The collection of AI-powered tools take a significant jump forward in function and performance with Luminar Neo. The application expands its toolbox with more groundbreaking AI-powered tools. The new tools are joined by additional options to solve even more problems and unleash creativity. 

• Speed up your editing workflow with our new speedy core engine. 
  It’s based on unique technologies developed by Skylum and works on a module system, which means that different parts of the application can now be optimized separately for the best results. Thanks to the independent modules engine, Luminar Neo will be updated more frequently. Luminar Neo has a more flexible editing process, which means less memory is required to edit photos. The new engine has many small background optimizations of memory use, which increases the speed of all processes inside the application, from uploading to applying editing effects, using layers, and exporting.
• Completely transform your photos with new relighting options. Luminar Neo analyzes each image to recognize the depth of a scene and its subject allowing for unique control over exposure and tone.
• Easily remove distracting image blemishes caused by a dirty camera sensor or lens. There are also new tools to clean up unwanted elements in the background of a photo.
• Explore creativity with an effortless layers workflow and combine a photograph with other visual elements. Discover a collection of textures, overlays, and visual effects to add creativity to an image and personalize it. This addition unlocks new creative options for compositing images and visuals to create a custom style. You can add an infinite number of Layers, move Layers on top of each other, use blending modes and masking modes, make collages, add double exposure effects, and do more on each layer.
• Skylum is also excited to announce that a new mobile app is in development. It will allow easy transfer of photos between a mobile device and a computer. This will make it easier to add pictures captured on a mobile device to your Luminar library. Once edited in Luminar Neo, results can be sent back to the portable device for easy social sharing or viewing on the go.

Do you want to profit from the optimized engine that provides an immensely faster experience, uses less memory, and offers endless possibilities for future optimization? 

Our new modular core engine is swift, less resource-intensive, and flexible. We know you’ll enjoy using it. 

Do you want to receive even more powerful and intelligent tools to achieve high-quality results and turn your photos into engaging stories? 

Luminar Neo keeps your favorite LuminarAI tools and expands your arsenal with more state-of-the-art technologies to control every aspect of your photo. You’ll benefit from automated dust and power lines removal, intelligent exposure adjustments based on image depth, smart masks, and more features that we’ll reveal later in the upcoming months.

Do you want to unleash your creativity while creating gorgeous composite images in an enhanced Layers module?

Now, working with them gives you far more control than ever. You can easily drag, move, place, rotate, and flip a texture or textures around the image, mask, and blend them. 

Do you care about the speed of sharing images from your mobile phone to desktop and vice versa? 

We’ve got you covered with our brand-new mobile application for quick transfer of images. 

Luminar Neo is a culmination of all Luminar applications released to date.  We’ve designed it to achieve your photography goals faster and more efficiently. 

If you’ve answered YES to these questions, we’re looking forward to seeing you among Luminar Neo’s artists. Secure a special discount as a current owner here.

At Skylum, we love to provide you with a variety of options that suit your workflow best. That is why LuminarAI and Luminar Neo are designed to serve two different purposes.

LuminarAI is the easiest-to-use image editor fully powered by artificial intelligence for those who prefer a time-saving Template-driven workflow for quick results. The app can swiftly guide you to the best outcomes while still preserving editing flexibility. It's a compact and easy-to-navigate application that already packs everything one needs for great results. We believe it's a finished product and, therefore, we'll support it in terms of compatibility and performance, including support of new cameras. 

In its turn, Luminar Neo is for those who want more editing options and more creative control.

The app provides the ability to build detailed and expressive images with advanced layer-based workflow and flexible tools that can be applied in any order. It also boasts a high-speed core engine with background rendering and accelerated exports for more complex tasks.

Both applications will be available on the market so that you could choose the software according to your preferred workflow and the desired outcome. LuminarAI will keep receiving free maintenance updates.

We encourage you to give Luminar Neo a try, though, if you want to experience a new level of creativity and innovation. It packs a convenient design, faster speed, and even more unique and helpful tools so you can achieve spectacular results.

Luminar Neo should work on your computer as long as it meets the following minimum system requirements. 

For Mac:

• MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, Mac mini, early 2010 or newer

• CPU Intel® Core™ i5 or better

• Memory 8 GB RAM or more (16+ GB RAM is recommended)

• macOS 10.14.6 or higher. IMPORTANT: macOS 10.13 is not supported.

• Hard disk 10 GB free space; SSD for best performance

• Display 1280x768 size or better

For Windows:

• Windows-based hardware PC with mouse or similar input device

• CPU Intel® Core™ i5 or better, AMD Ryzen™ 5 or better

• Open GL 3.3 or later compatible Graphics Cards

• Memory 8 GB RAM or more (16+ GB RAM is recommended)

• Operating System Windows 10 version 1909 or higher (only 64-bit OS).

• Hard disk 10 GB free space; SSD for best performance

• Display 1280x768 size or better

With Luminar Neo, you can always find an option that suits your workflow best. The number of devices will always be stated on the checkout page so that you could make an informed decision. Usually, we offer a version for 1 or 2 devices. Moreover, you can always manage your activation in the Skylum account. 

You'll be able to add even more seats in your Skylum Account if you have multiple computers or a family of people who need access.

Change computers or upgrade your device? You can free up a license from your old machine at no cost. Just log in to your Skylum account to reset the activation for Luminar Neo.

Luminar Neo is a universal solution that can function both as a standalone editor and a plug-in. 

Using Luminar Neo as a plug-in, you’ll be able to bring a creative and timesaving workflow to your host application. Luminar Neo allows you to revolutionize the way you enhance photos but conveniently fits into your current workflow. 

Luminar Neo can be used as a plug-in or extension for: 

• Lightroom Classic (starting from version 6)

• Photoshop (from version CS5)

• Photos for macOS

• Microsoft Photos

Of course! Luminar Neo RAW processing is based on our own powerful RAW engine. We regularly update our library and make our own improvements to provide perfect support for new cameras. You can check the full list of supported cameras here. 

Luminar Neo currently supports English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Russian, Japanese, and Dutch. We're constantly working on adding support for more languages. If yours isn't on the list yet, check back later or drop us an email. We’ll make sure the product team gets your request for future development!

What differentiates Luminar Neo from all the programs we've created before is its engine. The software boasts an all-new core designed from scratch for faster image processing and seamless integration of all innovations we plan to add. As a result, the image processing pipeline will be significantly renovated under the hood. Because of the updated architecture, it will not be possible to move your catalog directly to Luminar Neo.

We understand that you’d love to use your previously created Templates in Luminar Neo. Therefore, we’ll take care of the migration process. Our team will provide you with a special utility to convert your custom Templates into a Luminar Neo-compatible format. You'll be able to take your favorite settings with you when switching to the new software. 

Moreover, the majority of the purchased Luminar AI Templates will be reworked so you could install them in Luminar Neo. After the release, you’ll be able to re-download the compatible files from the My Add-ons section of your Skylum account.

The educational and military discounts will be available starting from the official release date and calculated from the regular price.

During preorder, we offer the best deals with the greatest discounts. Right now, you have a chance to reserve Luminar Neo at the lowest price.

To secure the special price, click here. If you own a previous version of Luminar or Aurora HDR, we also provide a loyalty discount. Click here to redeem it.

Yes, your collection of skies, textures, and objects will be compatible with Luminar Neo.

With the initial release of Luminar Neo, the use of Photoshop-style plugins is not expected to be included. However, we clearly understand the popularity of this request and are actively exploring its implementation.

Our brand-new Luminar Neo engine and layers workflow mean that support is possible. This will pave the way for smoother integrations with other specialized plugins.

We’re truly excited about the dramatic opportunities to improve performance and expand capabilities that the new Luminar Neo engine offers. We look forward to revealing more details in 2022.

No, Luminar Neo and Aurora HDR will work as two separate applications. However, both applications can access your photos easily.  Plus, any edited images exported from Aurora HDR can be placed in the same folder as the source images added to your Luminar Neo catalog.  These will automatically be scanned and uploaded to your Luminar Neo.

Luminar Neo will be installed separately as a brand new application and will not overwrite Luminar AI or other software.

Yes. Your original image files remain intact throughout the process. 

Unlike in Luminar AI, where you could start with virtually any tool, our new core engine is organized as independent modules where edits will be stacked on top of one another with RAW development being the first one of them. This will help Luminar Neo calculate all the adjustments much faster and provide you with an overall more pleasant hitch-free experience. The app works more quickly than previous versions of Luminar when importing, viewing, and exporting images, and it uses less memory all around. Additionally, such a workflow will favor upcoming innovations: it will be much easier for us to integrate new creative features into the product seamlessly. 

Once you’ve developed your RAW, you can use multiple raw files as image layers and apply any tool to any layer, in any order, multiple times, and with unique masks. At any point during the editing process, you’ll be able to return to the previous adjustments, tweak them and fast-forward to the latest edit, always retaining complete control over the image.

Yes. Luminar Neo will be fully optimized for the M1 chip.

The Portrait Background Removal^AI tool is specifically designed and trained to recognize humans in photos. In the future, we may consider enabling it for other subjects.

Important note: Portrait Background Removal^AI will not be present in Luminar Neo's first release but will become available in its free update later.