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Is the New Luminar Neo 2023 the Best Lightroom Alternative?

Is the New Luminar Neo 2023 the Best Lightroom Alternative?

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There’s a storm brewing on the horizon – a photo editing software battle or possibly an all-out war. Adobe’s recent announcement and Lightroom upgrades have a lot of people upset and looking for a Lightroom alternative.

NOTE: This article was originally posted in 2019 and has been updated to discuss the current versions of both software.

The LR bandwagon is a busy place as many photographers are rapidly jumping off!

Many people are tired of the subscription model and paying monthly fees just to have their software of choice.

Others yet have resisted that route. But they will now be forced to make a decision as Lightroom 6 is the last version that will be available for outright purchase.

So, if you’re in that boat you will have two options to choose from:

One: You can either bite the bullet and sign up for Adobe’s photographer’s plan for $9.99 USD ($12.99 CAD) per month.

Two: You can stick with LR6 for infinity, but it is no longer being updated or supported by Adobe.

So that new camera you just bought – its raw files won’t be recognized by LR6.

Enter Luminar – the Lightroom Alternative

Luminar Neo V 750px black jpg
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There are a LOT of players stepping up to the plate, looking to take a bigger piece of the photo editing software market from Adobe. Some companies we haven’t heard a peep from in years, and others brand new to the market are appearing with RAW processors.

See what Luminar has to offer as a Lightroom alternative.

UPDATE: Until I’m able to update this post completely, be aware that Skylum has replaced Luminar 3 with three other versions and has now released Luminar Neo as the replacement for all before. It combines the best of all the previous versions and clears up a lot of issues at the same time. 

If you’ve already gotten it, you’ll want to enroll in my Luminar Neo course so you can get up to speed in days rather than weeks. If you have yet to upgrade or want to check it out – you can get a 7-day free trial for Luminar Neo here on our site.

A few other Lightroom alternatives available include the following:

  • ACDsee Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 – $149.99 USD (Note: it is for Windows only) I’ll admit I don’t know much about this one, but there is a free trial if you want to test it out.
  • ADCSee Photo Studio for Mac 9 – $99.99
  • On1 Photo Raw 2023 – $99.99 USD (or $6.27/month subscription) – now available for purchase.
  • Corel AfterShot Pro – $59 USD – They made Paint Shop Pro which I used pre-Photoshop way back in about 1993! They still make that and now have come out with a raw processor as well. A trial version is available, but it’s really NOT very good.
  • DxO PhotoLap 7 – $219 or $54.75 x 4 months.
  • Affinity Photo – approx $69.99 USD – They do have a free trial available.
  • Capture One Pro – $299 USD (or $14.92/month) – this one is high-end and aimed at professionals. If Lightroom is too complicated, this one will be way over your head.
  • Luminar AI – $149.99 USD + $299 for all extensions, or $9.95/month.

I wanted to offer a special incentive to my readers who may be interested in getting Luminar. They were nice enough to provide a 10% discount coupon. Just enter this code when you check out: DPM10.

Lightroom vs Luminar Feature Comparison List

You can see a full list of features in a side-by-side comparison between Luminar and Lightroom here.

I think Skylum is getting ready to take on Adobe head-to-head by presenting an alternative to Lightroom.

UPDATE 2023: Skylum has decided not to go after being like Lightroom but rather is forging a new and different path in the photo editing world. Currently, there is not a good option for managing your files and you cannot edit the metadata but this may change in the future as they continue to expect its capabilities.

Example Luminar workflow

Because Luminar has the ability to apply edits on a layer, you can group together the type of edits you’re applying. Meaning, if you want to punch up the sky as I did – make a “Sky” layer and apply all the filters that will do a nice job on the sky.

Then you can adjust each filter to your taste, then apply a layer mask, filter masks, or lower the layer opacity to control the overall look.

Then select your next area to work on, make a new adjustment layer, and apply filters that are applicable there.

It’s super easy to paint in an effect on a small area, or multiple areas of the image – without affecting the entire photo.

Here is an example of one image, with each step in my workflow in Luminar outlined.

Lightroom Alternative example photo - Original Raw, unedited
Original raw file, unedited.
Lightroom Alternative example photo - Raw develop filter applied with the photo editing software
Step one – Raw Develop Filter added. This is also where you find the lens corrections and Transform for perspective correction. Notice the building isn’t tilting anymore.
Lightroom alternative example photo 2 - Accent AI filter, clarity and brightness filters applied
Step 2 – all done on a new layer: Accent AI Filter, Clarity, and Brightness. Notice how realistic looking it still is even with the shadow areas pulled up to retain detail. There’s a slight halo in the sky which is something I could easily fix with a filter or layer mask.
Lightroom alternative example photo 3 - tone control applied to the image
Step 3 – tone control applied. Again, this is all on a new layer and I’ve used the Dodge and Burn Filter, Vignette, Polarizing Filter (darkens the sky), and Exposure (I painted in minus exposure to the bottom corners of the image to draw the eye in more).
Lightroom alternative example photo 4 - sky enhancements on a new layer
Step 4 – sky enhancements. Here I applied (on a new layer – see the trend?) Image Radiance, Color Contrast, Saturation, and the HSL filter to brighten the sky and give it punch. I used filter masks to have some of them only apply to the sky area.
Lightroom alternative example photo 5 - final version of image, processed with Luminar and the Sun Rays filter
Lastly, I couldn’t help trying the Sun Rays Filter on this image. I think it works great here to add a nice mood to the image.

Is Luminar the best Lightroom alternative?

If you watched my review of Luminar Neo back a few months, you’ll know that it impressed me.

I liked it a LOT more than I thought I was going to.

In fact, I like it so much I’ve been using it to finish my images after processing them in Lightroom.

But is it going to be a good alternative to Lightroom? That’s the question I’ve been asked multiple times.

I’ll list a few of the pros and cons of Luminar to help you decide. It does some things really well but still falls just slightly short in other areas, in my opinion.

Here’s a short video walk-through of Luminar 2018 (a previous version) to give you an idea of how it works.

Pros of Luminar 3

  • Handles raw files well.
  • Works as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple Photos OR as a stand-alone product.
  • Simple to use and a user-friendly interface.
  • NO monthly subscription needed. One purchase is good for licensing up to five of your devices – for $79
  • Works with layers so you can do non-destructive editing.
  • Works with Presets and Filters which make it easy to do one or two-click editing and call it a day.
  • It is flexible and adjustable with layer opacity, masks, and local adjustment tools that allow you to apply effects to your entire image, or just a portion of it.
  • You can save a native Luminar file that preserves your layers and history – so you can come back to editing any time, with all your options and edits available for adjustment.
  • Luminar comes with a lot of really great filters including the Accent AI Filter that is sometimes all you need. You can see my favorite filters shown below.
  • You can easily export and post your images to social media, email and other sites with an easy “Share to” system all set up for you!
some favorite filters for Luminar 2018 photo editing software

Cons of Luminar

I mentioned there are a few things that Lightroom still does better than Luminar.

In all fairness, I think that in time they may just catch up, but for now, there are a couple little things you will miss in Luminar if you’re currently a Lightroom user.

  • The RAW processor (filter) isn’t a full-featured as Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) which operates inside both PS and LR. It’s missing targeted adjustment tools (so you can darken a certain tone by selecting it on the image), auto perspective correction, auto level, and crop, etc. Basically some of the automated handy stuff LR can do.
  • Currently, there isn’t a way to see all your images and sort, cull, and manage them. That is coming with their announced Digital Asset Management module being added in 2018. So, I’ll wait to reserve judgment on that until I’ve tried it out.
  • The Cloning and Healing tool is a bit clunky. But it’s a new feature, so I expect it to only get better. LR’s cloning tool was not great in its first iteration either.
  • It’s easy to go too far. I find the presets and sliders in Luminar will take your image over the top into “over-processed land” really fast if you aren’t careful. But use restraint and apply them subtly, lower the opacity of filters and layers, and you’ll be fine.

What’s new in Luminar 2018

Perhaps you already have Luminar and are wondering if it’s worth upgrading to Luminar 2018.

I say yes!

It’s incredibly affordable to do so and there’s already been a lot of new stuff added, and more coming.

Photo of grape vines growing with lake okanagan in the distance, as a before example

Before – original raw file, unedited. It’s a little boring and doesn’t capture the feeling of the valley I wanted.

Here are just some of the new features and filters. Many of the existing ones have been updated and improved as well.

  • Better filter masking
  • New user interface
  • Lens corrections (distortion and chromatic aberration control)
  • Transform tool for perspective control and corrections
  • New filters (Sun Rays, Brilliance/Warmth, Hue Shift, Dodge/Burn, Lookup tables)
  • Real-time denoise
  • Save filter masks as a preset
  • Supports other third-party Plugins for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
Same photo of grape vines processed with Luminar as the after photo
After processing in Luminar – the new Sun Rays Filter applied among others. THIS is more what I envisioned for this shot!

Updated Windows version

If you are using a Windows machine, there is now an almost equally functional Windows version. The beta version has had many upgrades and you can now purchase the full program for Windows. More features are being rolled out over the next few months.

What’s coming next?

3255 414190

A couple of interesting things are coming up for Luminar and Macphun.

Name change – introducing Skylum

First, Macphun made an announcement recently that they will be rebranding in 2018 and their name will change to Skylum. So that will give you an idea of how invested the company is in continuing development of PC software.

They’ve gone so far as to remove the “Mac” from their name. So they will no longer be just Mac software specialists – but photo editing software specialists across both platforms.

They are setting up to give Adobe a run for their money – especially in light of Adobe’s recent announcements and Lightroom updates. More on the below.

Digital Asset Management coming soon

The second exciting thing is that Macphun has also announced that they will be adding a Digital Asset Management element to Luminar in 2018. Here’s what it says on the Luminar 2018 FAQ page.

screen shot of Luminar software digital asset managagement coming soon

Here is a short preview from the Macphun YouTube channel.

Luminar photo editing software for portraits?

Why not. Let’s have a look.

portrait of a woman and man unprocessed
Raw unedited version. This is my sister-in-law and her husband. They wanted fall colors in their portrait.
portrait of a woman and man processed with Luminar 2018
Processed in Luminar with just a one preset and a few adjustments.
same portrait processed with the sun rays filter makes for a great shot
You know I had to do it! Sun Rays added – but once again it works here. I love how it feels like the sun is coming through the branches. A filter mask was applied to keep the rays from hitting their faces. I think they will like it!

The bottom line

I’m personally not going to be switching from Lightroom any time soon (I’ll be using the LR Classic version).

But I will continue to use Luminar in addition to Lightroom.

If you’re feeling like you’re going to stick with LR, I’m there with you. But I suggest give Luminar a try anyway.

You might be as surprised by it as I was, and add it to your toolbox.

Penticton 2017 0927 unedited 750
Raw file, unedited. I loved the light hitting the odd-shaped hill in the background and wanted to emphasize it.
Penticton 2017 0927 luminar 03
Processed version with several filters applied. See – I told you I got carried away with the Sun Rays! But it works here, right?
lightroom alternative PIN3

Luminar might just be the answer for you – if you fit either of these categories

First, if you’re currently using LR6 and refuse to pay the monthly subscription fee.

Secondly, if you aren’t using any photo editing software yet and find it all a bit intimidating.

You’ll likely be pleasantly surprised at how easy Luminar is with its Quick and Easy workspace and use of Presets.

Either way – you can’t go wrong taking Luminar for a spin.

At $79 the price point is certainly pocket-book friendly, and with a free trial available, what have you got to lose?

Is Luminar 3 the Lightroom alternative you think would work for you? Let me know in the comments.

UPDATE: I wanted to offer a special incentive to my readers who may be interested in getting Luminar. They were nice enough to provide a $10 off discount coupon.

Get a discount if you decide that Luminar is the best photo editing software for you. Use the code DPM10 to get 10% off when you check out.

Cheers,

Darlene-1-250x130.png
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Comments

  1. I see the topic of DAM come up in several comments. Does anyone have a recommendation for a DAM to use with Luminar? I see a mention for On1 and I’m going to try that. Is there a DAM-only option that would play nice with Luminar? I bought Luminar and like it a lot but it seems like I still have to use Lightroom for the photo management. Sure Skylum has one coming, but it’s hard to say that’s going to be the answer when we have seen virtual nothing about it yet. For now, it just doesn’t make sense to call this a viable switch from Lightroom without some recommendation on photo management.

  2. Can I import raw image from my camera card with luminar. I have asked this question in several places and can not get an answer of how to do it. Please, if anyone can tell me if I can do this and how. I need detail instructions and can not find a video or anything else to help. There are so many videos and instructions on editing but nothing on how to import from camera card that I can find.

  3. Hi,

    I just finished testing some of the editors mentioned above, side by side. I tested primarily on images of architecture and portraits.

    I am assuming that you are familiar with Lightroom 6 which I together with PSE 2018 use as a reference.

    DxO did a good job importing and converting from raw to readable images. Images are rich and pleasant. At 100% you can see a tiny bit of red bleeding into places where you do not expect it. I reduced saturation and increased exposure a tad to bring images to what I prefer today. The software is clean and easy to get used to, it offers a more contemporary level of discipline and user friendliness than Lightroom, and produces rich and otherwise comparable results. Red eye correction works well. Projection transformations are not available, otherwise I had no need to go to different software to finish any images.

    I hope that DxO is serious about their commitment to this software and does not treat it like they did with their lens and camera testing in the past.

    Capture One also handles raw conversion well and produces realistic and pleasant renderings comparable to DxO and a bit more saturated than Lightroom. The software appears to belong to an earlier era where photographic language and habits were different. Though most of what you need is (probably) there, I found it a bit too thrown back to catch my interest. Vertical keystone correction is available but red eye correction is not.

    Topaz Studio is produced by Topaz Labs which also produces plug-in filter like Simplify, Remask and Clarity. Pre-adjustment renderings by Topaz of portraits struck me as too light, too low contrast and too noisy. A bit of Dehaze and Supression of artifacts helped but In spite of tons of available adjustments I could not reach a portrait quality comparable to that of Lightroom, PSE, DxO or Capture One. The real strength of Topaz Studio is the never ending choices of special effects. If you like a lazy mans HDR, Topaz Studio might be for you. A double use of 100% Topaz Clarity produces a cartoonish HDR that might please some for a while.

  4. I bought Luminar 2018 and I am not very impressed with the windows version.
    I don’t know about the rest of the photographers using windows but I calibrate my wide gamut monitor with xrite iprofiler pro and have created icc profile in windows color management which Adobe products use to accurately show the colors of a RAW file.
    Luminar on the other hand does not support windows color management but can export a file with color management.
    Is this a joke?
    Why would anyone develop a photographic program in windows without respecting windows color profile management.
    So if you are using windows 10 or any windows and you calibrate your monitor like you should and then use Luminar You can work for hours on on a picture and its no different than a blind person working on the same image.well the story goes like this, what you see is what you won’t get.
    How can macphun create a great program with so many cool filters but forget about the most important thing photographers need which is a color profile manager in their Luminar Engine!!!!!!
    Crappy programing in my opinion.
    I attached an image that shows lightroom on the right using the calibrated monitor profile and did edit a copy with lighroom adjustments in macphun. The pictures should look identical, but as you can see they don’t
    Luminar shows wrong colors, over saturated, bad shadows and darker overall. So any edits one does are completely out to lunch because Luminar doesn’t use a color management system in windows.
    That is a big joke in my opinion. I really don’t urge anyone to buy this program unless they do something about this major problem. Its great to add features that are impressive but at the end of the day any edit you make on this software will be a total waste of time.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee6dbc0315b69a8d050c72cb19a5a155193c3241bfb58d6d10d6aa10e6f62bf1.jpg

  5. NOTE: Hey all! Just and FYI – Skylum (Macphun) announced in their support group on FB today that there will be an update for Luminar on the 18th. You can see it here if you’re on Facebook. Just join the group if you have Luminar. You’ll likely get an email about it as well. https://www.facebook.com/groups/skylumsupport/permalink/1971481023089847/

    For those of you who had issues with the Windows version – this might help immensely. As I said, this is brand new software so let them solve the issues before sending it back or giving up.

    WINDOWS USERS

    Work faster. Luminar can now launch more quickly. Plus you’ll see a faster-editing performance and better RAM usage.

    Save Native files. Be sure to save your editing projects in the new native Luminar format. This makes it easy to come back and edit as you can even store the History states and source files in the document. Plus files can be shared between Mac and Windows users.

    Clone & Stamp released. Remove objects and blemishes with ease!
    LUT Mapping. Any LUT you’ve chosen can now be stored to a preset with no need to link to the original .cube file.

    More export control. You can choose to export to the Adobe RGB wide color profile or the ProPhoto space on export. You can also sharpen an exported file which is great for printing.

    Better masking controls. Users can adjust both the feather and density controls on a mask to refine the blending of layers. When editing a mask, a user can also press the X hotkey to toggle between Paint/Erase brush mode.

    More editing control. Now even more raw formats can be edited natively with our RAW Develop filter. All filters also support advanced blending mode options as well.

  6. I LOVE what Luminar 2018 for Windows can do for my photos, if only it didn’t do it so slowly and with such an absolutely painful UI. Performance and Usability issues galore, starting with the arrogant Mac-dev interface that features tiny cryptic icons without hover-hints in a brain-dead stupid user-hating gray-on-black scheme. AND a horizontal slider for the presets that’s absolutely impossible to grab because it’s paper-thin and the cursor naturally mistakes it for the window frame. Not to mention that it doesn’t remember window size, loads raw files PAINFULLY slowly, takes forever to export, and can’t do batch processing. Other than those minor quibbles, my photos look lovely – stunningly unique look – when processed with Luminar. But with all the issues, I’ve asked for my money back. Very happy to buy again if and when the issues are resolved. Perfectly Clear went through the same issues when the Win version was released – endless bugs showing Mac devs at work. Athentech did a wonderful job of getting it straight – Perfectly Clear is wonderful now – smooth as silk on Windows. Wish it could produce something similar to the really wonderful effects I get from Luminar.

    • Hi @runbei:disqus – how is the UI painful? I find it good, but then again I’m on a Mac. The presets slider, just scroll side to side, I guess I use my laptop trackpad for that so isn’t an issue. Yes it does batch processing – but only applying a preset. You can’t run exports on more than one at a time. It is my understanding the Windows is much harder to program for than the Mac OS so that’s why there are more windows issues. They also can’t predict everything so that’s why some bugs will show up after release. It’s understandable.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2b0beb5a8919a79a82c2fbbd9aae432f5d2b033acb59abdd5eea3416954cda49.png

      • Sorry for the late reply – just saw your question. Luminar (before I requested and received a refund) would gobble up 13 GB of my PC’s 16 GB RAM after I had edited maybe 6-7 photos, slowing the computer to the point of unusability (a word?). I would have to exit the program and restart. It took a long time to load photos and to save them. The arrogant black-on-black interface without tooltips and with rail-thin scrollbars was very irritating. The fact that you have to manually turn off the screen-eating horizontal display of presets, and that you can’t simply choose the presets from a list by default, shows a lack of regard for the user. Luminar had its uses for me – it could do some very nice stuff with the Center of Attention preset on people meditating in subdued light. I would buy it again if I had a little discretionary money. But at this point I would rather wait. Perfectly Clear did the right thing when it got out of arrogant Mac-mode and hired some really, really good Windows programmers and starting giving their Windows users some excellent attention and service. Hoping Skylum will do the same with Luminar.

    • I agree with the problems you are having. Windows is a huge market and macphun realized that there is major profits there. I have a monster i7 with a 1070Ti video card and 32 gig ram and my wife has an i5 Mac with 16 gig ram and crappy generic video card and Luminar renders twice as fast on the Mac then on my PC.
      Besides all the interface problems and very slow preview renders the color management for this software doesn’t exist. Any edit you make with Luminar is useless because Luminar does not support color profile management. If you calibrate your monitor Luminar could care less.
      Oh but when you save to a tiff or jpg now you have the option to tag a color space like Photoshop RGB to the file which of course you never saw any of these colors as you where editing but now you have a RGB tagged. What a JOKE!!!!
      How can anyone pout out a product and put the main importance which is to show you proper colors on your monitor last on their list?
      I find it funny because it seems Macphun thinks that photographers that use windows are stupid!
      I am really surprised that no other photographers are complaining.
      This issue is very clear if you use a wide gamut monitor.
      if you are not using a wide gamut monitor then you maybe fooled because the colors and density can look similar but if you look carefully there is a difference.
      Besides there is no excuse, any pro software should be using a color management engine that respects color calibrations. Macphun should not charge for this software as its still in Beta in my opinion.

      • @georgepagakis:disqus I think perhaps you are confusing “color space” and “color profile” inside Photoshop. They are not the same thing. Color space is how many colors the image contains: sRGB is the smallest, Adobe RGB is larger, ProPhoto RBG is the largest, CMYK is for printing (like a magazine not your home printer).

        Color profiles are for soft proofing inside your photo editor, they are called ICC profiles. You usually get them from your lab or printer manufacturer and they are for seeing how the image will look printed on a certain medium or substrate by a certain machine. You do not apply those to your images only use them for previewing.

        The reason you don’t see the color space options when processing a raw file is that it doesn’t apply until you save it out as a JPG or TIF. That is why you see it in the export dialog box. It works the same in PS and LR as well.

        In terms of monitor calibration I haven’t looked into that yet but you apply that to your monitor regardless of the program running. For example on my Mac it’s applied in the system settings (see screenshot). You also do not apply that to your images in PS either. It is for setting your monitor to a neutral position (color and brightness).

        Have I misinterpreted anything here? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d1d1da013fffef3e4d6b193907bf131de0a7d455c90593617ea8b7ac101f0f24.png

        • When you use Lightroom or Bridge to manipulate your RAW files you have color space in front of you face which you can choose which profile you want to see ranging from adobe RGB Adobe 98 or sRGB.
          Open up lightroom and edit a raw picture and then save it as a jpg. it will look identical to your RAW file you worked from.
          So basically what you are saying is if you are printing of photographic paper or CMYK your screwed? Because if you think your picture will look anything printed as you saw in Luminar you will be crying.

          When there is no color space to choose from like in Luminar you will see the wrong colors and when you save the file it doesn’t look anything like what you saw in Luminar.

          “The reason you don’t see the color space options when processing a raw
          file is that it doesn’t apply until you save it out as a JPG or TIF. ”
          Are you joking? So basically what you are saying is you spend hours applying all kinds of filters and color corrections and what not, and when you save the file and it will look completely different then what you saw in Luminar and that is OK?
          LOL be serious.

          and Yes Luminar did add profile when saving but that completely defeats the purpose because you are not seeing the profile colors you are seeing Monitor RGB which is not right. There no difference when they put out an an tagged rbg because all you had to do is go to Photoshop and assign a profile. I contacted macphun and they are aware of this and will be fixing this problem. Peoples eyes are not trained so they don’t see the difference.

          In regards to calibrating a monitor regardless of MAC or PC IPS or LED or whatever the hell you have. if you don’t calibrate the monitor with Xrite or Spider or others you are basically shooting yourself in the foot because your images will never look right and you will always wonder why. Also if ever you want to print good luck!
          Have you ever printed in photographic paper?
          If your monitor is not
          calibrated 1 cc of green or 1 cc of magenta will make a huge difference
          in your picture and lets not talk about density.
          Pictures are not only for the Web, people still print, Adobe uses all across their programs.
          I have attached an image of photoshop
          You will see color space sRGB and then if you look at the highlighted blue area that is the icc profile that Photoshop sees by the calibration software.
          You can always go to proofing and choose RGB but the problem with wide gamut monitors is they over saturate the color and darken shadows. it looks horrible.
          When correcting all your images ie for web then work on sRGB and when viewing on any monitors RGB it will look fine unless is wide gamut
          Wait until the new MAC pros are going to come out with their Wide Gamut monitors watch how many babies will complain 😛

          nothing personal but
          don’t give out misleading information if you are not 100% sure of yourself.
          Please research monitor calibrating and ICC profiles and you will see I am right!
          Oh and if you consider yourself a pro photographer and giving out advice then please calibrate your monitor 🙂

          • I didn’t delete anything. Probably the site op. Seems that when ever one challenges anyone there is always someone policing. The internet no longer has any freedom. I meant what I said and I am right 🙂 Do some research on wide gamut monitors. Mac Pro will be putting these monitors on their new computers and I am sure this issue is going to be bigger then it is now 🙂
            Good luck with your photography and please whenever you say anything back it up.

  7. “The LR bandwagon is a busy place as many photographers are rapidly jumping off!” Do you have actual data on this? I’ve seen a lot of comments online, but no data to indicate it’s actually happening in any kind of numbers. Also, replacing LR on the hope of a future release of a DAM seems suicidal for anyone that has to do real work with their photography.

        • Okay, whatever then. So according to you – no I do not have statistical data. I never said this was a scientific study, just my observations. If you can accept that great, if you want to be pedantic about the words I used, then we’ll have to agree to disagree and move on.

          • It’s not in the least bit pedantic. If online polls were meaningful, the tax bill would not have passed and there would be no possibility of net neutrality being destroyed. There are meaningful statistics and a bunch of disgruntled people online. As a working pro, who spends time with a lot of other working pros, I have yet to meet anyone who is switching. That has as much validity as asking a bunch of web warriors what they are doing.

          • Sure, but most of my readers here on this site are NOT pros they are amateurs who just enjoy doing photography. That’s who I speak to and write for mostly. I do personally know of at least 2 working pros who are sticking with LR6 and not upgrading. So it’s not 100% on anything.

          • I agree with you both. 🙂 realspear is correct, strictly speaking. But I’m betting there are tons of users who aren’t already invested with Lightroom who’d love a better alternative. I have a very successful professional photographer friend who says, “I live in Lightroom.” Which is okay if you decide to let LR take over your photos permanently and you’ve got the bucks for a lot of drive space. My friend has many big multi-terabyte drives. I use LR purely to export photos with a very stripped-down basic Perfectly Clear preset. Other than that, thanks LR, I don’t want to be your captive. Say – does anyone know a photo manager that can beat Luminar at its own game (at this point, Win Luminar is buuuuuuuuugggggy but wonderful).

          • @runbei I’m currently testing about 10 different raw image processors. Watch the website in a couple days for Part One where I go over 5 of them. Part Two will be January, working on it now. I’m testing: Exposure X3 by Alien Skin, Topaz Studio, Photo Lab y DxO, AfterShot Pro3 by Corel, Affinity Photo, On1 Raw, and Photoshop Elements. There may be more – the list keeps growing.

  8. Hi Darlene,
    You say that
    “If Lightroom is too complicated, this one (Capture One) will be way over your head.”
    That’s not my view. In fact, I find that C1 is much more intuitive to use than both PS and LR.

    • They have a Black Friday sale on this week on Luminar as well so you can get it for $69 – and I also have a coupon code to get you another $10 off so $59. Use the code: DIGITALPHOTOMENTOR and this link: http://macphun.evyy.net/c/172714/320119/3255

      Check their site but I believe (don’t quote me on it) that if you buy it now and get Luminar 2018 you get the free upgrade when the DAM comes out in 2018.

      I’m currently playing with a few other raw processors to review for you guys too. So far I tried On1 – did NOT like it! I haven’t tried anything by Corel for years that’s next but I’m not hopeful based on their website support page looking like it’s still from the 90s. Affinity looks promising as does DxO but it’s a lot more ($199). To be continued . . .

  10. Darlene, I’ve listened to you on podcasts and gained a respect for your experience and insights. I’ve never been to digitalphotomentor.com until today (regretfully) but I thoroughly enjoyed this post and found it extremely helpful. I’ve been using Aperture since 2.0 ($200) along with the NIK plugins ($500 for them) and this combination has helped me produce the highest quality work. I’ve tried many alternatives since Apple’s Aperture announcement and nothing works as well for me. So I’m still using Aperture and the NIK plugins and still producing work of the highest quality. I know I’m on borrowed time. I’m hoping Luminar (with DAM next year) will fit the bill and either still use my NIK plugins or buy the new set from DXO – if needed. I’m a little leery because Macphun’s Creative Kit (another $89 as it languishes on my SSD) didn’t match up to NIK (not even close), but as I implied, Aperture won’t continue to work forever since its (unforgivable) abandonment by Apple. Thank you.

  11. I have been using Luminar 2.2 exclusively this month and last month. I have moved away from Lightroom and am also learning that there were things not happening that I thought were happening with Lightroom. I thought that the boxcar files were in the Lightroom storage folder and, well, that is not true! So much of the work that I HAVE done in the past is, basically, going to require that the photos will need to be redone. Using the beta of Luminar has been a fun, frustrating and much more rewarding experience than anything that I have done in years! I am having FUN and putting out more work in a day now than I have ever done before. I have taken photos that looked so damaged and would not be editable (for me) in Lightroom and I am STILL coming up with some really neat shots. I also have a “model” with whom I am working and we are going to share the photo sales money. That is the deal and, to tell you the truth, she has a certain “quality” that is more approachable than some over the top beauty model. It is the most fun that I have had in a long time. I used to come home, dread doing the post processing and just leave the SD card in the camera. NOW, when I get home, out comes the SD and I am flying! Luminar’s newest version has made things more fun to learn, can be frustrating trying to do workarounds or even require two layers instead of one to get the job done. However, it is so much more “LEARNABLE” than is Lightroom! I am very stoked to see that new Bridge added to Luminar! Then, all will be complete, all will be right with the world and I will have more time for protesting for saving the earth and to keep people out of wars and stuff!

  12. I am fairly accomplished with Lightroom, a Lightroom Classic subscriber that includes Bridge and Photoshop. I’ve been using Luminar for a few months as a plugin to Lightroom, and find myself using it more and more, doing just the basic adjustments in Lightroom. However, there are times, rare as they may be, that I need Photoshop for further editing, and my LR subscription gives me that flexibility. If I were to leave Adobe, I would lose Photoshop. Also, there is the question of transferring a LR catalog to Luminar. I believe Macphun is saying that will be possible, but….?

    • I dropped my FULL complement membership to Adobe ($49.99/mo) and dropped DOWN to just $9.99. I figured out the over all cost for a year along with new software acquistions and learned that I can really save a HUGE chunk of cash. However, I will need to do somethings with Photoshop and am exporting all of my files, with layers, to PSD formats post editing. I really don’t know what to replace Photoshop with! There are so many programs and, personally, I can’t buy programs on the App Store because I do not live in the US and Apple has a problem with Americans who do not live in the United States! Their licenses are harsh, cruel and totally geographic from country to country! Affinity, I thought, would be good. Can only buy it on the App Store. I hope that ALL of these companies will stay away from sharing their programs there. So many will be excluded! What are you thinking about now that can be used to replace Photoshop? There are a few: Pixelmator, ON1 (would that work out? Hmmm) or what?
      Thank you for your feedback here.

      • Anyse,
        My $9.99 Adobe Photography membership includes Photoshop, Lightroom, and Bridge, so I’m sticking with that for the time being. I really like Luminar, use it as a plug-in in Lightroom, and have heard good things about Affinity, but it is new, very complex, and, from the reviews, still subject to bugs and crashes. Bottom line, Adobe has some real challengers on its heels, and will have to update with new features more often to maintain their dominance.

  13. Hi, I’m jumping ship too and I have been experimenting quite a few alternatives : Capture one, ON1, Affinity, Iridient and Luminar. I ended up up buying C1 (I shoot Sony; so it’s only 50€!) and ON1. ON1’s GUI suits me and the local adjustments are pretty straightforward. I am also waiting for Pixelmator Pro. After so many years of LR, this subscription mess woke me up. The only thing that worries me is exporting my LR catalog and losing the history of the adjustments I made in my photos.

    • Hi @disqus_hvaproJfUV:disqus How did you get C1 for that price? It’s like $299 USD normally.

      I’ve heard ON1 is good, I will have to test it. For exporting from LR what you may have to do is export all DNG files with an XMP sidecar file that’s readable by other programs. Do one or two to test it and see if that works. It might be a nightmare though.

  14. Thanks for this, seriously considering the gradual switch to Luminar (DAM obviously essential). I’m on Adobe’s CC Photographer’s plan, but have never like renting/leasing my software. But I have to ask you where this bottom photo was taken as it really looks like I place we ate when we were in Chile. I’m assuming it’s not it, but sure looks similar.

  15. What about Aperture die-hards? I came back to A3.6 after trying LR6 because DAM is much better, for me, and that was more important than potential gains in editing features – which I did not have the time and perseverance to learn, anyway. Can we expect an easy, lean interface, streamlined workflow coming from a Mac-oriented software developer? Any hints on Luminar’s DAM?

    • @federico_lazzari:disqus Sorry I’ve never used Aperture so I can’t compare. But I personally dislike most Apple-made software. Photos is banned from my computer as is Time machine. BUT what I can tell you is that Luminar does work as a plugin for Aperture!!! I haven’t seen the DAM for Luminar yet it’s not coming out until after the new year.

      • Though I use a 3rd party backup program (Carbon Copy Cloner), Time Machine has literally saved my entire system on at least 2 occasions. The idea of not using it seems utterly ludicrous to me. As for Photos, there are a lot of nice built-in and easy to use options including one to use an external editor such as Photoshop or Luminar, etc. and it’s a totally reliable DAM. Keep in mind that most people using Photos, particularly those who take a lot of cellphone pix, will likely find this basic photo editor to be all they need. A little background – I’ve written code for Photoshop and have taught it extensively at the college level. I’ve been a pro photographer for over 45 years.

        • @david_garon:disqus – ” The idea of not using it seems utterly ludicrous to me.” in regards to Time Machine it completely MESSED up my computer and when I migrated to a new machine sent the mess there too. You must have a completely empty hard drive that is double the size of the one you’re backing up and you cannot use it for anything else. So if you’re backing up a 2tb drive, you need a 4tb one for Time Machine alone – to me that is ludicrous. You cannot delete any of the backups from it either – I tried that and it corrupt my system so bad I couldn’t empty the trash without using the Terminal app and entering lines of code. I had to completely reinstall my OS to fix it.

          NO I use Good Sync to back up – much easier, more user friendly – same quality backups.

          As for Photos (and its predecessor iPhoto) sorry to be blunt but it sucks. It hides the images inside a database and the user cannot even FIND the originals without doing a lot of magic. I have helped at least 4 of my students get their images out of iPhoto because it was a mess on their HD. It duplicates images and takes up way more HD space than is necessary. You also can’t make it work on an external drive easily. Same with iTunes which is also now banned from my computer after it literally deleted several of my original files and locked me out of my own music (I had imported dozens of CDs from the disk to itunes hoping to downsize and get rid of the physical disks). Then my hard drive died where the music was saved and iTunes would not let me get a copy of it reinstated telling me I didn’t own the music but it would be happy to sell them all to me (again?!). So for Photos – it may be good for beginners but I’ve seen more make a mess with it, lose their images, have multiple copies of the same image all over the place (it copies the file when you add to a collection set not like LR) and on top of that its editing abilities are sadly lacking. If someone just uses their phone I’d recommend Snapseed over it and cloud backup. Way easier and better.

          A little background – I’ve been a pro photographer since about 1988 (so 29 years) and have taught it since 2011.

          • You don’t usually need to delete old backups because Time Machine handles that for you. In fact it is what one would want with any decent backup system. You also do not need a backup drive twice the size of the one you’re backing up. It is a good idea to have one larger than the amount of data to be backed up so that Time Machine, or any other backup software, can keep some history. But if your main drive is full then you have bigger problems than the size of your backup drive. Of course Time Machine can go wrong. It is software after all. But that applies to any type of backup solution, and that is why it is good practice to do test restores from time to time. This applies even to cloud backups. Time Machine however, like backup software in general, makes no changes to the drive it is backing up from. Neither should deleting anything off the Time Machine drive have any impact on the main drive. Time Machine does offer the facility to delete an old back through its interface, and that is how a user should do it. The same applies to all backup software. Deleting data manually off backup software’s target drive is a recipe for disaster, as in corrupting your backups.

            It is pretty much trivial to find the images inside the Photos library as it is just a folder. No magic required, unless one considers clicking mouse buttons magic. But the user also has the option to leave them outside the library instead.

          • Right – so . . .
            1 – I did not know you couldn’t just go to the drive and delete backups. It wasn’t clear I needed to do it from inside Time Machine’s interface.
            2 – it DID affect my main computer and OS so whether it’s supposed to or not it did
            3 – they recommend double size drive for Time Machine than the one it’s backing up
            4 – it’s all encoded so to restore it you also have to use Time Machine.
            5 – I just find other methods and systems better and easier to use

            As for finding images inside Photos library – no it’s not that simple as clicking a mouse button. When you go view the library there IS NO folder that shows images it is a hidden folder embedded inside Photos. You have to dig around to find it. Again I prefer other software and methods of storing images.

        • Agreed. I have used Time Machine to migrate between machines and to restore everything to a machine that had to go in for repair. I’ve also used it to recover files I deleted in error, and only realised they were missing months later. I keep wishing there was something as good and easy to use as Time Machine for Windows.

  17. Hi Darlene, thank you for your enthralling post. I am tempted to use Luminar 2018. but at this time only as an addition to LR. LR uses a data base containing all the metadata and changes you made to the RAW file. In the course of time your abilities will grow, and when you would like to rework an older photo session, you can. As I think I learned, this is not the way Luminar 2018 works (until now, please correct me, if I am wrong). You have to know in advance, which photo is worth to be reworked in the future and store it in a Luminar 2018 format that contains all the changes. If you do not, you have to start from the beginning. Quite often I am finding myself working on a photo that I finished one or to years ago, and I am thrilled what am able to do now.
    I would like to see this implemented in Luminars DMA, too :-).

    • @marcelrothmund:disqus That is correct Luminar does not have a catalog and I’m not sure how their new DAM management will work. But currently you save a Luminar native file and it keeps all your layers (and history if you tick off that option) in tact for later. But until we see the new DAM system I’m not sure how it will work, if edits will show, if you can scan and apply the same edits to more than one photo, etc.

    • Marcel Rothmund, can you help me to learn where my sidecare, or boxcar files are for the photos that I have done with Lightroom over the years. What is the folder name and what are the names of the files? I am confused. Make it simple for me, OK? I am working on a MacBook Pro.

      • @Anyse1:disqus Which sidecar files do you mean? There are e.g. RAW + embedded jpg-fiiles, or the XMP files used also as communication files to Photoshop. I may quote Jim Wilde (LR Forum): “There are many different types of “sidecar” files, XMP being just one of them. Another type is RAW+JPEG, and when the option to “Treat Jpeg files next to Raw files as separate photos” is unchecked, Lightroom processes the JPEG as a ‘sidecar’ file, and records it as such in the RAW metadata.”

  18. And when Luminar 2018 becomes Luminar 2019 you have to update for $39-59 which is $5/month instead of the $10/ month for LR… I like them both but don’t want to hassle with moving my photo library!

    • Yes exactly as Alina said @disqus_A9krH2nCZM:disqus With Luminar you aren’t forced to upgrade. You can keep going with 2018 as long as you like. In the past many people used to upgrade PS and LR every two years. So say $60 every 24 months is about $2.50/month. Pretty inexpensive. Or every 3 years $1.67/month.

  19. You did not mention Adobe’s DNG converter for those who stay with LR 6 (or even LR 5 in my case) when they buy a not supported camera. As colour rendering of NEFs in LR is still not accurate (skin tones), I am using Capture NX-D and the Nik Collection in my old Photoshop CS5. But over time I will try alternatives like DxO Photolab, Alienskin Exposure, Capture One Pro, on1 RAW etc. For me, proper colours are essential in RAW conversion.

  20. I have Lightroom 6 and just learning to use it and love it but I cannot use my raw files, only jpeg. If I had Luminar 2018, I would be able to do my raw files but how does that work if I want to do some work in my Lightroom 6 on those same raw files?

    • Hi @sherrierosen:disqus – why can’t you use your raw files with LR6? If you want to use both LR and Luminar you can use your normal workflow in LR, then open the image from LR into Luminar as a plugin. But let’s go back to why can’t you use your raw files in LR? It’s made for that.

    • You may check if the current DNG converter can read and convert RAW files from your camera. DNG is Adobe’s RAW format which can be treated by older LR versions.

  22. Hi Darlene, nice article, I have been getting fed up with Adobe and their antics so decided to try out DxO Photolab. All I can say is wow! I am pretty impressed with the software and although it is a bit expensive I like the fact that they have now acquired the Nik Collection from Google and integrated some of that U point technology into their product. It would be great if you could do a review on that as a lightroom alternative with its new features. I have tried Luminar but it didn’t appeal to me much for the cons you specified. I also have lightroom and photoshop and a suite of topaz plugins ( using these in the new topaz studio ) but I’m tremendously impressed by the new DxO photolab. Cheers, Andrew

  23. PJ: The $120 per year covers both lightroom and photoshop access. However I do agree after beta testing Luminar, I will use it for a year or two before I consider dropping Adobe programs

    • Hi @disqus_2gqOq7GBjA:disqus No, Luminar is made by a different company. But many people are really upset that Adobe has made a bunch of changes to Lightroom. After LR6 you can’t buy it out-right any more and you must be in the monthly subscription if you want updates. They also split into 2 versions of LR – Class and CC. Classic is for using on your computer (basically as it is now) and CC is cloud based where your images will all be in the cloud and you can edit them from any device, anywhere. But you’ll pay extra for that service.

      So people are looking for alternatives to Lightroom. This is one option. Does that help?

    • Good question Darlene, one that confounds many people new to open-source software offerings. Most often the development is done by enthusiasts, scattered around the world, collaborating via the Internet, who are rewarded by seeing their creations used and enjoyed by people everywhere. Sometimes they might be financially supported by commercial organizations who will provide paid-for consulting and other side-related services, but that is usually for much bigger projects, like Ubuntu Linux, for example (which I use instead of Windows or MacOS).

      Sometimes you will see a “donate” button, but in the case of Darktable, the developers eschew donations. It’s completely free, no catch.

        • Like Marshall said, the open source fans will work for free. One very large example is FlightGear, a flight simulator that is the largest one available now, with no comparable competition. There are NO charges anyplace if you download. For those with limited internet access there is a very reasonable charge to get it on disk.

          In the photo editing field there is GIMP, which has been around for years. When you say “somebody has to pay for it”, resources are donated by, call them hobbyists that produce professional work, everything needed. A few ads on the website takes care of some financial burden.

          • The GIMP is a great free, open-source alternative to Photoshop. It had a selection heal feature (for removing unwanted areas from an image) before PS. Actively developed and maintained by a large group of enthusiasts. Definitely worth a look, in my opinion.

          • Yes that is another free option. I haven’t personally used it but it comes down to – whatever works for you, use that. If those options work for you and you like it, awesome!

  26. Why don’t you review On1 Photo Raw 2018. I think it is a great LR replacement, maybe a PS replacement too. The newest version adds HDR and panorama stitching. About all I know that is missing is focus stacking….and I’m not yet sure it is really missing. The company is very customer focused. They poll their customers to know what features to add next. They also have lots of training videos. I’m pretty satisfied with them so far!

    • I was going to ask the same question ClarkS. I am using On1; it’s not perfect but has a lot going for it. Their DAM has a way to go so I will continue to use Lr5 for some time.
      I have also tried windows luminar however the beta is too incomplete to judge it
      Luminar’s DAM quality will be the game decider for many iMO
      Certainly interesting times even if a bit confusing —- so glad I never went with adobe CC.

      Thanks for the great article Darlene

      • Just curious, what do you find to be missing with their DAM? They allow lots of metadata (tags, ratings, colors, etc) and they make it easy to have multiple computers because they don’t use a database like LR. So for me, their DAM seems pretty good. What do you find that is missing?

    • Hi @disqus_Lgd2noBCLB:disqus – I haven’t tried that one but I’m considering getting trials of the ones I listed and doing a comparison. At the end of the day it also comes down to preference and which do you like best. It’s like the Canon/Nikon or Mac/PC endless debates.

      • Honestly? It’s not, On1 Photo raw is so much more, and far more complex… If Luminar is easy to use the curve to learn O1 is more intricated, yet not as much as Photoshop. It has tons of possibilities, lots of layers options, and also exporting in different formats, and for different needs. I think that’s the program that is approaching to Photoshop…. with the culling process available as well . Though my prefered one is Photomechanich. That one for culling makes things easy, fast, and it’s not a burden to the computer.

        Excellent review of Luminar.

        I am a very old user of the platform 🙂

        • I’ve just never gotten into Photo Mechanic. I get the reason for it but I do all my culling inside LR. So yes there is something needed in that area. But with so many options appearing there are a lot of different ones available and it does come down to what works for each person. So you really have to try them out to decide.

  27. Hi Darlene, I alwais enjoy reading your articles and this one is the best topic of the day… Good to know your preferences, and you being my teacher for many years, I will follow you on this one too. I already plaid a bit with Luminar 2018 and I like the output, but the Lightroom still mi number one software now. If Luminar will add file and folder handling, will create a better and stronger alternative to stand alone crowd.

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