Luminar vs Nik Collection

Library Module. Luminar includes two main viewing modes: “Library” for checking out and managing your images and Edit for improving them. You can find both on the right side of the workspace and navigating between them is easy and smooth. The Library module will be particularly useful for photographers who need a robust photo management system.

AI Sky Replacement. AI Sky Replacement is among the most innovative tools this software has to offer, as it manages to replace bland-looking skies with more beautiful scenery in a single click. You can either apply one of the skies included in Luminar or upload your own photo and the software will take care of everything else in a matter of moments. The result will look as natural as possible, which is incredible given that previously achieving such an effect took hours of manual masking work.

AI Skin Enhancer. As a blemish remover app Luminar comes with an AI-powered skin-enhancing feature that finds all blemishes and gets rid of them in a single mouse click, while also letting you smoothen the rest of the skin with the help of a slider.

Golden Hour. This feature was developed to add golden hour-like lighting to your image. Akin to Split Toning, this tool alters the highlights and shadows of the photo, introducing a pleasant orange tone. The latest version of Luminar employs content-aware functionality to detect people in the photo and deliver perfect golden hour photography results. The models will have a warmer look than the backdrop and their hair will be accentuated with “golden” highlights.

Luminar Looks. Luminar includes multiple “Looks” (i.e. presets) that can be used for single-click enhancements. Moreover, you can download additional Luminar presets, share them, and even design them yourself like you would in Lightroom.

Batch Processing. This function helps minimize the time you spend editing by applying identical editing settings to as many images as you want. This is particularly useful for photographers who constantly work with event, wedding, and sports photoshoots that tend to have hundreds of photos taken in similar conditions.

Amazing local adjustment functionality. The Control Points feature lets you introduce high-precision adjustments to the color tones, lighting, and sharpness of specific image parts. You don’t even need to mess around with masks or perform complex calculations since the selections provided by this AI-powered technology offer unparalleled accuracy.

Edit your photos step by step. Thanks to the U-Point and Control Points technologies that can be applied straight to a photo, Nik Collection allows you to pick the area you want to enhance, isolate it with a click and fine-tune the colors using precision controls.

Restore proportions. The software allows automatically fixing all distortions that appear in wide-angle images to deliver a photo that offers a realistic depiction of the subject.

Create an authentic analog photography look. Make a vintage photo look like collodion processes, create double exposure images, and add color cast effects. Replicate the look of classic vintage camera films or produce amazing bokeh photography.

Produce stunning HDR photos. With the help of state-of-the-art algorithms, Nik Collection can apply a fantastic HDR overlay to your photo that looks both natural and visually impactful.

Lens distortion. Thanks to DxO’s one-of-a-kind optical module database, you can fix keystoning, get rid of barrel distortions, and deal with pincushion distortion.