Software How To

Luminar Neo is rapidly gaining popularity as a full-featured alternative to Photoshop and Lightroom. It’s affordable, has a myriad of powerful tools, and is easy to use thanks to its intuitive interface,

Like with any image-editing program you’ll achieve optimum results when using Neo properly, and one way to that is by avoiding five common mistakes and understanding how to fix them.

The straightforward tutorial below from the Clever Photographer YouTube channel explains all this and more in barely 14 minutes. Best yet, this episode comes with a couple extras, like a free Luminar Neo cheat sheet and a discount code for purchasing the software—both of which you’ll find in the description beneath the video.

Instructor Jacob Bors, AKA “The Luminar Guy,” is a professional landscape photographer and knows of which he speaks—as he’s posted over 150 Neo tutorials in the past. He says that he’s reviewed these previous lessons to come up with “five of the most common mistake photographers make when using this application.”

The first error has a do with using Raw files during the editing process. Bors explains that the first many users do is select the Raw file and move it into Neo’s Edit module. Then they jump into the toolbar and start editing with the various tools in the panel. This may sound like a logical approach, but Bors demonstrates a drawback with this method and he offers a more effective technique.

Next on the list are mistakes made when importing or exporting images. Here he navigates to Neo’s Catalog module and demonstrates the typical approach used for selecting and importing multiple files into Neo. Most uses do that and then move to the Edit or Presets module to apply the enhancements required. But this method has a few pitfalls and, one again, there’s a better way.

Bors focuses on presets with mistake #3, and while “you may only make this error once,” Bors explains the right way to get the job done. And like with all of his tips, he provides clear illustrations so his advice is easy to understand.

The last two mistakes (and solutions) in this very helpful discussion involve the proper use of Neo’s Edits tab and Layers panel. By carefully following Bors’ simple suggestions you’ll quickly improve your existing skills and advance your techniques. Be sure to download the cheat sheet and discount code after watching this video. Then head over to Bors’ YouTube channel for more tips and ticks.

And don’t miss the editing tutorial we posted from another expert, explaining the difference between Luminosity Masks and Blend-If tools when processing your photographs.