There’s an array of one-click ‘Looks’ that are similar to Instagram filters, allowing even novice users to achieve interesting results with ease. You get pretty much all of the same controls that you’d find in the likes of Lightroom, although often with a clever Skylum twist, but it also includes a wide range of tools for being more creative with your images. Luminar is, however, far beyond being just a slightly more sophisticated version of the basic raw-development software that’s supplied free with cameras. This high-key shot started out with the ‘Artistic Portrait’ Look. Luminar’s Looks provide a great starting point for creative images.

Users get free updates until the release of the next major version. It’s licensed as a one-off purchase of £69, rather than an ongoing subscription, and each license code allows installation on two machines. It can work as either a standalone program, or be used as a plug-in within other imaging software. So what, exactly, does Luminar do? Essentially, it’s a raw developer and image editor for Windows and Apple computers. For this review, I mainly used a high-end Core i9 Windows 10 laptop, but also tried an older Core i3 machine and found the software installed and worked, but ran slowly and with a few more bugs. So more than ever, it’s important to fully test the free 7-day trial version before you buy.

This means you’ll need a mid-range machine by current standards, and it’s unlikely to work perfectly on an old or inexpensive computer. Skylum says Luminar should run on any Mac built from early 2010 onwards, but Windows is a different story, with an Intel Core i5 processor (or better) required. Luminar is a non-destructive raw converter and image editing program for Mac and Windows computers, with some unique AI-driven featuresįirst, though, a note on system requirements.

Luminar 4 portrait