Develop Raw Tool Masterclass in Luminar Neo

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Want to take your photo editing to the next level? I've created a comprehensive training course to take you zero to hero, from the fundamentals all the way to advanced level editing in 18 hours of organized training plus raw files to practice on. You can check it out here: bit.ly/NeoMastery 😃

[@macsprotte1436]

Anthony, your teaching style is as powerful as Develop Raw. Once again: great stuff.

[@alangauld6079]

Nice tip about curves v black/white sliders. I admit I had assumed they were doing the same thing and hadn't noticed the change in the histogram. Good to know.

[@bluejay3945]

Don’t even have NEO yet but wanted to comment because I ❤ you as a person. You have always been kind to me and I hope you know lots of people really appreciate you

[@lincolndunstan3057]

Tony, great effort!! For those watching the above, Tony has a "transcript" feature applied. You can print and read? as you do "the Job!!"

[@markconkling4223]

You are my Luminar guru, and at least for me, this was your best video (i..e., most informative) ever. Your discussion of White/Black vs. curves adjustments REALLY made sense (for my first time). After I retired from a university genetics professor, I moved from Lightroon to Luminar 3, 4, Ai, and now Neo and I found you. For the way I learn, your teaching method is spot on. I always learn something new, to me, each time I watch your videos. Thank you.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Great to hear that Mark. Thanks for letting me know 😀 Also a little daunting to know I'm teaching an ex University Genetics Professor! 😂 I'd best stay on my A game! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@mikepenny2491]

Great video and also your smiling again so keep it up

[@nzedsurfer]

Thanks Anthony, good to see you are back. Keep up your good work. We enjoy your tutorials.

[@keithboughey9787]

Thank you for another great tutorial Anthony as this one was especially helpful. I've been using Adobe for a while but the latest debacle with our personal files has been the last straw for me. I've had Luminar Neo for about a year now but I have always reverted to Adobe Camera Raw as this is what I've always used and was familiar with however, I came to your channel specifically as I knew you to be the Luminar Master. In all of the time I've been using ACR I've never once considered using the curves instead of the black and white adjustments and I have to tell you that this is definitely a game changer for me and as such you have gained a new subscriber. Cheers Anthony!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Thanks Keith!

[@iRockZ.]

To be honest I was a bit sick with Luminar but then I found your channel and got sucked in. GREAT teaching style!

[@TerryD23]

I'm really enjoying Luminar Neo. I'm new to RAW and have found your video efforts extremely valuable. THANK YOU!!

[@larrypalmer7136]

Best and most useful introduction to the raw tools in Luminar.

[@mirosaw9440]

Cool. No Luminara Neo learning guide explains this process so well. I have been using this program for several months and I have listened to many videos on this subject, but no one explains it so well. We are waiting for the next episodes.Mandatory subscription :).

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vaschro]

Thank You Anthony , I have found this video so useful , the explanation of using the curve tool over whites/black sliders is excellent and just really showed how I should be setting up my file in L Neo . Thank You !

[@TheCasinoguy]

Hi Anthony I hope you are in a better place mentally as I was saddened to hear that you were suffering . As a keen amateur photographer I really look forward to your videos and have learnt so much from you so please keep them coming and take care.

[@dougnelson423]

Anthony, another exceptional video. I'm so glad you are back, I hope you are doing well, I along with 57K subscribers are glad you are back as well. Cheers from Lake Havasu, AZ.

[@Ksu465]

From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU, Anthony, for this video ❤ very-very helpful 🙏

[@Centauri27]

I always learn something new from you that I don't see anywhere else, Anthony! In this case it's the "correct" way to set the white & black points. Never seen this explained even in all the Lightroom videos I've watched! Keep up the great info.

[@fransstaal1757]

Hi Anthony. You are a great teacher. Every time a pick up something new. Thank you.

[@dr.lopuckdds2603]

Great explanation as I am new to Luminar

[@t33lo]

@AnthonyTurnham Thank you for this tutorial and the entire LuminarNeo series. You have provided the most valuable and easiest-to-learn LN lessons and mentorship I have found on the internet..

[@barrywilliams3383]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. The information is very helpful starting out. I hope all is well.

[@NGC008]

Excellent! Just what I needed to get started, thanks for sharing.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

You're welcome!

[@uwes.2008]

What a pleasure to learn how to use Luminar with the help of your tutorials. I've always used the program rather intuitively and self-taught, but your tutorials really help me immensely to improve the editing of my images! Keep up the good work! :-)

[@egelb]

Thank you. I learned a lot about the develop raw section. Clear and thorough explanations, especially with setting the white and black point using the curve.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Thanks :)

[@JetCooper3D]

Switching to curves - Thanks!

[@TheEti1980]

Great video! I can't wait to get my new monitor and also the generative AI tools like water. Have many photos from Maldives and around water to use it with.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Just a note for channel members with the download option, I've added to our shared dropbox the original raw photo so you can follow along. I've also put my edited version and also the comparison between the options for setting the white and black point in there too. There's also a full (more creative) edit from the next upcoming video in this series. Enjoy! And as ever, thank you for your continued support! If you want to join you can use this link: bit.ly/Channel-Members

[@felixthecat1882]

Hi Anthony! It's great to have you back making regular videos on Luminar Neo. Yes, it's a great photo of a valley in New Zealand? 😺 Will you be making one demonstrating how to use the 'Magic Light' tool? This is one of my favourites when converting daylight into "night!" Next month I will be spending a few days in Shetland, so I hope to take some scenic pictures to share. 😻Nice to see you are much better! Regards from Felix the Cat. 😸

[@cl-audio]

wow, thank you! super info. YOU are the best

[@nzedsurfer]

Such good advice. I have shared your video with my fellow Luminar Neo users in NZ.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Nice one! Greetings from liitle ol' Rangiora just outside Christchurch. Where abouts in NZ are you?

[@grandegulo]

Thank you very much, the video is very helpful.

[@colinyoung9432]

Thanks for the great video Anthony....Colin..

[@jasonpountney670]

Brilliant, just started using Luminar. Very helpful thanks Anthony

[@willbrink]

Great "class" Anthony! Takes my Luminar abilities to the next level. I like to open a pic, and follow along with you and apply what you do in real time to my photo. Helps a ton.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Good to know Will. Thanks!

[@nadeemafzal8984]

Many thanks Anthony - been doing photography for 15 years understand a lot of theory but never got the hang of practical curves adjustments in this way Makes perfect sense Massive thank u

[@AnthonyTurnham]

I've also got this video on curves specifically: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp2WY6iCh82NnLc Such a powerful tool and really worth mastering! Thanks for the comment :)

[@wilhelmvongloeden]

So accurate. One of the most useful Luminar tutorials so far. Thanks!!!

[@MojtabaRz]

Great Video👍👍

[@nadeemafzal8984]

Great tutorial Anthony- many thanks 🙏🏽

[@AnthonyTurnham]

My pleasure!

[@hughellins1422]

Another good one

[@michaelv1984]

Liked and subbed! This is the best starting guide. So thorough, concise, and very easy to understand and follow along. For someone who is brand new and doing this on their own it can be a lot. You open a program and are bombarded with tons of tools and layers and masks. Etc. I did nothing but get a migraine trying to sit down and edit my first raw. I’ve tried so many different applications; Lightroom, Lightroom CC, Corel, affinity photo 2, Darkroom, Gimp/RAW therapy, and Luminar neo. I was lucky enough to get 2 years of Luminar pro for only $100, I’d prefer to buy a lifetime, but two things kept me from going that route; no free trial (although supposedly they offer 30 day’s money back, I feel more comfortable with a trial I can cancel before being charged), and the fact that the expansion packs cost $200 so it would have been over $300 for lifetime and idk if I’d like the software as so far the ones I tried are way beyond my current skill level of zero and I also don’t know about paying for the expansion bc who knows how useful they’d actually be for me as I know nothing right now. So far Luminar seems to be the most beginner friendly so I’m glad I got the 2 years for $100 USD. Then as I master that I can jump off to Lightroom/ photoshop and expand my skill set as I grow. I can’t thank you enough! It’s so hard to find clear info on general raw development that is easy to understand and kept simple. I just took some books out from the public library. Luckily they have quite a few ebooks on the subject so I didn’t even have to drive there!!!!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Thanks very much Michael. Great feedback! 👍😀

[@hannahmountry5030]

Great information, really well put together. Thank you!

[@Greg_Ashley]

Another masterpiece video. Thank you.

[@robertmccutchan5450]

Thanks for such a great video! I have to learn Lightroom for an upcoming project, and these same steps can be used there also. Great information!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Yes, transfer it over to LR!

[@TomTom-ve9hv]

Thank you for this video! I do not understand why we can not see the picture parameters (iso, f number, speed, lens type...) or exif data in EDIT menu, during editing the pics. Need to jump back to the CATALOG page if need to check it.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

You're welcome. Yes maybe a hockey to show/hide technical shot data as an overlay would be good. A bit like Lightroom. But on the flip side, the developers may argue that once you're editing a shot, what relevance are the specs that went into the capture... I suppose ISO is always good to know for a guide as to how much noise reduction to apply

[@chase5860]

Beautifully put together as always Anthony. Hope you're feeling a lot better now mate?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

I am thanks 😊

[@kevinrutter4542]

Brilliant video

[@rebeccamoore4177]

Fun post production on this one. That poor guy on the ladder! 🙃

[@AnthonyTurnham]

🤣

[@paulross2561]

Great video. I have a question though, what is the middle slider on the Curves tool for?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Controlling the midtone point. So you can set the position of the point that controls the tones in the mid range of brightness.

[@CarolinePicking]

For literally years I’ve been getting it wrong, using black/white sliders and not finding good results and in 5 minutes flat you’ve opened my eyes with the curve too. Excuse me, I’m just going off to kick myself round the room.

[@burrdaddy]

Is that black/white slider suggestion also true in Lightroom? Use the curves rather than the slider? Thanks.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

I've been using it more in Lightroom too.

[@Jakub.S...]

Is this same process applicable for B&W photos? Thanks

[@danschreckengost6153]

Great video, thanks. What about the Noiseless Raw Extension? Does it do the same thing as Develop RAW/Noise Reduction?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

No quite different. Same end goal but the dedicated extension uses AI to improve the noise artifacts. I reserve using it for particularly noisy images.

[@alfonsodefeo2188]

Gradirei avere se possibile per studio la foto usata grazie

[@marknathan7744]

Good video unfortunately neo's chromatic aberration auto correct and defringe tool are pretty useless compared to acdsee and lightroom

[@andrewmckinney3053]

Hi Anthony ..... many thanks again for your clear teaching on the devveloping process. May I ask?: at the 3:40 point in your video, you mentioned not using smart contrast for a better option that you would explain later in the process. As you didn't return to this topic, do I assume you cover it in the sequel to come? Cheers!!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Spot on my friend! I cover curves in depth in this follow up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKezqJxrq8uhns0

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Since creating this video Luminar Neo has been updated and improved. You can get the newest version on sale here: bit.ly/NeoSale and maybe save more with coupon: ATNEO10 (sometimes Skylum de-activate the code if there's already a promotion running but worth giving a go!)

[@checkoff8281]

I used STACK photos. Is it a good workflow to stack the RAWs first and then develop the TIff file (stacked photo)? I tried to develop all the RAWs first and then stack, but luminar just uses the undeveloped RAW file. I thought its better to develop RAW instead Tiff files....?

[@matafilms]

Would you know if it's possible to rearrange the edits? E.g. move any edit up or down the stack.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Unfortunately its not. Not in the current version anyway. Did you see the video I did on the order of applying edits? kzbin.info/www/bejne/npi3lKx3eNlqiNE

[@SundanceBN]

Thank you for your videos!! Quick question: you did the sharpening and denoising with the Develop tool. Is it maybe better to do the denoising and sharpening with the corresponding AI tools?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Yes, if that's needed. FOr most photos that fall within the norms of softness and noise the standard tools are just fine. I save the more processor intensive AI sharpening and denoise for the photos that really need a helping hand in those areas.

[@Anheuer]

I have a fujifilm and i shoot in both jpg and raw. but when i import my raw files in luminar neo, i am strugling with the profiles. Not only do i see it with the jpg custom film simulation profiles which should only apply to the jpg, I also have the problem that it seems to use this meta data and apply it to the raw file when in luminar. But i guess a bigger issue is that i cant correct it because i dont have the raw options. My file is seen as raw, i can see that in the top right in the properties of the file, but when i go to edit it doesnt show raw, meaning that i cant select a profile to correct it. What am i doing wrong? :(

[@johnheuer6371]

Hi Anthony really enjoy your videos. I’ve got Luminar AI atm and I’m wishing to get Neo what happens when I upgrade. Do I still use AI or does Neo work separately? Thanks John.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hi John! They run independently of each other. So once you get Neo I'm thinking that'll probably just become your go-to editor. You don't need to run Luminar AI to make Neo work. Hey if you do decide to upgrade it'd help me out if you use this link: bit.ly/Luminar-NEO as they give me a small commission 😀 Also if you use the code ATNEO at checkout you save 10% (or it might be $10 I don't recall - but I think 10%, let me know which it is! 😀) Glad you're enjoying the videos. Best wishes, Anthony :)

[@ncc1701BB]

Anthony, is it possible to take all of the changes you have shown us and make it a preset?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

It's possible, but you wouldn't really want to as certain tools have been applied in a very image specific way.

[@gkp76]

When to use noise reduction in develop raw vs the denoise tool?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

When you're not satisfied with the standard noise reduction. So if things are still unacceptably noisy after applying normal noise reduction then use denoise AI.

[@TheLetsboogiedown]

Saved!

[@geoffhirst5338]

Very interesting chap, i would say almost worth a step by step blog post (PDF?) 😁 if it didn't create work for you. One thing I noticed, last weekend, we had some sunshine here in Scotland. I was out having a go with the focus stacking (Nikon staging) features of my camera, as well as trying it manually. All in all it worked well, until I returned to Neo and discovered after using Focus Stack, the resulting image has no Develop RAW option. I suppose it makes sense going by what you explain in this video but does this mean that you need to process every image you use in the focus stack prior to doing the stacking? Is there a way to apply the exact same edits you make to all the images of the stack? cheers fella.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Yes, you're right Geoff. Run a pre-process on one image and then right click and copy settings in the library module. Select the rest of the images and apply those edits across the set. Then export jpegs or tiffs for Luminar to stack.

[@purpleguy2159]

What a great tutorial! Really appreciate you sharing your wisdom Anthony! I do have one question, if you're working on a raw photo that needs noise reduction, would you run it through Noiseless Raw before going into Develop or after?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

If I have a noisy photo - beyond what I tolerate as acceptable then yes I would run denoise as a first step. For most of my really noisy raw files I'm using bit.ly/noisefree-RAW it's SO GOOD compared to other denoise algorithms. They do a free trial if you want to check it out!

[@purpleguy2159]

Thanks Anthony, I appreciate the tip!

[@DeanFetterolf]

When I open a Nikon NEF file from a D850 or Z8 I dont seen the RAW tag on the Develop module. Any suggestions?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hmm strange. You have to make sure it's the first tool you're working with. Don't change any other sliders first, also don't have any presets applied. See if that helps...

[@tillmanott]

You mentioned that the photo has minimum noise due to the iso at 64. I'm wondering: doesn't most camera sensors have there lowest noise at iso 100, while getting lower than this artificially darkens the image thus creating more noise?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

This was shot on the Nikon D850 that has a native ISO of 64. I've got others like the D800 with a native of ISO100 and my old D200 which is natively ISO200 (if I remember rightly - been ages since I used that one). But you're right if you dip into the artificially lower ISO's rather than the natively lowest setting then you start moving away from that lovely file with minimal noise.

[@acneubauer]

Hello, everything always disappears in Neo. I mark my favorite photos. I edit them and the next day it's all gone.Meaning :. the photos are still there but without markings and without my editing, everything back to the beginning, I have again Raw phots which have no favorite marking and no editing . Do you or anyone have a tip on how to fix this? Unfortunately, there isn't much help coming from Skylum.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hi. I'd like to offer some advice but it's not something I've ever experienced? The Skylum helpdesk is usually very good. Perhaps they just need another nudge 😜

[@kelaque6889]

Hello Anthony, maybe you can give me a tip with RAW. I shoot in RAW and when I want to edit the images in Luminar - they look much better in the preview in other programs and in the catalog than what I get out of Luminar with RAW development. There is a constant feeling of noise (even at ISO100), blurring and distortion in the image, which you can't get out completely. It's as if it doesn't recognize the camera even though the camera (Sony RX10 IV) is supported according to Skylum. Even if I install the Adobe DNG Converter and Luminar recognizes the profiles, it doesn't get any better. The only chance for really good pictures is I have the images converted to a DNG with DXO PureRAW beforehand (which of course makes the file size explode) and start editing with the DNG. Then there's a world of difference in terms of noise and detail alone. Do you have any tips - can I change something in Luminar so that I don't need this intermediate step and another file? Thanks

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hi. Part of the RAW workflow (for me) is setting up a good conversion that optimises the settings you mentioned and saving that as a starting preset. DxO conversion ( bit.ly/noisefree-RAW ) is definitely going to give you a beautifully clean and "better" starting point. When you see your preview this is often displaying the jpeg version embedded within the raw file that the camera has already processed. When Neo open the raw file it strips this back to the sensor information which is usually flat and lifeless by comparison (but as editors, exactly what we want for maximum control).

[@AnthonyTurnham]

The current best deal for Luminar Neo can be found here bit.ly/Luminar-NEO. You can try code ATNEO10 for an additional discount.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

BIG NEWS! Skylum has just launched a summer sale where you can save a massive 81% off Luminar Neo here bit.ly/NeoSale But the cool thing is in addition to that they've given me a coupon code to share with you so you get to save ANOTHER 20% (use code AFF-T5C1C0 ) I really hope that helps you out! It should work for both the perpetual licence and the subscription too. Enjoy😄 Best wishes, Anthony

[@AnthonyTurnham]

New to Luminar NEO? Skylum reached out to me today with a temporary discount code you can use to save even more off Neo and other assets in their Summer sale. Go here bit.ly/Luminar-NEO use code AFS-YtXN8E Hope that helps 👍😀

[@oldman1517]

Thanks much for your videos Anthony.

[@jamesrowe397]

It's worthless, I cannot use the Programme.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hey mate. Please elaborate? Computer won't run it, or you're not sure how to use it?