If you’ve used any of Skylum’s products, you know that they also work as extensions for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. But now, for the first time, the Ukrainian company has now released its very own paid extension for Luminar Neo. It’s designed for anyone who’s into HDR photography… Or those are you who aren’t, but you’d like to give it a shot. HDR Merge compiles multiple exposure-bracketed images into a single HDR photo, merging up to 10 photos.
I’m pretty sure the older ones among us know what HDR (high dynamic range) is, as it was all the rage somewhere around 2007. But in case you’re not familiar with it, here’s a bit about it and how awesome it can look if you do it right. Skylum’s HDR Merge is on a mission to make it look awesome, but also make the process faster.
As I mentioned, Luminar Neo’s HDR Merge combines up to 10 photos at different exposures. However, thanks to Skylum’s AI, you can even create HDR images even from a single photo. Skylum promises that it doesn’t produce halos or artifacts while enabling the highest quality of bracket merging and a “spectacular” level of color enhancement.
A great thing about HDR Merge is that you can combine it with Luminar Neo’s other tools. After merging brackets, you can apply any other AI-based tool from Neo’s arsenal. You can use a single slider to enhance the image, or go more into detail to tune colors and toning, glow, contrast, etc. HDR Merge is scheduled to be released on July 28, and the preorders have already started. If you place your order before 28 July, you get a better price. If you have Skylum’s Aurora HDR, you can buy Luminar Neo with a loyalty discount and receive the HDR Merge extension for free. And in case you still don’t use Luminar Neo, it’s currently at a discount so you can get it for €69 or €79, depending on whether you want one or two seats. Check out Skylum’s website for more information and orders.
