Luminar AI updated: Portrait Bokeh AI added, offers AI-powered bokeh to replicate a fast portrait prime
posted Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 8:00 AM EDT
Skylum has announced a new free update to its flagship photo editing software, Luminar AI. The new update, which is Update 4, adds a few new features but is highlighted by the much-anticipated Portrait Bokeh AI feature.
Portrait Bokeh AI builds upon Skylum's AI-guided depth mapping tools to isolate the subject(s) of a portrait and create an automatic mask. The tool recognizes people in groups or unusual positions or poses. The AI creates a 'perfect mask to separate subjects from the background.' The mask is generated automatically, but you can add and subtract from the mask if you need to modify it.
Once the mask is created, Portrait Bokeh AI blurs the background to 'emulate the rich, hazy bokeh of a high-end lens at a wide-open aperture.' The bokeh is automatically generated, but it can be controlled via a strength slider. You can also further refine the background with sliders to adjust the background exposure, add a glow to highlights, set a specific depth of field and refine edges.
With Portrait Bokeh AI, you can get natural-looking results across a wide range of portrait situations without needing to use an expensive pro-grade portrait lens with a fast maximum aperture. Of course, even if you do own a great portrait lens, it may not always be well-suited to every portrait situation.
When combined with existing portrait-enhancing tools in Luminar AI, such as Face AI, Skin AI and Body AI, Portrait Bokeh AI can truly transform your images.
In addition to Portrait Bokeh AI, Luminar AI Update 4 also adds improvements to Textures. With the new update, you can preview Textures and see how they look in the browser. Custom Textures are now accessible within the dropdown grid, and artists can add their own textures.
In prior versions of Luminar AI, when using Sky AI, you adjusted a replacement sky's position using Vertical Position, Horizontal Position and Horizon Blending sliders. In the new update, these adjustments are now in the Shifting Horizon Control, which is found in the Sky Orientation section.
Luminar AI Update 4 is available now on macOS and Windows. You can update directly through the application's top menu bar. If you bought your software through the Mac App Store, the update is available in the Mac App Store.
If you've yet to give Luminar AI a try, you can learn more and download a trial by visiting Skylum. Luminar AI is available for $79 for a lifetime license.
All images courtesy of Skylum. Image credit: Maryna Yurlovskaya