Since there are a few readers of this investment blog also interested in photography, this post illustrates how one can improve an image with a few minor tweaks using Luminar AI. Here are some specs for this image. I used a full-frame Canon 5D Mark II with a jpg setting. I now make all images using RAW. Since the image below is a jpg I was limited as to how much manipulation was possible. I now use a smaller camera as I tired of lugging around the large Canon.
Further settings were: ISO = 200, f/7.1, focal length = 35mm, and 1/500 sec for speed. The lens was the Canon 24 – 105 Pro. When there is available light I generally use aperture settings between f/5.6 and f/8 or the sweet spot of the lens.
Original Image
The following image was made in Bergen, Norway. The selection is a jpg image right out of the camera and it is a dull photo due to the overcast sky. Can it be improved? Near every image can stand some edit treatment. The buildings are actually quite bright in color so that is one place to begin.
The people on the far right are distracting and need to be cropped. The same holds true for the log piling in the lower left-hand corner. In addition, there is a tilt to the buildings on the left. All these corrections can be accomplished with ease regardless of the post-processing software.
Enhanced Image Using Luminar AI
In the following image I made the necessary cropping and straighten the building on the left. I also added some forbidding sky (clouds) so this area of the photo would have more texture. This is not a favorite operation for many photographers, but I find an interesting cloud structure adds a lot to an image.
Luminar AL has one slider at the very top called Enhance. That one slider can turn a “nothing” image into a keeper. I use it with nearly every photo I edit. Shadows were lifted and these brought more color into the picture. A few contrast additions and enhancing details completed the edit. These few edits bring back a memory of what I recall seeing as I looked down this water inlet into the city.
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A very nice end product, and a big improvement from the original. Thank you for sharing your process and your enjoyable photos. I took a photography class in college and you have a good eye for composition.