Quick look at Adobe's new Sky Replacement vs. Luminar

[MinAZ]

Just briefly worked with Adobe's sky replacement and while it is much easier than the old method (gone are now the select and mask + feathering days!), it is not quite the same functionality as Skylum Luminar 4.

Photoshop puts the sky replacement on a new layer, and there are various adjustments made which tbh I don't quite understand, however, the sky itself is a scalable object on a new layer which is a good thing because for whatever reason, PS doesn't automatically scale it.

Of course, this being PS you can do all the usual things from before including toning and masking and if you do enough you are back where you were before right? But I managed to, without understanding half of what is going on, still do a decent sky replacement. The one thing I haven't figure out yet is how to get the scene to match the sky tone, PS says its supposed to be automatic, it wasn't and it didn't, and I haven't figured it out yet but certainly hoping to doesn't include doing another color layer.

In Luminar, you press a button, select a sky, and its pretty much done, and there is a slider if you want to match the sky tone to a greater or lesser degree.

Currently, the win is for Luminar for me, but if you are PS power user then needless to say you would use PS since you already know how to do everything.

Summary: PS sky replacement is like and advanced sky masking tool using Sensei to select and mask the sky for you, a big time saver. It is not obvious to me how to do anything else although I am sure if I looked I would find a tutorial.

Luminar 4 there is a one click and done solution for sky replacement. I never bothered or needed to find a tutorial.

 

[Graham Meale]

Did you know there are at least three threads on this topic doing the rounds at present?

 

[hesbehindyou]

Thank you for taking the time to relate your experiences. It's particularly valuable because you'd used both.

Also, thank you to the poster that took the trouble to point out that there were another few threads about this topic. Your reply bumped this thread up to the top again, where I found it and replied, bumping it up to the top a second time

 

[Jestertheclown]

Just briefly worked with Adobe's sky replacement and while it is much easier than the old method (gone are now the select and mask + feathering days!), it is not quite the same functionality as Skylum Luminar 4.

Photoshop puts the sky replacement on a new layer, and there are various adjustments made which tbh I don't quite understand, however, the sky itself is a scalable object on a new layer which is a good thing because for whatever reason, PS doesn't automatically scale it.

Of course, this being PS you can do all the usual things from before including toning and masking and if you do enough you are back where you were before right? But I managed to, without understanding half of what is going on, still do a decent sky replacement. The one thing I haven't figure out yet is how to get the scene to match the sky tone, PS says its supposed to be automatic, it wasn't and it didn't, and I haven't figured it out yet but certainly hoping to doesn't include doing another color layer.

In Luminar, you press a button, select a sky, and its pretty much done, and there is a slider if you want to match the sky tone to a greater or lesser degree.

Currently, the win is for Luminar for me, but if you are PS power user then needless to say you would use PS since you already know how to do everything.

Summary: PS sky replacement is like and advanced sky masking tool using Sensei to select and mask the sky for you, a big time saver. It is not obvious to me how to do anything else although I am sure if I looked I would find a tutorial.

Luminar 4 there is a one click and done solution for sky replacement. I never bothered or needed to find a tutorial.

I've also used both, one after the other, on copies of the same image and I'd say that while you're right in saying that Luminar is a one-click and done solution of sorts, in my experience (I used it on hundreds of images from an air show where I was faced with drab, grey skies) that convenience is its only saving grace.

In just about every other aspect, it does a generally poor job and the adjustments just don't work properly.

Adobe also scores well as a one-click solution but moving the sliders does, unlike Luminar, have some effect and once you've opened up the masks, it would appear that much more adjustment opens up to you. I haven't delved very deeply into this yet.

It's unarguably less convenient to go that route than to accept whatever Luminar comes up with but the results can be much more pleasing.


"It's good to be . . . . . . . . . Me!"

 

[SteveinLouisville]

Just briefly worked with Adobe's sky replacement and while it is much easier than the old method (gone are now the select and mask + feathering days!), it is not quite the same functionality as Skylum Luminar 4.

Photoshop puts the sky replacement on a new layer, and there are various adjustments made which tbh I don't quite understand, however, the sky itself is a scalable object on a new layer which is a good thing because for whatever reason, PS doesn't automatically scale it.

Of course, this being PS you can do all the usual things from before including toning and masking and if you do enough you are back where you were before right? But I managed to, without understanding half of what is going on, still do a decent sky replacement. The one thing I haven't figure out yet is how to get the scene to match the sky tone, PS says its supposed to be automatic, it wasn't and it didn't, and I haven't figured it out yet but certainly hoping to doesn't include doing another color layer.

In Luminar, you press a button, select a sky, and its pretty much done, and there is a slider if you want to match the sky tone to a greater or lesser degree.

Currently, the win is for Luminar for me, but if you are PS power user then needless to say you would use PS since you already know how to do everything.

Summary: PS sky replacement is like and advanced sky masking tool using Sensei to select and mask the sky for you, a big time saver. It is not obvious to me how to do anything else although I am sure if I looked I would find a tutorial.

Luminar 4 there is a one click and done solution for sky replacement. I never bothered or needed to find a tutorial.

Just downloaded Luminar to check it out. Thanks!!!

 

[Tuloom]

Please, anyone, post some full size samples.