Hey awesome reader. A little more from me on Aperty, which if you read the previous post you’ll know I’m using for a current project. A couple of things this time round. Firstly Sklyum let me know that the offer I mentioned expires in the next day or so. Therefore, if you want to grab it, now’s the time. Secondly, I wanted to cover some of other features that stood out in my time so far with the software…

Last time I talked about a couple of features which really help with processing workflow. Fixing common issues with skin, etc. This time let’s focus a bit on the eyes. I LOVE a good iris in an image… or two depending on how you look at it. Sometimes that can be a challenge though, like the image above. Originally, with such a bright day in the African desert, the lovely Rose had some significant reflections in her eyes. Not a problem with Aperty, just a few button clicks and we’ve got some nice iris replacement. You can also keep things more natural and enhance what’s already there if you have a good clear image however here replacement was needed to remove the distracting reflection.



The before and after can be a little odd, so here’s the final version.

Aperty also has some cool creative enhancements, like the ability to add a flash of color via generated eyeliner. Again a click or two and a move of a slider and it’s done. It’s not my sort of thing usually, I tend to stick with whatever look the person had, however this software magic tickles my tech brain in a fun way. Nicely done Skylum!

Wrapping things up for now, I think the best way I’d sum up Aperty is that at its core it is a great bit of software for those processing people photos (including groups, street photography, etc) on a regular basis. Especially those who do sessions with the same model, or have a consistent look to go for over a large range of images. For example, being able to apply some sympathetic, natural skin smoothing and blemish removal quickly and easily across a batch of images of the same person is a real time saver. Oh, and the batch processing feature is included in the price, not as a charged extra as with some competing software. The speed and lack of clutter in the UI is also great, getting you (well, me in this case) to the more creative, fun processing as quickly as possible.

So, that’s it for now. As I mentioned, their current offer with 50% off and some free stuff ends tomorrow-ish. So it’s now or never for that. Be sure to share some of your creations with me… by email, or tag me on socials. Have fun! 🙂 And finally, here are a few more of my creations. 🙂

And Exploring Skylum Aperty

I’ve started work on a portrait project which is, let’s just say not insignificant, in its scope… because if I think about it too much, I realise it’s quite the crazy undertaking! So, while I was planning this out, I had to think about how my workflow might work. How do I make things as easy on myself as possible and keep the creativity as the priority, keeping the “how” out of the way as much as I can. I played with a few tools for a while and have now settled on Aperty. Before I get into that here’s a quick look at it:

That image in the interface, pretty great end result from minimal time. It was clear to me from early on in the testing that my normal tools, like Lightroom and Luminar, which I use A LOT, offer great processing but Aperty and its focus on portraits, offers a slicker workflow and quicker almost one click solutions.

Above you’ll see exactly what I mean. On the left, a before, right is the after. 2 button clicks to apply some sympathetic tweaks to the image. Areas to pay particular attention to are the bridge of the nose, forehead and right of the eye. In some cases, the wrinkles disappear, in others the harshness (which was partially due to the environment) is reduced.

Now, don’t get me wrong… if transforming your models into smooth skinned alienlike creatures is your style, that’s possible too… but for more terrestrial based portraits, the tweaks applied by Aperty in just a few clicks feel appropriate, never overdone. Above, that’s the blemish and skin smoothing sliders at work.

This being Skylum there are of course some fun additions to the normal options available too. You can for example have the software add some eyeliner to your model, or tweak their iris color as just two examples but that’s something for another day.

For now, what I see from Aperty is a great tool for anyone working on people pictures. The tools flow in a really nice, logical way for a processing work and a lot of the clutter you’d find in more general processing applications doesn’t feature here. Yet you can still do great environmental portraits too, which is what I think I’ll leave you with today… oh, and one more thing. You can grab Aperty for a 50% discount here, plus a bonus month on the subscription and a bunch of extras. Have fun!

I’m working on a new people-based photography project and decided I’d give Skylum’s Portrait Editor a try. New toys are always fun. 😀 Here’s one of the early results. Very pleased with the look given the demanding desert conditions that the tool had to deal with! More soon… and if you want to check out Aperty you can do so here.

Discount pricing ends Monday!
I’ll be launching these presets to the public in the next week but as a blog visitor you get early access and a reduction on the price.

You can grab them here for Luminar Neo, here for Lightroom Classic or here as a bundle of both. All with the discount pre-applied. Have fun!

And here is a quick preview…

Get ready to spice up your Luminar and Lightroom game with my 2025 Preset Packs, the most fun and creative collections to ever hit your feed! Each contains 15 brand new Presets. From the sultry glow of Applebees Flair (because nothing screams romance like unlimited mozzarella sticks) to the edgy vibes of Undies Crust Confusion (perfect for that post-apocalyptic party look), these presets are your ticket to standing out in a sea of boring filters. Whether you’re channeling Extreme Horseplay for your ranch-core selfies or diving into the monochrome Slippery Jacuzzi following beach days gone wild, I’ve got your back—with effects so bold, they’ll make your viewers double-tap faster than a CSI Bluelight Surprise in a private jet! And if there is a little too much staining, remember in Lightroom and Luminar, you can move that slider to drop it down to 50% or whatever feels good for your photo. Or, if you just gotta have more Biohazard-Pants-cowbell, you can move it all the way up to 200%. It’s up to you. Just you and your slider… no questions asked.

Who says editing has to be dull? Download now for Luminar Neo, Lightroom Classic or a bundle of both.

Made it this far? Well, here’s a bonus preset created image for you…



As mentioned above, you can grab them here for Luminar Neo, here for Lightroom Classic or here as a bundle of both. All with the discount pre-applied.

A QUICK UPDATE: This crazy deal ends on the 13th of February (TOMORROW) when the bundle returns to $99. So if you want to grab this price, it’s pretty much now or never! And remember, the FILES will remain available for download for the foreseeable future. It’s a pretty huge download for the whole pack, so no need to rush to grab them when you buy. They’re hosted at Amazon and will remain active and waiting for you. 🙂

A year or so ago I bundled all of my existing store content (presets, video tutorials, ebooks, etc) into one mega bundle for a ridiculously low price. I’ve now updated that with my new 2024 presets and for a limited time, in some crazy reverse logic sort of way, lowered the price further! So, for a short time you can get pretty much everything I’ve ever released on the store for just $24.99 HERE… and yes, it’s both new preset packs that are now included. One for Lightroom Classic and one for Luminar Neo! Have Fun!

I sat down for a fun chat with Jakub Bors a couple of weeks ago to discuss photography, creativity, my new presets (available here) and more. It’s available to view now…

If you’re visiting the site after watching my interview with the awesome Jakub here’s a nice quick and easy link to the new preset pack! And here’s an image created with one of them… have fun. 🙂

I’m excited to release these really fun and beautiful presets for you! I’ve been squirreling them away as I journeyed around the world over the past couple of years so they work in all sorts of scenarios, as you’ll see in the sample photos and videos.

And even better, you can get them for Lightroom Classic or Luminar NEO.

As a blog visitor you get a $5 discount on each of the packs. Just use the code BLOGLR for the Lightroom pack and BLOGLN for the Neo pack at checkout to receive the discounts.

There’s a mix for color and black and white situations and they’re super easy to apply. Just a few clicks. There’s also a slick slider in Luminar and Lightroom that allows you to adjust the extremity of the filter if you find it is a little overkill. Keep in mind though, that not all presets look good on all images. In fact, some will make some of your images look terrible… then there are others that love to be combined with a couple of others*. Poly presets if you will. We’re inclusive here, no judgement. Actually, experimentation is encouraged. Feel free to get hands on and tweak after you apply them.

(*I’m looking at you Mister Absorbent and Backseat Cougar… oh, did I mention that my preset names don’t exactly confirm to the norms?)

Here’s a look at the preset pack…

And here are some example images:

Here are those links and discounts again…Lightroom Classic or Luminar NEO.

BLOGLR for the Lightroom pack and BLOGLN for the Neo pack at checkout to receive the discounts.

I’ll release some new presets soon! Do you get my newsletter? It’s pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, and I do! Usually that’s where I release stuff first and sometimes exclusively. Anyway, if you want added just email [email protected] with the subject Presets and we’ll sort you out with news… In the last newsletter I asked if people wanted more presets and for which applications. It was actually a 50/50 split of Lightroom and Luminar! I haven’t released any in over two years, so I’m going through the process now of re-organizing and packaging them. Luminar is a little clumsy for installing them. Anyhoo… we’re on the case talking to Skylum to solve that! Here’s one I just finished editing with one of the new presets!