Skylum, who made quite a splash in the image editing space with Luminar and then Luminar Neo, is setting out to conquer portrait photography editing with Aperty. The company says it's aimed at professionals and serious near-professionals, and it will be available on November 7.
Formerly known as “Project Barcelona,” Skylum says Aperty sets a "new standard for the next generation of portrait retouching tools." By combining advanced AI technologies with state-of-the-art features, Aperty delivers unmatched precision and natural-looking results, making it the ideal choice for professional photographers who value time and quality.
Here Are the Features Included
- Face Mesh: Utilizing next-gen technology, Aperty processes up to 4,000 dots per face (more than 20 times compared to other photo editors on the market), ensuring that every edit is precise and accurately accounts for the depth and dimensions of the image.
- Face and Body Segmentation: Aperty's sophisticated segmentation technology detects up to 30 classes of face and body parts, allowing for highly detailed retouching and reshaping adjustments.
- Cutting-edge Synthetic Data Set Generation: Aperty’s AI models have been trained using synthetic data, ensuring that creators' original work remains secure and addressing some of the common concerns among photographers around privacy and intellectual property.
Other Key Features
- Skin Smoothing: Perfect for fashion or wedding photography, this feature smooths skin texture, preserving natural tones and details.
- Blemish Removal: Remove blemishes and other imperfections while preserving skin texture and permanent details. Remove or restore the freckles.
- Face/Body Skin Color Correction: Balances skin color seamlessly, enabling quick adjustments of red and green skin tones with a single slider. Effectively removes redness on the model’s face and green tones caused by improper lighting or shadows.
- Studio Light: A dynamic tool that enables users to set up artificial lighting sources and apply light textures during post-production. With the ability to create up to 5 light sources, users can place them anywhere in the image to craft the perfect scene.
- Presets/LUTs: Presets and LUTs allow users to edit and color-grade images in just a few clicks. Set an amount to apply and adjust the settings to achieve fine-tuned results.
- Masking: Use precise mask layers to create AI masks for people and backgrounds, or customize masks with brushes, gradients, or luminosity. Adjust edits per layer for full control.
- Makeup: Add blush, contour, and highlights in post-production. Fine-tune tone, amount, and feathering for a natural look. Aperty's Face Mesh and Segmentation technologies ensure perfect application.
Designed in collaboration with renowned portrait photographer Julia Trotti, Aperty specifically meets the needs of semi-pro and professional photographers by offering advanced editing features that streamline the workflow and deliver stunning, natural-looking results with ease.
Perfect one image according to your unique style, and easily apply the edits to the rest of the photoshoot series thanks to Aperty's batch processing capabilities. With AI-assisted retouching, photographers can edit smarter and faster, freeing up time to take on more projects, explore their creative ideas, and grow professionally.
Giving Aperty a Spin
I'm not a portrait photographer, spending most of my time on landscapes, but I found using Aperty a good experience. Icons are arranged pretty much in the order that matched my workflow, starting with cropping, basic image tools that you will find in other editors, like white balance, exposure, highlights, curves, saturation, sharpening, etc.
The next section deals with faces and bodies in your image, so blemish removal, freckles, skin smoothing, skin color correction, dark circle removal, face brightening, and skin shine removal.
Then there are options to enlarge or whiten eyes, adjust the mouth shape, and uniquely, apply makeup in post. Frankly, I thought that had a high potential for failure, but it worked well if you are subtle in its application. You can also apply eyeliner.
Then there's a reshape set of tools for face slimming and adjusting the body.
The last set of controls is for lighting, where you can adjust the direction of lighting, the hue of lighting, and even add some realistic light and shadow mixtures. This had great potential to be abused and look really bad, but here again, used carefully, it does add nice, naturalistic effects in post.
There's also Bokeh, to blur the background, and an assortment of LUTs, along with the ability to add film grain.
Aperty also includes an erase tool, and dodge and burn tools.
In using Aperty, I thought things worked quite well, and it was similar to the controls in Neo. I found a nasty bug in the Bokeh control as it left a visible line around my subject, and no adjustment I could find would eliminate it. As I was testing a beta, I expect it will be gone for the November release.
I tried a quick edit on a public domain portrait for the toning and lighting tools and thought it worked well. Here's the before:
And the after:
Didn't do much on the face, as it is a long shot, but I got a better image in the end. I did try some shots I've taken of friends and found the blemish removal tools robust and realistic. Face slimming was effective, but if you push any of the tools, you'll get images that look obviously retouched.
Some of the same tools are available in Luminar Neo, and it now becomes a companion program for Aperty, but the Neo tools are only a subset of the extensive tools in this new app.
Buying Aperty
From October 1 until the release date, Aperty is available at an early-bird price: a 1-year subscription plus 1 year free for $199/€179. After the launch on November 7, Aperty will be available at $29.90/€26.90 for a 1-month subscription or $299/€269 for a 1-year subscription. All plans include the latest version, 24/7 technical support, and activation on up to 2 devices.
By the end of September, there is an exclusive option to preorder a lifetime license for $249/€219, which includes 2 years of free upgrades and 5 years of updates. You can purchase online at the Skylum website.
Summing Up
Aperty looks like a powerful program, and the AI technology and the batch processing are going to be a real time saver for wedding photographers and others.
What I Liked
- Even in beta, the app performed well on an M3 Mac laptop.
- Aperty is easy to use, especially if you're familiar with Luminar Neo.
- There aren't many photographers who won't use every tool, or even most of them on every portrait, but they are there when you need them.
What Could Be Better
- I just hate, hate, hate subscription plans. I know the software companies like the revenue, but I'd really like to own my software.
- While powerful, I think Aperty is pricey.
Here's why. The competitive app in this space is the much-liked Portrait Pro 24 from Anthropics. It costs less ($59 on sale), is not a subscription, and has some unique features like reducing reflections in glasses and face reconstruction. If you add batch programming to Portrait Pro, it goes up to $179.99, which Aperty includes, but it's still less expensive than Aperty. The two programs overlap on most features, but there are things unique to both programs. From using both, I'd say Skylum is the most sophisticated in its use of AI, but Portrait Pro is very powerful. Check the feature set on both if you are in the market for a portrait editor.
"I just hate, hate, hate subscription plans. I know the software companies like the revenue, but I'd really like to own my software."
Yes, subscription plans are an absolute evil. Nobody would take out a subscription for a saucepan. But what would you do if saucepans were only available by subscription?
But what is a widespread misconception: owning software. As a software user, the most you own is a license to use the software. This license is either valid indefinitely when the contract is concluded or only for a certain period of time.
And I also prefer to use programs that offer a perpetual license. If I have to take out a subscription, I am ideally financing new versions that I might not even want. In most cases, however, a large part of the subscription fee goes directly into the software manufacturer's corporate profits without anything in return.
There'll be another version in 3 weeks. It will be almost the same called something slightly different. Your old software won't be supported or will cost you a lot. The new software will be full price and ultimately disappointing. Absolute shower of a company IMO, I'll never waste a single penny on them again.
I love Luminar 4. Neo, not so much.
They complicated the interface to use many more clicks.
"Why use 1 click when 2 will do."
I would be afraid that their next release of Aperty would have a completely different UI.
And, of course, monthly fees for a hobbyist are a non-starter.
Yeah...I like Luminar AI, and then bought Neo as part of a deal. The interface is awful and I almost always just go back to AI to do edits.
A product hasn't actually LAUNCHED until it's AVAILABLE for purchase and use. Lifetime licenses are being sold, but the product has not yet launched.
Skylum is an awful company that will try to sell you a product and then continue trying to sell you on why you didn't make a good choice and need to buy another of their products.
The "Lifetime license" for Luminar 4, and Luminar AI meant nothing as they replaced both with Luminar Neo. The Lifetime license for Luminar Neo means nothing as they constantly try to sell you season passes or try to get you to switch to a subscription model to get the new features.
They've been selling these "Lifetime licenses" for aperty for months now, saying that once the limited amount are sold out, it's gone forever.. then a couple days ago: "We've added 100 more lifetime licenses! This is your last chance!" while trying to push the "We're good people, we're from ukraine, please support us, we're a small company!" line
The "Lifetime license" for Luminar 4, and Luminar AI meant nothing as they replaced both with Luminar Neo."
Do your copies of Luminar 4 and Luminar AI still work? If they do, it still stinks if there's no discounted upgrade path as there is with, say, DxO apps.
"The Lifetime license for Luminar Neo means nothing as they constantly try to sell you season passes or try to get you to switch to a subscription model to get the new features."
Lifetime licenses have rarely included upgrades with new features. They can try to sell you upgrades, but the choice is still up to you. The one tricky bit is whether a lifetime license includes updates for compatibility with new cameras.
To put the value of subscriptions into perspective, I remember paying $600 every 1-2 years, way back when, for Photoshop upgrades.
I did the same with Photoshop (and Lightroom), but the difference is that those were pretty solid products and top of the line at what they did. I find much of Skylum's stuff to be "half baked" in that features are advertised with samples and announcements that make them sound great.. but the product itself is very lacking. Their AI features, for example worked nowhere near the way they were shown in the previews (where they again tried to get people to order before it released, with similar tactics as here of the features not being available for purchase later). The same goes for their add-ons, studio light extra, and others.
Luminar 4 and AI might still work, I have no idea, but it would be no different than them releasing Aperty here with 2 years of free upgrades and 5 years of free updates.. and then in 2025 stopping development completely to release "Portraity" as a new portrait app, with no upgrade path from Aperty.
I don't mean to be negative, but a lot of us have been burned by them in the past and see them using the same tactics now
Fingers crossed, but I'm not worried either way. If it works out, it'll be a nice surprise. There just isn't enough competition in this space.
Even though I haven't tried out this software, I would be shocked if it comes close to being as good as Evoto AI. After my previous experiences with Skylum software, I won't bother with this one.
If there's one thing I hate more than the subscription model, it's the pay-per-image model.
I don't like that either but, in this case, am willing to do it because I haven't found a better product anywhere. Plus, it's cheaper than paying a retoucher and the time savings for me is certainly worth something. Time is money, right?
Makes sense. But, in this case, I have two other options: a lifetime license for PortraitPro Studio Max, or a lifetime license or subscription for Aperty. That puts Evoto out of consideration for the time being. Plus, my portrait work tends to be high-volume - 300 deliverables from a one-day shoot is not unusual - which makes Evoto less cost-competitive.
Understood. It really does depend on your needs. While I haven't used Aperty, I've been so blown away by the feature set and functionality of Evoto (not to mention the unbelievable pace at which they introduce new features and updates) that I decided the extra cost was worth it for me.
I have a love hate with Evoto's new pricing plan. It's unfortunately they reduced the credits by almost half. For instance, their subscription Starter Plan went from 1200 down to 800. That's a lot. On the somewhat bright side, unused credits now rollover instead of expiring after 1 year. Had they kept the 1200 + added rollover, I would have jumped on that today.
As someone who has been using Skylum products for years: Don't buy this.
Skylum is an awful company to deal with, and while they do make good products.. their tactics and support will frustrate you to no end. The fact they're advertising "24/7 technical support" is an absolute joke, considering they have almost no support for any of their products.
They've been selling these 'lifetime licenses' for this software for months now, saying they won't be selling any more once they run out, then magically adding more to be sold. The software will be abandoned quickly and replaced by another piece of software (which will need to be re-purchased at full price) just like they've done with Luminar 4, Luminar AI, Luminar Neo.
Once you buy the software, they'll try to tell you why you need to switch to a subscription instead of a lifetime license (I get these emails several times a week on my Luminar Neo lifetime purchase, telling me all the features I'm NOT getting because I'm on a lifetime license instead of a subscription). They'll try to sell you upgrades and season passes.
I hate to be negative. I own several pieces of their software, I use Luminar Neo regularly, but it annoys me to no end the way they run their business and try to constantly sell, sell, sell things before they're ready for release. They're already selling 2025 season passes for other software, selling you features that won't be out for 6+ months.
EDIT: Why is the title of this article that they launched the software, when it doesn't release until November?
And $29.99/month?😂😂😂
Fair critique.. let's say it's rolling up to the gantry and the countdown has started. By 'launching' I meant to say announcing and it's coming. Thanks.
Mel
I made my purchase with eyes wide open. No, I don't use any other Skylum software. Yes, I've read of their "upgrade" tactics. I figured out that their subscription would likely be around $130/year, so a $249 lifetime license with 2 years of updates should be a wash, cost-wise. Hopefully, by the end of two years they'll have the kinks worked out. At that time, if it does what I need - and the previews indicate it will - I expect to continue to use it as-is for maybe a couple more years without further investment. If I get four years' use out of my initial investment, I'll be happy, even if new features lure me to pay for upgrades or switch to subscription later.
Additionally, the only other product that can do what I need for automated processing of large batches is PortraitPro 24 Studio Max, which sells for $179. I decided to splurge on Aperty instead mainly because of the enthusiastic reviews by other photographers and the clean interface.
Took a chance. We'll see. If it saves me a few hours of processing on a day-long corporate portrait shoot, it'll have paid for itself.
"it annoys me to no end the way they run their business and try to constantly sell, sell, sell things before they're ready for release."
Welcome to the Kickstarter era. It's how startups like Peak Design gather capital to get production off the ground.
With Kickstarters, contributors normally get some kind of discount or benefit. What's the benefit for getting Aperty production off the ground?
Potentially lower cost compared to subscribing. If, as it seems, purchase cost is roughly twice annual subscription cost, I'll be saving money in Year 3 if it still does what I need. Since I recently upgraded my cameras, I expect to still be using the same cameras, or other models from the current generation, then, so new-model compatibility is unlikely to be an issue for me.
Also, I figure that after two years of free updates and bug fixes it'll probably be mature, and given that I have a very specific set of requirements for it, I won't be hoping for new features the way I would for a general-purpose RAW processor like DxO PhotoLab, which I upgrade regularly. If it's good in Year 2, it'll probably last me until Year 5, at which point I'll have gotten a bargain.
I, myself, am half-skeptical, but in the grand scheme of my operating expenses it's a blip, so I thought I'd take the chance. Plus, I don't have an app like this, and I do occasionally have day-long corporate headshot jobs, so it's either this or PortraitPro Studio Max, as processing hundreds of portraits by hand in PS is utterly mind-numbing and profit-eating. Just the ability to batch-replace backdrops will markedly improve the attractiveness of this kind of work for me. I looked at Luminar and PortraitPro (basic), but they're not sufficiently automated to really help.
I'd be lying if I said the lifetime didn't pique my interest initially. But, it being Skylum, I'll wait it out. They don't have the best reputation, especially around here. On top of that, from my own experience years ago. Though, I'd be willing to give them a chance, but they don’t make it easy.
--- "I don't have an app like this"
If Aperty works anything like Evoto, you'll most likely love it, especially for volume editing.
Waiting it out is the best option. Skylum has previously said that they were going subscription-only for 2024, beginning January 2024. That apparently isn't true, since they're still selling it.
FOMO, misleading claims and overpromising and underdelivering have been my issues with Skylum. I'd love for Aperty to be the software that they really do amazing with, and I'd absolutely eat my words and buy it. I want to like it! They just have a bad reputation, as you say.
They follow a lot of the shady-business, scammer-like tactics with their marketing and products, pushing a heavy amount of FOMO: This (feature/product) will ONLY be available for preorder, once the product is out, you won't be able to buy it! We only have 100 licenses available! This will change the way you edit portraits! It's almost gone, only 30 left!! (per the email I got today from them).
I can almost guarantee they will be selling more lifetime licenses once the product releases (if not immediately, then around xmas/new years time). They've pushed this limited-availability multiple times in the past, and are basically the boy who cried wolf at this point.
Their misleading claims of "The lifetime license for Luminar Neo will include all product updates" sound great, until you hear that "product updates" and "product upgrades" (not mentioned here) are 2 very different things, and you don't get the latter. Those are available via pricy single purchase ($59-99) or by switching to subscription.
I'm hoping the app works as well as they want to push it, but I really haven't seen much in terms of great selling points on $30/month software. I'll definitely download the demo, but for now it seems like PortraitPro does about as good or better of a job, and I've learned not to really trust the samples that Skylum puts out.
"$30/month software"
Where did you get this number? Luminar license cost is 2x annual subscription cost. Divide the Aperty $249 license cost by 2 for an annual subscription cost of around $125. Maybe it'll be $149, or even $179, but that's still way below $30/month, which would make an 8-month subscription as costly as the lifetime license. Seems unlikely.
From the article itself..
"After the launch on November 7, Aperty will be available at $29.90/€26.90 for a 1-month subscription or $299/€269 for a 1-year subscription. All plans include the latest version, 24/7 technical support, and activation on up to 2 devices."
Ouch. That makes the lifetime license look like a lot better deal, assuming it's any good and isn't EOLed in Year 2.
Interesting article, thank you! Have you already tried Retouch4me AI-based plugins with lifetime licenses? I work for Retouch4me, so I can't praise our products too much =), but it seems like so few people know about us that no one even mentioned us in the comments.
Maybe you folks should contact reviewers so we DO know about you.
Yes, we collaborate with both bloggers and reviewers. There are several articles here on Fstoppers as well. But of course, you're right, we don't talk about ourselves enough to the world.
I liked Retouch4Me. Heck, a couple of years ago, that's the only reason why I subscribed to Adobe for use with Photoshop. I regularly use Dodge & Burn, Portrait Volumes, and sometimes Skin Tone. But, there are some new players in town. Retouch4Me is not a comprehensive editing software like Aperty and Evoto. Especially, Evoto, which I use, are continuously updating their feature set at neck breaking speeds. It's getting to the point where they are almost a one-stop-shop, at least for 90% of what I need done. Most likely, soon I'll use Evoto as my primarily editor and go back to using Affinity Photo for cleanups. Which means I may cancel Capture One and for sure cancel Adobe, which means shelving Retouch4Me.
There's too many features compared to Retouch4Me to list. If you've never used Evoto, I'd like to suggest you check them out. One thing you'll notice is it's very fast. Applying portrait retouching (several adjustments) takes less than 1.5 seconds compared to about 16 seconds of Retouch4Me D&B only + Photoshop Subject Selection.
--- "but it seems like so few people know about us"
I speculate it's mostly because of your pricing. The only reason I have 3 of your products is because I was able to get them at a large discount.
this company is just running away from every "product" it offers... they never fix bugs... just offer you a special offer to the next big/great/better version.
They seem to be scrambling trying to find ways to re-sell the same software, re-sell new license or upgrades or add-ons or replacement versions of them, and they often come out overpriced, underwhelming and full of bugs with "plans to fix it!" On the way
Their latest grab for money seems to be with Aperty and selling lifetime licenses only before release of the product, and pushing annual licenses with a benefit of getting to try the beta version of the software. They seem to put more effort into finding ways to re-sell a product and less on actually developing it
You stated everything PERFECTLY.
Tried them twice (should have stayed away after the first negative experience but one lives and learns) and just ended up deleting it from my systems each time once the upgrade instead of bugfixed Emails started arriving.