macOS – Using Luminar AI with Aurora HDR

Sending photos from Luminar AI to Aurora HDR

1. Launch Luminar^AI and select an image or a series of bracketed images you’d want to send to Aurora HDR.
2. Go to the File menu and choose Open In > Aurora HDR or Right-click on the image(s) and select Open In > Aurora HDR
   
   
   
3. A preview of your photo(s) will open in a new dialog box where you may want to make a few selections.
   • For a single image, click the Settings icon (gear) to choose from two options that can affect the opened file: Color Denoise and Chromatic Aberration Removal. Learn more about these options here.
   • For bracketed images, click the Settings icon (gear) to choose from three options that can affect the opened files: Ghost Reduction, Color Denoise, and Chromatic Aberration Removal. You can check the Auto Alignment box if there was a slight movement between each shot. Learn more about these options here.
4. Click the Create HDR button to begin processing.
   
5. Aurora HDR merges or optimizes the dynamic range of your image and then opens it for further editing.
6. Add Looks and/or Filters to stylize your photo.
7. Send your photo back to Luminar^AI by going to the File menu and selecting Export. Aurora HDR can save a variety of popular formats including JPEG, TIFF, and Photoshop PSD.
   

*Tip: Choose a unique file name or append _AuroraHDR to the filename.
For example, myphoto.raw is exported as myphoto_AuroraHDR.tiff. This easily identifies the image as an Aurora HDR edit.

*Tip: Automatically add your Aurora HDR export to your Luminar AI catalog
To do so, select the source folder as your export location.

*Tip: Create a high-quality archive version
To archive a photo, export it as a TIFF file. TIFF files preserve all the details and colors in an image and are great for printing.

!Note: When using Luminar^AI as a plugin with Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, or Photos for macOS, the option to Open In Aurora HDR is disabled. Instead, apply your Luminar^AI edits and close the Luminar^AI plugin or extension. Then, invoke the Aurora HDR plugin directly from your host application.

Using Luminar^AI as an Aurora HDR plugin

1. Launch Aurora HDR.
2. Click on the Plugins menu > Other > Open Plugin.
3. In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder and paste the following path: /Library/Application Support/Skylum Software/LuminarAI/Plug-ins. There will be a bunch of files in there, the one you need is in LuminarAIPlugin.plugin.
4. Select LuminarAIPlugin.plugin and choose Open.
5. This will launch Luminar^AI as an Aurora HDR plugin.
6. Make your desired edits in Luminar^AI. When complete, click Apply in the upper right corner to return to Aurora HDR.
7. Your edits will appear as a new layer in Aurora HDR.

!Note: RAW files not opening?
Click here to verify your camera’s raw files are supported by Aurora HDR.
If you’re trying to open an image from a camera that is not officially supported by Aurora HDR, the best workaround is to convert the image to a DNG file. You may be able to create DNG files in-camera. If not, you can install the free DNG Converter from Adobe.