Last August, I looked over at the preview of a new app, Radiant Photo. It promises to do some of the heavy lifting on your unedited images and greatly improve them.
One of the people behind this app is Elia Locardi, a master photographer well known to our readers who collaborated with us on Photographing the World tutorials. If you’ve seen his work, you know the quality of his images. The current, Brilliant photo available for purchase. It can be pre-ordered today and it will be available for download this week.
So what is a radiograph?
It’s an app and/or a plugin and you open a photo in it. The image can be landscape, portrait, fruit bowl, anything really. The app applies AI to what it sees and recommends an image using the parameters it thinks will improve the original image.
If you want more adjustment, and most photographers will, there are two levels of control. One is a quick edit, showing a smart edit panel, and another option called “Detailed Editing” goes deeper, giving you some familiar and some new ways to adjust images. There are also presets.
As a plugin, you get them for Photoshop, Lightroom or Corel Printshop Pro.
Using Radiant Photos
I’ve had release contenders for a few weeks now, and I’m super impressed. It works on Windows and Mac, including newer Apple Silicon M1 and M2 Macs. I did my job on a M1 MacBook Pro and a M1 Mac Studio.
I fed it with hundreds of raw files (though you’re not limited to raw photos) and noticed instant improvements in dynamic range, tone, noise reduction, and exposure. The software works by examining each pixel, which makes it more accurate than conventional wider image editors.
I noticed that the AI controls never cut the highs and always respect the blacks. It also nicely cleans up color casts that can be difficult to fix by hand.
Of course, every edit is subjective, and sometimes, you may not like the choices made by the AI, but you have the power to change things to your liking. Of course, that’s what we do as editors, but in most cases I’ve found that Radiant Photo can get me started editing quickly, save time, and if you’re Professionals, money.
Radiant Photo can also handle multiple images. Just drag them into the app or open them all from the File menu.
When you load an image for the first time, Radiant Photo, using AI, identifies the type of image, landscape, portrait or less obvious subjects, like a newborn baby or food and drink. You will get a split screen and the option of Quick Edit or Edit Details. Depending on what you choose, you will get the appropriate controls. In the detailed edit mode, you can see the usual Lightroom-style controls for shadows and highlights, saturation, etc. But you’ll also see some unique controls like skin offset and depth, tone, and more. sky color and fidelity.
Here is an example:
Above is a drone shot taken in challenging lighting conditions. The photo was Radiant, with no adjustments, giving me clearer dynamic range, made some small but worthwhile color changes, and gave me details in the mountains that I couldn’t see in the file. rough. It doesn’t complete the image for me, but I can include the image in the detailed editing section of the app or go to Lightroom, Photoshop, or your favorite editor.
Here is another picture. With no adjustments needed, I got a beautiful image that I could add with additional work or with the tools provided in Radiant Photo, I was able to finish the photo to my liking.
My workflow goes like this for landscapes. I started all my pictures with DXO PureRAW 2. It deletes the raw files and its database can apply corrections to my camera and lens combination. From there, I import Radiant Photo, usually as a standalone version, or sometimes as a Photoshop plug-in.
When I’m satisfied, I go back to Photoshop to perfect whatever I deem worthwhile. When I used Radiant Photo, it was fast and reliable. No incidents, no surprises. A user guide is built in, but most options are clear in their purpose.
My thoughts
While I’m pretty good at doing manual editing of my files, I like what Radiant Photo gives me. It can “see” and give hints to things I may never have noticed. It never gave me bad recommendations, but that doesn’t mean I can’t come up with an equally effective edit myself. I think the best use of Radiant Photo is as the first step in the editing sequence, followed by your own efforts in Radiant Photo or back in your main editor.
The negative: If you’re a photographer who hates the idea of AI and wants to control every aspect of your editing process, then Radiant Photo is not for you. Similarly, Radiant Photo is not a one-click editor that does everything you could possibly want without effort. You may not like the color selection or tone it creates. You might not even like its options for sharpening or noise reduction.
However, I think most photographers will get value from Radiant Photo. I can see the batch feature being a big help for professionals. The software is created and guided by professional photographers, and you can feel that input the way Radiant Photo works. Its AI engine is based on Perfectly Clear Complete, a very popular and well-reviewed AI editor.
What’s missing?
Don’t think of Radiant Photo as a typical AI editor. No sky replacement, no panorama assembly, no layers, no HDR generation. Those features were never intended. Radiant Photo’s best use is pre-processing and applying AI to black and white points, color and white balance, noise reduction, sharpening, portrait and face adjustments, etc.
Buy radiant photos
Software can be command now. Price is $129 ($30 off for a limited time, includes standalone version and plugins).
There is also a subscription plan called Radiant Toolkit. After you purchase the software for $129, there is a $50 annual renewal starting after your first year.
It provides you with a one-year software update guarantee for your purchased product beginning on the date of purchase. Each month, you will receive a coupon worth $15 that can be used in a selection of Presets and LOOKs in the online store ($180 value).
You will also have access to webinars and special educational events in the Radiant Photo Collective community.
These privileges can be renewed each year and canceled at any time.
