Aperty: AI Portrait Editing Software Review & Tutorial

Updated on May 10,2025

In today's digital age, portrait photography has become a powerful form of visual storytelling. However, achieving the perfect portrait often requires extensive editing, a time-consuming and technically demanding task. Aperty emerges as an AI-powered solution, designed to streamline the editing process and empower photographers of all skill levels to create stunning portraits with ease. This review dives deep into Aperty, exploring its core features, real-world applications, and how it stacks up against traditional editing software like Photoshop. Get ready to unleash the potential of AI in your portrait photography!

Key Points

Aperty is an AI-powered portrait editing software developed by Skylum and Julia Trotti.

It offers a streamlined workflow, significantly reducing the need for complex Photoshop actions.

The software includes AI-driven tools for skin retouching, eye enhancement, and face contouring.

Aperty can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin within Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Presets created by professional photographers provide a starting point for various editing styles.

AI light control lets you re-light photos by adding light source for more creativity.

What is Aperty and Why Should You Care?

Aperty: An AI-Powered Portrait Revolution

Aperty is a portrait editing software designed and powered by Artificial Intelligence, revolutionizing the way portrait photographers approach post-processing.

It promises to simplify complex editing tasks, making professional-quality results accessible to everyone, regardless of technical expertise. Developed by Skylum, the company behind Luminar AI, and in collaboration with acclaimed portrait photographer Julia Trotti, Aperty combines cutting-edge AI technology with a photographer-centric approach.

The core concept behind Aperty is to automate tedious manual adjustments while providing creative control over the final image. By leveraging AI algorithms, Aperty can intelligently analyze portraits, identify key features, and suggest optimal adjustments, saving photographers hours of manual labor. As portrait Photography evolves, so does the AI technology backing Aperty. Regular feature updates and AI training improvements continually enhance the software’s capabilities, ensuring it remains at the forefront of AI-powered photo editing solutions.

Key features include:

  • AI-driven skin retouching
  • Automated eye enhancement
  • Intelligent face contouring tools
  • Preset-based editing workflows
  • Seamless integration with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

Who is Skylum?

Skylum is the innovative tech company that created Aperty with Julia Trotti. You also might know them as the genius minds behind Luminar AI.

This company has been a Game-changer for the industry and has made its name by making photo editing easy, accessible, and fun. By using AI, Skylum puts powerful technology in the hands of everyday photographers and pros alike.

Why Should You Ditch Photoshop for Aperty? (Maybe)

The video makes the point

that this new AI technology has almost completely removed the need to use Photoshop for most portrait work. While this might not be entirely true, it does reflect that the software can act as a one-stop shop for a lot of portrait editing that would typically be tedious, manual labor inside of Photoshop. However, Photoshop is still an option as the software can also be run as a plugin.

Real-World Applications of Aperty

Transforming Headshots

In the world of professional headshots, first impressions are paramount. Aperty empowers photographers to deliver high-impact headshots that capture the essence of their subjects. It can smooth skin, remove blemishes, enhance eye color, and subtly sculpt facial features to create a polished and confident image. The result? Individuals looking their best, ready to conquer their careers.

How To Use Aperty

Option 1: Photoshop Plugin

After installing the Aperty software, it is available as a plugin that can be used inside of Photoshop. To access it, create a new layer and then select 'filter', go down to 'Skylum Software', and choose Aperty. This allows you to make changes to the portrait within Photoshop.

Option 2: Standalone Software

Aperty can be used as a standalone software from start to finish. In this case, to open the software, just click on the Aperty icon

and the application will boot up.

Step-by-Step Editing With Aperty as a Lightroom Plugin

While some users might want to cut out other editing programs, you can also make this plugin as a compliment to other software such as Lightroom. In this case:

  1. Edit with a Present.

  2. Adjust the basics (contrast, saturation, highlights, shadows, etc.).

  3. Right-click the photo and go to 'Edit in' and select Aperty.

  4. Edit with Aperty.

  5. Click 'apply'.

Pros and Cons of Aperty

👍 Pros

AI-powered automation simplifies complex editing tasks.

Intutive and user-friendly interface.

Standalone software or plugin.

High image quality.

👎 Cons

There's potential for overuse and unnatural looking skin.

Cost of Aperty might not be worth it for casual photographers.

A Deeper Dive into Aperty's Core Features

AI-Powered Retouch Panel

This is where you'll spend most of your time.

From here you can touch up a lot of aspects of the portrait with ease.

1. Blemish Removal: Gone are the days of spot healing. Aperty replaces manual spot and blemish removal with a slider that does the hard work for you.

2. Face Skinning: This feature makes sure that the skin is smooth while still retaining detail.

3. Dark Circle Removal: With this feature, you can make dark circles around the eyes go away with a simple slider adjustment.

4. Eye Enhancements: Bring out the best in your subject's eyes by brightening them. You can also replace the irises with new colors for a fun creative effect.

5. Make Up: Quickly add digital make-up to your subjects to get that studio-quality look.

AI Lighting Controls

Relight images by intelligently analyzing the image and adding lighting sources to create a Studio-like effect. Add a light source to canvas

or adjust hue, saturation, depth, or customize the source to your style.

Related Questions

Can Aperty replace a professional retoucher?
Aperty can greatly assist with portrait retouching and enhance efficiency, but it might not completely replace a skilled retoucher for complex or highly specialized tasks. A professional retoucher brings an artistic eye, deep understanding of anatomy and lighting, and the ability to address unique issues in each image that AI might overlook. However, for everyday retouching needs and photographers seeking to streamline their workflow, Aperty can be a valuable asset.
Can Aperty also edit landscape images?
No, Aperty is a portrait specific software. For landscape images you should consider other AI software.

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