Aurora HDR is a powerful photography program that enables you to edit images into higher quality. Developed by Skylum—formerly known as Macphun—this software is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) editing and processing tool created in collaboration with HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff and has since been working with other acclaimed photographers. This program is different from most image editors you may know, as it’s more geared toward photographic properties.

How do you use Aurora HDR?

HDR image-editing techniques are designed to correct annoying lighting situations wherein highlights and shadows are present in the same image. However, they’re also used to create highly-processed images, tool. Aurora HDR offers dozens of advanced tools that are powered by the AI called the Quantum HDR Engine™. This ensures only the highest quality of bracket merging and color enhancement. The program automatically aligns and merges multiple exposures of photos, creating a single tone-mapped image.

Over 20 tools allow for layered compositions and targeted areas of graphic processing, like the polarizing filter, details enhancers, color toning, and more. Some are exclusive features: HDR Denoise automatically recognizes noise on your images and eliminates it, HDR Smart Structure allows eye-popping depth and details on the image, and HDR Clarity adds localized contrast only where it’s needed. Others are for pro photographers, like the Layers & Masking, Batch Processing, and RAW Support.

There are also over 80 unique high-quality presets called Looks, designed in collaboration with popular HDR photographers. These vary in tone, contrast, and such, and can be applied with just a click. The program can work as both a standalone application and a plug-in—integrating well with Apple Photos as an extension and as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. However, it falls a bit short in versatility compared to full photo-editing suites.

Worth the price

Overall, Aurora HDR is a great image editor meant for photographers, even just as an extension. While it may not have all the capabilities of popular image editors due to its focus on HDR, it’s still a powerful piece of software that integrates with other programs. With its intuitive interface and various advanced features, this is a highly recommended program to try out.