Aperty is saying goodbye, and I’m honestly sad about it

This is one of those announcements I really wish I wasn’t writing.

Skylum has announced that it will stop selling and updating Aperty on November 4, 2026. As someone who loves Aperty, I’m incredibly sad to see its development come to an end.

The good news? Skylum has told me my subscription is being converted to a lifetime licence, so I can keep using it without an ongoing subscription.

The bad news? From November 4, new customers will no longer be able to buy it, and there will be no further updates.

It’s a bittersweet goodbye to a piece of software I would have loved to see grow.

Why this one feels personal

When you find an editing tool you enjoy using, it becomes more than another icon on your desktop. It becomes part of how you work, how you finish your images and how you bring your creative ideas to life.

That’s how I feel about Aperty.

Portrait photography is such a big part of what I do, and I’ve loved having a dedicated portrait editing tool in my toolkit. There’s something reassuring about finding software that suits you. You get comfortable with it, learn what works for your images and start imagining what might come next.

So yes, I’m disappointed. I was hoping there would be plenty more to come.

What Skylum has announced

In an email to customers, Skylum CEO Ivan Kutanin explained that the company is bringing Aperty’s sales and updates to an end after more than two years of development.

Skylum says it will focus its energy on Luminar and other technologies that help photographers create and enjoy editing. It also says the work behind Aperty will continue to influence its future products, including portrait editing within Luminar.

I’m interested to see where that leads. But I’ll still miss seeing Aperty develop as its own product.

What happens to my Aperty licence?

There is a welcome piece of news in the email I received: my Aperty subscription is being upgraded to a lifetime licence, with no subscription and no expiry.

That means I don’t have to say goodbye to using Aperty just because Skylum is saying goodbye to developing it. I can continue using a tool I love, and I’m very glad about that.

If you’re an existing customer, check your own email and Skylum account for the details that apply to your licence or subscription. Questions about individual accounts can be directed to support@skylum.com.

There is also a distinction worth understanding: a lifetime licence has no expiry, but it doesn’t mean ongoing updates or guaranteed compatibility with every future computer or operating system. With updates ending, that’s something to keep in mind over time.

For now, I’m happy I get to keep it in my editing toolkit.

A sad goodbye, with a small silver lining

I understand that companies have to make decisions about where they put their time and resources. As a photographer who loves this particular product, though, I’m allowed to be a little sad about this one.

I’m grateful that my subscription is becoming a lifetime licence. I’m disappointed that, from November 4, I won’t be able to recommend Aperty to someone new and have them go and buy it.

I’ll keep using it, enjoying it and watching with interest to see how its influence appears in Skylum’s future tools.

Thank you, Aperty, and to the people who built it. I just wish this wasn’t the end of your development story.

Why is Skylum saying goodbye to Aperty?

According to Skylum, this decision is about focusing its development efforts on Luminar and the new technologies it’s building for photographers. Luminar is at the centre of that direction, and Skylum says the work behind Aperty will continue to help shape its future tools.

You can already edit portraits in Luminar, including using its People retouching tools. While it originally had a strong connection with landscape photography, portrait editing has become part of the experience too. It sounds like Skylum wants to keep building on that, putting its energy into developing Luminar’s capabilities.

My hope? That we eventually see all the Aperty features I love find their way into Luminar’s People retouching panel. Having those tools together in one editing workspace would certainly soften the blow.

That’s my wish list, though, rather than a confirmed announcement. Skylum hasn’t promised that every Aperty feature will move across, or given a timeline. What it has said is that Aperty’s development work will continue to influence Luminar and other future products.

I can understand the reasoning, and I’m interested to see what they build next. But I’m still sad to lose Aperty as a dedicated portrait editing product. Understanding the decision doesn’t mean I have to love it.