 Linda Buchanan |
Photoshop Help, Please: Darken Sky I have a landscape photo that I am very happy with except that the sky is a little blown out. Can someone provide me the instructions to darken the sky? I have elements 2 and 6.0. Please be really specific, step by step, I am brand new to Photoshop. Thank you so much.
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Elisabeth A. Gay |
Hi Linda, try this: In Layers, choose Duplicate Layer In the Layers window, close the little eye on the background layer and then click on the duplicatge layer. Select a feathered eraser and erase the area of sky that you want to darken. Click and hold the button down on the mouse until you have selected the entire area to be darkened. Then click on the background layer - the erased sky will re-appear. In the Image menu, you can use Levels or Curves to darken the clouds. When finished, go back to the Layers window, click on the little arrow in the top right and a menu will pop up. Look for Flatten Image, and click on that. And you are done.
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Mary N C. Taitt |
If the sky in the photo you are using won't darken in the background layer, you can substitute another sky using the same technique described above. I take cool skies with nothing in them and keep a file of these. Then I can use them when I have blank white skies, if the foreground is not too complex. I make 3 duplicate layers (that is, at least three total) The bottom layer is the original picture (actually a COPY of that is better), then the manipulated layer then the partly erased layer. If you mes something up, it's much easier to just make a new duplicate layer fromt he one you saved at the bottom. Mary :-)
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Rebecca A. Steed |
I'm glad Elisabeth and Mary could help you with the Photoshop portion, but something to consider if you really enjoy taking landscape shots is to invest in a Neutral Density Graduated filter. I'm attaching what Bryan Peterson taught our class about the filters: "I am often asked this question: 'How do you get the correct exposure in a landscape when the the foreground is not in the same bright light of the background e.g backlighting?' Hope this helps!
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Elisabeth A. Gay |
I've got an ND grad on order right now, and I also use a circular polarizer and a regular ND filter - I find them to be VERY useful.
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Elisabeth A. Gay |
BTW Linda, I bought a copy of Photoshop for Dummies not long ago, (I have 7.0, you should be able to get an edition specifically for 6.0), and was just reading about how to use the magic eraser to replace a background. I need to try it out for myself, but you are welcome to email me any time if you would like to discuss it.
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Linda Buchanan |
Thank you all for your help. I made a huge mistake though. I tried to fix the sky and it came ok, kind of purple though. I used eraser and I earsed the very tops of the trees. I worked on my original instead of a copy and I had already erased the card. I have some other shots, I don't like them as much as the first one though, that I can practice on, AFTER I make a copy! BTW does an ND filter work on digital as well as on film? The polarizer wouldn't have helped due to the condition of the sky and position of the sun.
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Rebecca A. Steed |
The ND GRAD filter (and regular ND filter) work on film or digital, because it is attached to the front of the lens, kind of like a lens sunglasses - it just shades the sky so that when you meter off the land area, your sky will come out a few f-stops darker b/c of the filter instead of blown out. Digital has a bonus of being able to see the picture in your viewfinder after you've snapped it.
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photosbysharon.com - Sharon E. Lowe Contact Sharon E. Lowe Sharon E. Lowe's Gallery |
Linda - look on my deluxe site - www.photosbysharon.com - and look under the articles. There you will find an article on creating a neutral density filter with Photoshop. It does require using layers, but I think it is pretty simple to do. If you need any more help, send me an email from my site and I'll see what I can do.
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