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Sky editing or replacement
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Sep 17, 2021 22:51:50   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
JohnSwanda wrote:
The examples of it being poorly done are very noticeable, but if it is well done, you don't notice it.


Agreed.

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Sep 18, 2021 10:53:26   #
Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area
 
Cubanphoto wrote:
Just recently I went on a trip to Europe and had some amazing views (that I captured the best I know how in manual) of city and landscape. Unfortunately, for about 4 days the skies were as overcast and bland as it can be.
I have used sky replacement with PS Elements, but that is tedious and time consuming work. I search the internet and came up with a couple of options. In no particular order:

1. Landscape pro
2. Luminar
3. PhotoShop Sky Replacement
4. Befunky
5. PicStart

My questions:
what do you recommend or use?
How intuitive is it? Easy?
Just recently I went on a trip to Europe and had s... (show quote)

I use Luminar 4 for Sky Replacement, and it’s AI Enhance feature, which saves me time. Good results. You may want to download a free trial.

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Sep 18, 2021 16:07:24   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
chasgroh wrote:
Bill, your stuff is so good there is absolutely no need to justify to *anyone!*


Many thanks for you kind words. You will be put on the A list.

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Sep 18, 2021 16:33:22   #
mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD
 
chasgroh wrote:
...so, what if I use my own sky? It needn't be as dire as you propound, maybe it's art! Maybe we "...defenders to the death" (what wonderful hyperbole!) are not concerned with presenting "reality" but, instead, something that looks really good? Even reality that looks better! Haha...life's short, you need to relax, dude...


Don't worry, I'm loosey goosey relaxed. I like to get along with everybody and so sometimes don't say what I'd like. If I said what I really thought about sky replacement ( known amongst real photographers as " cheating"), I would offend 90% of the people on this forum.

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Sep 18, 2021 20:04:09   #
JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco
 
mflowe wrote:
Don't worry, I'm loosey goosey relaxed. I like to get along with everybody and so sometimes don't say what I'd like. If I said what I really thought about sky replacement ( known amongst real photographers as " cheating"), I would offend 90% of the people on this forum.


So I guess in your world, Eadweard Muybridge, one of the greatest early pioneers of photography, wasn't a "real photographer" because he replaced skies in the darkroom in the 1800s, although he did shoot his own skies. It didn't start with Photoshop.

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Sep 19, 2021 06:23:41   #
twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England
 
Do what you want with your photographs - nothing comes out of a modern camera that has not been processed to some degree.

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Sep 19, 2021 14:06:02   #
mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD
 
JohnSwanda wrote:
So I guess in your world, Eadweard Muybridge, one of the greatest early pioneers of photography, wasn't a "real photographer" because he replaced skies in the darkroom in the 1800s, although he did shoot his own skies. It didn't start with Photoshop.


I was familiar with Muybridge because of his stop motion series work, but totally unfamiliar with any of his other body of work. I am open minded and willing to change my mind about things after taking in other peoples points of view. I will check it out.

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Sep 20, 2021 02:05:56   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
Deleted.

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Sep 20, 2021 13:36:31   #
baron_silverton Loc: Los Angeles, CA
 
Cubanphoto wrote:
Just recently I went on a trip to Europe and had some amazing views (that I captured the best I know how in manual) of city and landscape. Unfortunately, for about 4 days the skies were as overcast and bland as it can be.
I have used sky replacement with PS Elements, but that is tedious and time consuming work. I search the internet and came up with a couple of options. In no particular order:

1. Landscape pro
2. Luminar
3. PhotoShop Sky Replacement
4. Befunky
5. PicStart

My questions:
what do you recommend or use?
How intuitive is it? Easy?
Just recently I went on a trip to Europe and had s... (show quote)


Luminar AI works very well when you use it correctly - Landscape Pro (the new version) is very new and may be very good - haven't used it at all yet.

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Sep 21, 2021 09:14:40   #
Cubanphoto
 
billnikon wrote:
Sky replacement in Photo shop is very easy to use. They have a new selection tool, you can just select the area you want, go to sky replacement and BOOM, your done.
Below is an example of how easy it was, I had a plain overcast sky and used sky replacement in photoshop to improve it, I am not a photoshop expert, and you really do not have to be to use it.
I also copied and pasted some of the sky into the water for a reflection prespective.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.
Sky replacement in Photo shop is very easy to use.... (show quote)


Thank you for sharing.

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Sep 21, 2021 17:16:29   #
RonDavis Loc: Chicago, IL
 
bobbyjohn wrote:
I use Luminar AI which I believe has the easiest and best Sky Replacement. The app has a standard set of skys which are good, but maybe not enough to please everyone. I also downloaded several "skys" from the internet, ranging from standard blue with clouds, to tornadoes, to an airliner about to crash. You can get some unique photos by selecting which sky you use. With the exception of the obvious "fake" skys, you must be careful not to make the sky look over-cooked or unnatural. If the initial sky replace is too over-cooked, you can lower the slider in Luminar AI to reduce the cooking.

Attached is a ZIP file of some of my favorite downloaded skys from the internet. I hope you find these helpful!
I use Luminar AI which I believe has the easiest a... (show quote)


Following this thread of OPINIONS....
Bobbyjohn.....this is a nice collection of skies....I've added them to my collection since I also use Luminar 4 & AI....and have pre-ordered NEO (introductory price) . Obviously I have absolutely no issues with sky replacement if it's done right. Thank You

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Sep 22, 2021 08:53:11   #
Cubanphoto
 
RonDavis wrote:
Following this thread of OPINIONS....
Bobbyjohn.....this is a nice collection of skies....I've added them to my collection since I also use Luminar 4 & AI....and have pre-ordered NEO (introductory price) . Obviously I have absolutely no issues with sky replacement if it's done right. Thank You


Ron,
I don't see the post from Bobbyjohn. It is probably because I am not familiar on how to use this "posting". I was also out for a few days and could not follow the thread.
Thank you

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Sep 22, 2021 11:25:08   #
RonDavis Loc: Chicago, IL
 
[quote=Cubanphoto]Ron,
I don't see the post from Bobbyjohn. It is probably because I am not familiar on how to use this "posting". I was also out for a few days and could not follow the thread.
Thank you[/quote

Scroll back to previous page dated 9/14 in this thread. Bobbyjohn posted a zip file of nice skies. (Thanks again Bobbyjohn!)

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Sep 25, 2021 11:43:26   #
Cubanphoto
 
mensch wrote:
I don't use any sky replacement options. If it is a cloudy/bland looking sky/day, I'll focus on other subjects, or "parts" of a landscape. In many ways it is ideal as the sky becomes a giant "soft box" and opens up all kinds of possibilities.

Richard Avedon said "There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate, none of them is the truth." Unfortunately the general public don't understand this. I feel that photographs, by their very nature, become (admittedly a bit naive on my part, especially in the digital age) the last bastion of honesty and integrity in art and particularly the media.

The general public has lost trust in what they see everywhere. I feel that we, as photographers, should do our part in upholding the veracity of our images. I advocate that a good way to begin would be to label any photograph that purports to be an honest and accurate representation of a scene when the shutter was pushed, but uses any kind of replacement (or elimination) as a "Photo Illustration".

The National Press Photographer's Association has written extensively on this subject and in a nutshell, they state that nothing should be done towards altering an image that couldn't be done in a wet darkroom, that is, dodging, burning, exposure, saturation (within reason), and contrast. Sharpening is a technical given. these might be good guidelines to consider.
I don't use any sky replacement options. If it is ... (show quote)


Thank. I agree that many edit to where it is not a real situation. If on the other you want to make it art then that would be different.
I not into making it art but showing the place as I remember. Just a bland sky may need a cloud

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Sep 25, 2021 11:48:34   #
Cubanphoto
 
BadPhoto wrote:
Nearly every example of sky replacement I see is simply horrible. Bad masking, color mismatch, inconsistent sun direction, inconsistent focal lengths. On top of that, using canned skies means you didn't take the picture.

I do sky replacement occasionally, but it is a lot of work. I have my own library of sky photos. I do 360 degree sweeps at different times of day. I use skies that match the lighting (direction of sun, angle of sun, amount of cloud cover) and I adjust the sky photos to match the focal length of my shot. The new Photoshop sky replacement is pretty good; it generates a mask for sky replacement and a mask for ground lighting. But I always have to dig in and edit those masks. I've tried Luminar, but I don't care for their editing tools so adjusting the masks is difficult.
Nearly every example of sky replacement I see is s... (show quote)


Agree. I am learning the technique but I can tell when the sky it doesn't go well with the lighting

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