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How do you guys change the sky in a complex photo
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Dec 5, 2017 08:28:44   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
Hey pp experts, I have a photo that has a white (cloudy) sky behind a complex structure of tree limbs with colorful leaves. I've looked at a dozen tutorials on changing sky color (to blue) but every one uses a mask from another photo employing erasing or painting to get around foreground objects. This, if not impossible, would take a year (for me) with this photo because of the complex tree structure with lots of sky showing through between leaves and limbs.

I would think there should be a way to isolate part of the photo to be changed and then just adjust/change one of the colors in that part; in this case the white sky to blue but I have not been able to find a tutorial that shows how to do that. I'm using Luminar, but even a photoshop tutorial may help as I may be able to translate the method to Luminar.

Thanks in advance for any helpful answers.

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Dec 5, 2017 08:41:50   #
PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL
 
Can we see the photo ?

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Dec 5, 2017 08:49:43   #
georgiapeach2 Loc: Georgia the Peach State
 
If you can send a picture I may be able to help

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Dec 5, 2017 09:03:46   #
rickdickey
 
Tomad,
What I have done in your situation.
Search for a sky only photo that includes both clouds and blue sky.
Paste a copy to a new, blank screen
Adjust the size of the pic to put clouds behind the majority of the tree structure of original photo, leaving blue sky and some small clouds in the observable sky.
Go to the original pic and select all major sky elements and the major sky areas within the pic.
Do an inverse selection and copy the result.
Go the sky pic copy and paste the selection you just made, adjust the size and position so you have a pleasing composite.
Save down or flatten image to unify new photo.
Adjust the sky areas within the tree that correspond to the new sky.

By using the sky background with clouds allows to viewer to understand that the light areas in the tree structure are clouds and gives variation in the sky rather than just monotone blue.
Luck Rick

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Dec 5, 2017 09:12:17   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
PhotoKurtz wrote:
Can we see the photo ?


Ok, but I want to learn by doing it myself so I'm looking for suggestions of the best way(s) to do it. I don't just want someone to do it for me...



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Dec 5, 2017 09:13:26   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
rickdickey wrote:
Tomad,
What I have done in your situation.
Search for a sky only photo that includes both clouds and blue sky.
Paste a copy to a new, blank screen
Adjust the size of the pic to put clouds behind the majority of the tree structure of original photo, leaving blue sky and some small clouds in the observable sky.
Go to the original pic and select all major sky elements and the major sky areas within the pic.
Do an inverse selection and copy the result.
Go the sky pic copy and paste the selection you just made, adjust the size and position so you have a pleasing composite.
Save down or flatten image to unify new photo.
Adjust the sky areas within the tree that correspond to the new sky.

By using the sky background with clouds allows to viewer to understand that the light areas in the tree structure are clouds and gives variation in the sky rather than just monotone blue.
Luck Rick
Tomad, br What I have done in your situation. br S... (show quote)


Thanks Rick, I'll see if I can find an appropriate sky to try that with, but the tree/cloud part is pretty big in the photo.


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Dec 5, 2017 09:53:42   #
jcdonelson
 
You mean like this?


(Download)

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Dec 5, 2017 09:56:47   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
Well, I don't want the bridge to blow up, but that is the sky I would like in my photo...

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Dec 5, 2017 10:03:17   #
jcdonelson
 
this was done with layers. The problem with your photo will selecting the sky in the branches, which is what you need to do. Fussy.

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Dec 5, 2017 10:09:58   #
bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA
 
In Lightroom, you can pull an adjustment gradient down from the top. If there is any detail left in the sky, it can show up.

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Dec 5, 2017 10:24:22   #
mborn Loc: Massachusetts
 
I use landscape pro to edit complex skies

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Dec 5, 2017 10:28:12   #
jcdonelson
 
To be honest, the sky and surrounding area is so blown out, it will be hard to get any detail back.
That the real problem, over exposed. That's what ETTR will get ya.

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Dec 5, 2017 10:35:42   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
jcdonelson wrote:
To be honest, the sky and surrounding area is so blown out, it will be hard to get any detail back.
That the real problem, over exposed. That's what ETTR will get ya.


The sky was completely overcast. I'm not sure that even if I had underexposed there would be any detail in the sky. It really was just white.

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Dec 5, 2017 10:38:25   #
tomad Loc: North Carolina
 
mborn wrote:
I use landscape pro to edit complex skies


Thanks. I'll check out the trial version of that to see if it will do the job.

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Dec 5, 2017 10:38:31   #
jcdonelson
 
If you were shooting RAW and had exposed less, you would have detail in the whole scene, and could have selectively adjusted parts.
I would say it is just plain over exposed.
Once you max out the ADC, it's over.

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