How do I make sure blue skies come out blue, and not white?!

[Bianconero]

Originally Posted by WooD

I always use PS. Just a one minute edit.

Thanks Wood. Do you have a tutorial on how you did this? I did try this approach, but found it difficult with the tree's branches in the top-left hand corner so I dont think I used the best method.

[digirebelva]

Originally Posted by WooD

I always use PS. Just a one minute edit.

your background now looks fake. I have tried the same thing before but it never looks right.

[darrell]

Here's my one-minute edit... Simple selecting by color, clouds, and opacity adjustment and masking.



I'd get a filter if you really want a NICE sky. And I would think about underexposing the rest of the picture. It's easier to save underexposed shots than overexposed ones.

[WooD]

Originally Posted by digirebelva

your background now looks fake. I have tried the same thing before but it never looks right.

I think a fake blue looks better than a white out sky. Given a couple more minuets to adjust the color ranges more, and add a cloud or two in wood have helped.



::EDIT::
Darrel must have been posting just as I was typing, yeah just like that.

[digirebelva]

Originally Posted by WooD

I think a fake blue looks better than a white out sky. Given a couple more minuets to adjust the color ranges more, and add a cloud or two in wood have helped.

::EDIT::
Darrel must have been posting just as I was typing, yeah just like that.

It does look more natural now...What I have started to do is take sky photos, pp them, save them, and use them to fix blown skies...seems to work better for me.

[dlaf]

Originally Posted by WooD

I always use PS. Just a one minute edit.

Very nice! Can you share your steps, please, WooD?

[WooD]

Originally Posted by dlaf

Very nice! Can you share your steps, please, WooD?

All I did using CS2 was make a selective color layer, choose white, and then adjust the cyan, and red.

[darrell]

Originally Posted by WooD

::EDIT::
Darrel must have been posting just as I was typing, yeah just like that.

Haha. I posted like 9 hours before you did.

I like the examples above this with a sky photo being added in. I'm going to start taking pictures of the sky to add into photos.

[Bianconero]

Originally Posted by darrell

Haha. I posted like 9 hours before you did.

I like the examples above this with a sky photo being added in. I'm going to start taking pictures of the sky to add into photos.

I like the idea of adding a sky from a different photo, as this will look more natural. Does anybody have a step by step guide on how to do this for us photoshop newbies?

[dlaf]

WooD, I tried your step-by-step, but can't figure out the PSP equivalent for selective color in my layer (am still trying). In the meantime, here is a sky I've used a couple of times to brighten up a photo.