Fix a blown out sky / lighten a dark foreground.

11/26/2004 06:32:10 AM · #26

Please don't stop Koriyama......we're on different time zones so I sometimes take a while to get back to the thread.

I'm finding this very helpful......am trying all these diff ps ideas out. Thankyou for taking the time

sue

giega

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

12/15/2004 01:53:29 PM · #27

I am glad you guys posted the steps on how to fix the sky. I have quite a few photos that were taken when there was an overcast so the sky would come out totally white.

I have tried the steps in Gimp2, I'll have to try PS. Here are the results:

Before:

After:

What do you think? You're welcome to edit, but please let me know the steps taken.

orussell

Canon EOS Rebel T6s

Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM

12/15/2004 01:57:55 PM · #28

Originally posted by giega:

Good job Giedrius. I've never tried it in GIMP - I'll have to do that. Thanks for posting.

12/15/2004 02:07:40 PM · #29

Originally posted by suemack:

been trying to lighten the foreground in this shot w/out losing the blue of the sky... Anything else I could try?

As Gaurawa noted, the Shadow/Highlight filter in Photoshop CS can handle this easily (and it's DPC legal even in Basic editing). Here's one with the Shadows and Highlights each pushed up about 30, then saturation added in the Blue channel. Note how the greens are maintained in the leaves, and the sky is still a natural blue.

12/15/2004 02:16:55 PM · #30

before.............................after

there is probably an easier way to do this, but here is what i did:
1) adjusted brightness/contrast
2) adjusted curves
3) selected along the horizon for the sky and made a new layer
4) multiplied the new layer
5) selected along the horizon for the ground
6) adjusted curves for the ground layer

lucky for me, the straight horizon allowed me to use the rectangle marquee tool to select.

12/15/2004 02:24:15 PM · #31

Originally posted by scalvert:

Here's one with the Shadows and Highlights each pushed up about 30, then saturation added in the Blue channel.

ok, i can find my way through the Shadows and Highlights, but have no clue what the steps are to saturate a specific channel...help?

12/15/2004 02:24:29 PM · #32

Same procedure as my earlier post- Shadow/Highlight adjustment, then played around with the saturation on different channels in HSL. Yes, there is some fringing around the trees, and you could burn in the clouds for more drama, but this image is still DPC legal under Basic editing. ;-)

12/15/2004 02:27:51 PM · #33

Originally posted by skiprow:

... what [are] the step... to saturate a specific channel...help?

Just go to Hue/Saturation under the Image menu in Photoshop. In the resulting dialog box, pull down the "Master" menu to a specific color and drag the Saturation slider left or right as desired.

Message edited by author 2004-12-15 14:28:32.

12/15/2004 02:36:25 PM · #34

Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by skiprow:
... what [are] the step... to saturate a specific channel...help?

Just go to Hue/Saturation under the Image menu in Photoshop. In the resulting dialog box, pull down the "Master" menu to a specific color and drag the Saturation slider left or right as desired.

ok, cool, i got that. now, not to be lazy (because i am going to try this out), but i am curious as to how this would differ from making an adjustment using the channel mixer and selecting the blue output channel...

12/15/2004 02:46:22 PM · #35

It might not be any different. It's just that I've been using Photoshop since v1, and the channel mixer is relatively new, so I'm more familiar with HSL.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

12/15/2004 02:55:39 PM · #36

i just tried the channel mixer. extremely different results. it shifts the whole image (i've been playing with sue's fern). the leaves lost their green...

K-Rob

Canon EOS-20D

12/15/2004 03:00:41 PM · #37

The method I use is as follows:

Setp 1: ctrl + alt + ~ (this is a tilde)
This selects only the highlights in the picture.
Step 2: ctrl + J
This creates a new layer for the selection
Step 3: Set blend mode to Multiply and change opacity to taste.

Step 4: ctrl + shift + E
This combines the layers again.
===========================================
To adjust shadows instert a step inbetween 1&2 and select ctrl + shift + I. This selects the shadows of the picture. Then for step 3 set blend more to Screen instead of multiply.

Mick

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/15/2004 03:20:22 PM · #38

Here's another interesting way of fixing a blownout sky. I've tried this technique, and a few variations too, and it's pretty neat.

White Sky Blues

ScottK

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

12/15/2004 03:43:58 PM · #39

I used the same concept to lighten the foreground statue in my Landmarks entry:

I needed to darken up the mission and sky a bit, but the statue was close to a shadow to begin with. So I applied a the primary curve layer to the whole picture. Then I created a curve layer to lighten up the statue. In this case, since it was a pretty sharply defined object I wanted to apply to, I used the magnetic lasso select the statue and create a mask, limiting the lightening curve to just that portion. I had read about various versions of doing this before, but this was the first time I used it, and was pretty happy with the results.

jemison

12/15/2004 03:51:16 PM · #40

Originally posted by pitsaman:

Ok,it worked :-)

When I click on the link, I get a red message saying invalid request and that the administrators are being notified and then kicked to home page. what gives?

12/15/2004 03:57:33 PM · #41

Originally posted by jemison:

When I click on the link, I get a red message saying invalid request and that the administrators are being notified and then kicked to home page. what gives?

you are being caught with your hand in the cookie jar. do that too many times, and they'll suspend your account

edit: actually, the image is no longer available on the server...nothing to worry about.

Message edited by author 2004-12-15 15:59:20.

ahaze

12/15/2004 04:01:00 PM · #42

Originally posted by giega:

Wow, I'd be very interested to know how you accomplished that, considering the sky would have had no information for you to work with. The result is fanstastic.

giega

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

12/15/2004 04:09:15 PM · #43

Originally posted by ahaze:

Originally posted by giega:
I am glad you guys posted the steps on how to fix the sky. I have quite a few photos that were taken when there was an overcast so the sky would come out totally white.

I have tried the steps in Gimp2, I'll have to try PS. Here are the results:

Before:

After:

What do you think? You're welcome to edit, but please let me know the steps taken.

Wow, I'd be very interested to know how you accomplished that, considering the sky would have had no information for you to work with. The result is fanstastic.

I will try to redo and write the steps down. It was my first try. I'll let you know. But as I said, I used Gimp, and the steps may not be the same as in PhotoShop. I am glad it worked since as you said there was no information to work on.

Mick

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/15/2004 04:56:26 PM · #44

Here's a quick edit using the gradient fill technique that I posted earlier. No doubt it could be done better, but like I said, it was a quick edit.

giega