Posted by Rob Haman on February 8, 2009 at 2:38 PM
This has been a thorn in my side many times, repairing a blue sky that is much too dark blue to be realistic. Every tactic I try usually either gives me banding or color shifts in the green and red channels that are difficult to blend out.
Surely there is a workable process to this that I just haven't stumbled onto?
Posted by John Mumaw on February 8, 2009 at 3:09 PM
I know just what you're going through.
Which tactics are you using? Don't want to suggest something you've already tried.
This is a good example of where 16 bit images have a clear advantage over 8 bit images.
When all else fails, substituting another blue sky is always an option.
Posted by Rob Haman on February 8, 2009 at 5:13 PM
I primarily use curves for adjustments and then hue/saturation for targeted adjustments to individual color saturation. However, in the case at hand I have tried most of the other adjustments with similar results. I'm pretty well accustomed to most of the options within PS but I also would be willing to bet there is much more that I don't know.
I always work with 16 bit images throughout the workflow up to the actual printing process, after the sizing and sharpening for an image is complete i will then convert to 8 bit for file size to the printer.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 8, 2009 at 5:35 PM
About the last thing you could try is to go to Selective Color, choose 'Blues' and then pull the black slider all the way to the left. I suspect you may have tried this already.
I've had this same problem myself, and about the only fix is a complete replacement of the skies.
Easiest way I know is to use Selective Color under Adjustments. Go to the blue and cyan channels and use the black slider at the bottom of each dialog box to make your adjustment. It's easy, fast and very controllable. You can also adjust the color balance in each, but save that unless you really need it. The selective color bit works so well that you can "dial in" polarizer effects or "dial them out" at will. My favorite adjustment tool for landscapes.
I'll second Hank's suggestion about using Selective Color. Not only can you use this tool to fix skies, you can also use it to control blacks, neutrals, and whites by adding or subtracting black using the 'black' slider control. In fact, I use this tool more often than using Hue/Saturation or Color Balance.
Be sure to create a separate Selective Color Adjustment Layer so that you can discard your changes if they are not working for you.
Selective Color is a great tool, and is worth your time to do some experimenting.
-P
Posted by Rob Haman on February 9, 2009 at 7:08 AM
That was the tool I've been missing, thanks all!
Posted by Rod Barbee on February 9, 2009 at 5:46 PM
the other thing to do is to avoid the dark blue skies to begin with (which doesn't help your current dilemma). If you're polarizing the skies, try backing off a bit. That little 1 second fix is a lot faster than messing around in the computer.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 9, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Another option that should work in theory, but I've never tried is to process the image in LAB. By adjusting luminance only you should not have any shift in the hue. But converting from RGB to LAB flattens your image. So another method you might try is to use a levels layer in luminosity blending mode to see if that will hold the tones where you want. Then you can mask as needed. One way you might consider masking is to take the red channel and create a luminosity mask from that, then invert it. This would basically basically narrow the image down to mostly dark blues.
Ultimately, the closer your data gets to black, the less detail is available to provide the actual color.
Posted by Glenn Sloggett on February 10, 2009 at 8:46 AM
The Color select tool comes in handy for a lot of things,and once you get your sky selected you can
use use filters like gaussian blur to get rid of banding or despeckle to get rid of noise.By bluring the
background you can add more depth of field and then inversing your selection and sharpening the fore ground you can get some great High D effects.This has help me save some pictures that I was going to delete.There is a lot of good info in these posts. Hope I helped
Posted by Arnab Banerjee on February 12, 2009 at 8:51 AM
You can also try layer blending options. Select the sky as good as you can (with some feathering) and the cut-paste it as a layer on top. Then change the layer blending mode to lighten and play with the opacity
Discussion
10 repliesSurely there is a workable process to this that I just haven't stumbled onto?
Which tactics are you using? Don't want to suggest something you've already tried.
This is a good example of where 16 bit images have a clear advantage over 8 bit images.
When all else fails, substituting another blue sky is always an option.
I always work with 16 bit images throughout the workflow up to the actual printing process, after the sizing and sharpening for an image is complete i will then convert to 8 bit for file size to the printer.
I've had this same problem myself, and about the only fix is a complete replacement of the skies.
Be sure to create a separate Selective Color Adjustment Layer so that you can discard your changes if they are not working for you.
Selective Color is a great tool, and is worth your time to do some experimenting.
-P
Ultimately, the closer your data gets to black, the less detail is available to provide the actual color.
use use filters like gaussian blur to get rid of banding or despeckle to get rid of noise.By bluring the
background you can add more depth of field and then inversing your selection and sharpening the fore ground you can get some great High D effects.This has help me save some pictures that I was going to delete.There is a lot of good info in these posts. Hope I helped