Adding sky

[Nat]

I attempted to put a more interesting sky into this shot....tell me how I did? The seagulls were on the pier at a place called "Public Landing" I picked the plane in the sky for the fun of it. Is there a good way to change the skies?




Original image:



Sky image:

[enaiman]

Hi Nat,
I think you did a very good job in combining all these things (hope to get there someday ).
The final image does look good ... but ...
The light direction tells me that the photo was taken sometime in the morning or late afternoon; the light is coming from the right side and the sun was low in the sky. The clouds in the sky are not what one would expect in a sunny day. The clouds are too thick and their colour is an overall grey-blue-ish. For the final photo to look more natural, the clouds needs some light coming from the right.

Anyway - good job so far

[Nat]

Good point! I didn't give that a thought, but with the shadows on the deck from the bench....hmmmm... I will have to go thru all my photos and assemble a file on just skies...so that when I need a particular sky, I will have the resources.....Thanks for the comments! Photo of the birds was taken this afternoon, about 4pm....just noticed in the exif data, the clock is wrong on my camera....!!

[enaiman]

I am sure that if you can find the right sky - considering how well you did the job - it will look natural

[Rob Douglas]

It's a great start. Very good job blending. Just need to make them match the conditions. Possibly lightened with a gradient from the right and adjust the warmth an tones a bit. Good idea for when a great shot comes along but has a bland sky. Keep on it.

[FrankMi]

Is there a good way to change the skies?

For one technique, take a look at the tutorial at http://www.digital-photography-schoo...y-in-photoshop.

For some tips on choosing a sky to change to, take a look at the tips in post # 29 in Project 52 by Frank Miller.

[Nat]

Thank you, Eugen, Rob, and Frank. Good advice and Frank, your airplane technique was well done! It will definitely be worth saving shots in files of grasses, trees, and skies etc. to use when blending images. I am searching my files for a more appropriate sky for the birds on the dock image. Thanks, all! By the way, when I want to save information like in your project, I copy the information, print it, and file it in a binder with labels. So I can have it right there in front of me when working on something. (I also save to documents, but I like having the words right there at the same time as I am working onscreen)

[arith]

I prefer something looking like this; but I made a mess of it. No airplane just stormy sky.

[Nat]

Thank you, Steve. It's fun to see what others would do. The main thing I think about your cloud is a point Frank Miller made in his project 52, and that is " Distance matters. Shooting clouds that are close won't look natural for a scene where you can see to the distant horizon." I feel your clouds were shot much closer than the original shot of the bird scene I used. I am still searching my archives for a more suitable sky than I used.