Photoshop Elements >
Gradients & Skies >
3 - Darken a Sky with Trees
If the sky has trees or other objects, use a selection tool,
such as the Magic Wand tool, to select the sky.
Be sure to check off as you go along.
Preparation
1) Preserve your
original file.
If you haven't already done so, go to
Preserve
Your Original File.
2) Create a Background copy layer.
If you haven't already done so, go to
Create a Background Copy Layer.
1) Select the
Magic Wand tool.
Make sure Opacity
is at 100%, and Anti-alias, Contiguous, and Sample All layers, are
deselected, all in the options bar.
Set the Tolerance
in the options bar.
Use a smaller number to select less of the sky, and a larger
number to selected more.
Here, a tolerance of 50 was used.
Click on the
sky.
2) Check to make
sure nothing is selected, other than the sky, by using the Selection
Brush tool as a "mop."
If you haven't already done so, go to
Selection Brush Mop.
3) Set feathering
after you make the selection by going to Select > Feather.
A radius of 2 was used here.
4) Select a
color for the sky.
Click the foreground color to open the Color Picker window.
Select a color in the Color Picker window.
The following RGB values were entered into the RGB boxes in the
Color Picker window.
R: 70
G: 132
B: 245
5) Select the
Gradient tool.
Select the Foreground
to Transparent gradient from the Gradient Picker window, as described
in the first section.
Foreground to
Transparent Gradient
Make sure, in
the options bar, that Mode is Normal and the opacity is 100%.
Make sure Reverse,
in the options bar, is not selected.
Make sure Dither
and Transparency, in the options bar, are selected.
Click, hold,
and drag a gradient from the top of the photograph to the center.
Here, the gradient was drawn at an angle, so the sky would be
brighter on the right side of the photograph.
6) Be sure to
save the selection if you may need to return to do more work.
If you haven't already done so, go to
Save
the Selection.
Enter sky as
the name of the selection.
7) Deselect
the selection by pressing Ctrl + d.
8) Reduce the
opacity of the Background copy layer.
30% was used here.
Original
Blue Sky Added
Reflections Selection
The reflections in the water no longer match the color of the
sky.
1) Repeat steps
one and two above, but select the reflections of the sky on the
water.
Lower the tolerance,
so only the brightest part of the reflections are selected.
2) Check to
make sure nothing is selected, other than the reflections of the
sky in the water, by using the Selection Brush tool as a "mop."
If you haven't already done so, go to
Selection Brush Mop.
3) Save the
selection as reflections, if you may need to return to do more work.
If you haven't already done so, go to
Save
the Selection.
4) Select the
Paint Bucket tool.
Make sure the
blue-sky color is still the foreground color.
Make sure Mode
is Normal, and the opacity is 100%, in the options bar.
Make sure Opacity
is at 100%, and Anti-alias, Contiguous, and Sample All layers, are
deselected, all in the options bar.
Set the tolerance
in the options bar.
Use a large number to fill the entire selection with the color.
Here, a tolerance of 70 was used.
Click on the
selection.
The reflections of the washed-out sky are now blue like the new
sky.
Original
Blue Sky Added
Blue Sky & Blue Reflections Added
Saving the Photograph
If you haven't already done so, go to
Saving Files.
You edit a preset gradient to better fit your needs.
