REPLACE DULL SKIES – FAST!

A great foreground is only half the story – if a bland sky lessens the impact of your shot, replace it digitally

The success or failure of a classic landscape is dependent on the light and conditions at the time of capture. If you compose a shot with the sky in the frame, but the sky is a bland white-out, then the only real fix is to return to the scene when the weather is more dramatic.

If that’s not possible, you can always take the shot to make the best use of the foreground and add a more compelling sky in software later. Photoshop’s Sky Replacement tool makes light work of this task and even includes a range of different skies to get you started.

The image above of the incoming tide swirling around the rocks was taken as a long exposure in the evening but, at the time, the sky was a bland, light grey monotone. By opening the original image in Photoshop, and going to Edit > Sky Replacement, you’ll bring up the Sky Replacement dialogue and from there, you can select a new sky from the available options. Alternatively, you can click on the Skies dropdown arrow, click on the cog icon, click on Get more skies, and then select Import Images to add your own sky shots to the library.

Once you’ve picked out a suitable sky, you can adjust the way it interacts with the foreground, changing the way it blends, and even tweaking the colour temperature of both the sky and the foreground. This is important, especially with coastal scenes, as the way the sky reflects in the water has a big impact on the overall tone of the image.

Sky replacements aren’t for everyone, but it’s a fun technique that can rescue a shot that would otherwise be destined for the bin.

The original sky (below) was lifeless, so Photoshop was used to add a more attractive one and improve the image.

Photoshop’s Sky Replacement tool allows you to select or import a new sky and blend it into your scene using a variety of sliders to control the look and tone.