Using Elements 4 and pasting in new sky

[jomar]

Hi,
Would anyone be able to set out the steps for pasting in a new sky with Elements 4 please
Thanks in advance
joe

[Wendy]

Hi Joe ...

and welcome to the forum :)

First thing is to work on a duplicate of your image:

Select the original image
then go to the layers palette and double click on the background layer to rename it.
Now create a new layer below your image

Now you need to remove the sky in the original image
so use any of the selection tools to select the sky
I would suggest that you use the magic wand but set it to "Add to Selection" so that you can capture all of the sky.
When you have done that do Edit>Delete

Then you need to open your sky image
Select>All
Edit>Copy

Next go back to your original image
and do Edit>Paste.

You may need to use the move tool to reposition your new sky and you also may need to tidy up parts of your selection.

This way works best if the sky is reasonably easy to select and your image may not be suitable for it ... if that is the case them you could post your image to Pixentral then we may be able to find alternative ways to do it ...

http://www.pixentral.com/index.php

Do let us know how you go on :)


Wendy

[jomar]

Wendy,
Thanks for helping out. Have applied the steps, but must be doing something wrong as when I paste the sky image it covers all of the original....tried 3 times ,same result.
Sorry to be a pain....what am I doing wrong???

[Wendy]

Hi Joe ...

You need to put the sky layer below the original image ... that means that where you deleted the old sky the new one will show through.

So go to the layers palette and drag the sky layer below the photo layer ..

Do let us know how you go on with it :)

Wendy

[Fstop]

Hey Wendy and Jo: I do this all the time and have found it easier to do this.
First: make a selection of the sky you want to remove.
Second: Go get a picture with a sky you want to use and make a selection around just the sky
Third: After making a selection of the sky you want to use, choose copy.
Fourth: Then go to the picture where you want to replace the sky and choose: Paste into not Paste

This places just the sky in just the selection you have outlined.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[Daviskw]

Hi Joe

Elements is sure great, there are so many ways to do things. Here is another way to replace a sky.

Select the sky you want to replace as above. But don't erase it. Instead press Layer>New>Layerviacopy or just press Ctrl+J on a pc anyway. We are going to make a mask for the new sky with the old sky.

Now go to the picture that has your new sky. Select> all ,… Edit>Copy

In your original picture press Edit>Paste. Now your new sky will cover your picture, don’t worry. Make sure your new sky is over your old sky on the layers pallet. Be sure you are on the new sky layer and press Layer>Group with previous or Ctrl+G on a PC.

Click back on your old sky layer and pick a soft brush with the color set to black. Say the edge where new sky meets old picture is hard and does not look right, when you paint with black you reveal more of the new sky and blend the edges. If you do too much, change to erase and erase the sky away.

A little more complicated but a lot more control

Butch

[jomar]

Hi Joe ...

You need to put the sky layer below the original image ... that means that where you deleted the old sky the new one will show through.

So go to the layers palette and drag the sky layer below the photo layer ..

Do let us know how you go on with it :)

Wendy

Been away Wendy........so only just back and got it to work ...thanks.

What is best way to soften the edge where new sky meets the land...is Butch's post the next step for me?.(thank you also Butch)

Also I shoot a bracket of exp when doing landscapes so I have 3 identical images from which I can pick best exp for land and best exp for sky. What steps would you recomend in my particular situation taking the 3 exp into account.

[jomar]

Butch[/QUOTE]
Click back on your old sky layer and pick a soft brush with the color set to black. Say the edge where new sky meets old picture is hard and does not look right, when you paint with black you reveal more of the new sky and blend the edges. If you do too much, change to erase and erase the sky away.
A little more complicated but a lot more control



Butch had a go but not sure how to ensure the soft brush is set to black.

Ignored that point and found that I can see the black being applied to original image in the layers pallet ??...but nothing being revealed
Thanks in advance
Joe

[Daviskw]

Hi Joe

If you have followed the directions above you should have your new sky filling the exact area of the old sky you made into a clipping mask. Remember you must group the new sky above with the old sky layer below for this to work

You should have clicked with your mouse on the lower old sky layer-clipping mask.

Now press the letter “D” to set default colors… at the bottom of your tool bar the default colors should be black foreground and white background, if they are reversed press “X”.

Click on the brush tool and in the brush option bar click on the drop box” Show Selected Brush Presets” choose one of the default brushes in the second row..say #45. As you can see the icon is slightly blurred that is called a soft edged brush.

Now be sure you have the old sky layer, the clipping mask they call it, selected. Slowly paint along the edge of sky and original picture. The softness of the brush will blend the edge.

Now if you do not like the look or want a different brush you can choose the eraser tool and erase your original picture back.

That is what makes this procedure better then just deleting the old sky and pasting the new behind, you do not destroy any of either picture. You can change at any time. In the other method you can still use the eraser but once you erase the pixels or destroyed you cannot go back later if you change you mind.

You will find there are many ways to do the same thing in elements and you will develop your own style in time.

Butch

[Wendy]

Hi Joe ...

Do let us know how you go on ... :)

Wendy

[jomar]

Hi Wendy,
I have been following your steps(below) with success repeatedly once I picked up on fact to highlight the right layer and got the layer "under" the original....I have put the steps down here below..BUT..I cannot get Butch's steps to work and being able to blend is where I'm headed. So I am getting a step wrong in Butch's method but not sure where...??

Select main image
Go to layers palette double click on background layer and rename
Create new layer below main image
Drag the new layer below the main image in the pallete
Select sky that needs replacing
Highlight the original image in the pallete
Edit>delete
Highlight the new layer
Open new sky image
Select>all
Edit>copy
Back to original image
Edit>paste

[w7vp]

Wendy
I recently had to replace some sky because it had streaks of wind-blown snow in it that detracted from the image. But I used the original sky for the replacement. To do it I color-picked the shadings of the original sky and then removed it by erasing the selection of the sky. Then I placed a gradient sky below the image with the sky removed in a layer with the using the picked colors and the approximate gradient in the original picture. The result is in the Climbing Mt. Index montage in my gallery. This will work if you do not have clouds, etc. Again there are many ways to do these things.:)

Bill

[Wendy]

Hi Joe ...

I have written a quick mini tut on using an adjustment layer to replace a sky ... I thought you may find it easier to see the images. Its a very flexible way of doing it ...Here is a link to the tut:

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?p=69564

Hope it helps :)

Wendy
I have also added a link to it in
Wendy's Mini Tutorials (http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3641)

[Wendy]

Bill ...

That sounds an interesting way of doing it ... I will try it out.

Thanks very much for the tip :)

Wendy