Video: How to use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to make your skies look better and more dramatic

 

 

Imagine you plan a photography trip to a spectacular location. You've scouted the area ahead of time, and you know the perfect shot you want to get. However, once you're there, the skies are bland. A bad sky can ruin an otherwise great landscape photo. What about outdoor portraits? You're even more at the mercy of luck in these situations, as your engagement shoot or a family portrait session is scheduled for a specific time, and you can't always just reschedule because the sky is bad. What can you do? Scott Kelby of Kelby One is here to help. He delivered a presentation, seen below, as part of B&H's ongoing Depth of Field 2022 event.

Fortunately, it's never been easier to edit the sky in your photos thanks to AI-powered tools like the new masking features in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Kelby edits various photos using multiple tools in the video below, including linear gradient and Select Subject, radial gradient and Select Subject, Select Sky, Sky Replacement, sharpening and bleach bypass.

Regarding sky replacement, some photographers are somewhat hesitant to replace a sky in their photo with a sky that someone else captured. Fortunately, you can save your own skies in Photoshop, giving your photos a more personal touch. Better still, if you're at a location and there's a nice sky in a different direction, capture that sky after photographing your desired scene. That's about as close as you can get to the real thing while still not being perfectly true to life.

As you can see, there are many ways to improve the skies in your photos. If you'd like to check out another video aimed specifically at landscape and travel photographers, check out this tutorial from Focus Photo School.

(Via B&H Photo Video)