Both ways

A cold Sunday morning in Kansas - Toby, my daughter's hyperactive pet, went home to Lawrence. So I was left with just Sammy and Lizzie, and we decided to go for a walk in the country.

Blue skies are not always a given. With either Photoshop or Fireworks, you can add a blue sky with the magic wand and the paint bucket. First, highlight the sky with the magic wand setting the tolerance to 30 or whatever works. Then select the paint bucket, use a gradient, and with the press of a button, you have a nice blue sky. I also added a sharpen as a filter to let the dogs stand out.

Compare the original image.

Blue Sky

This is a slight variation on the prior post. The background layer is again the sky. But, the sky was duplicated (cntrl + shift + D) and then flipped vertically.

Changing the Sky

There are many different things you can do to make an unexciting sky come alive. With Fioreworks or Photoshop filters, you can sharpen the image, change the hue and saturation, or both.

But, another technique is to layer images. The bottom layer is a background image that consists of the new sky. The top image is your building. Lock the bottom layer and work with the top layer, the building. Use the magic wand and eraser tools to clear the sky revealing the bright sky behind the buildings.