Photoshop Elements - Is it possible to replace a sky and make it look natural?

[Jon_Are]

I've been working with trying to replace a dull sky in Photoshop Elements 7. I am running into trouble, though, when there are trees in the image. Using a couple of different selection tools (Magic Wand, Quick Selection), I'm not able to select the sky in between all the leaves.

Is it even possible to replace a sky in this sort of image and have it appear real? Or am I wasting my time?

How about in 'real' Photoshop?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[Peano]

Can't tell without seeing the image. With some images, you can replace the sky without doing any fancy selections at all.

 

[Big Mike]

Doing this, and getting it to look real, is challenging as the best of times. It can often times improve an image though, even if it doesn't look totally authentic.

The worst case scenario is probably what you are dealing with...when there are bits of sky visible though something like tree branches & leaves.
There are several methods of selection, I'm not sure which ones are only available in the full version of Photoshop though. You could keep at it with the magic wand, changing the tolerance as you work. Or even just take a lot of time and do the masking manually with a brush.

Have you tried 'Select-->Color range...' (if you have it)

An option in Photoshop (probably not elements) is to use channels. It's common that a certain color channel will be a lot more prevelent in one aspect (either the trees or the sky) so you could use that channel to make your selection (or at least help you make it).

Also, a trick I use when trying to make these complex selections is to first create an adjustments layer (usually levels) and adjust it for maximum contrast between the areas I'm trying to select. The image looks terrible while I've working on the selection, but once I get the selection made, I just trash the adjustment layer.

 

[Jon_Are]

Thanks for the quick responses. After a bit of a search, I found a method that works reasonably well. I'll post it in case others could use the info:

Photography Blography: Replacing the Sky in Photoshop Elements

Jon