Split raw conversion advice

[IMG]http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr203/timritaharry/harrylog.jpg[/IMG]
this is my first attempt at a split raw conversion in elements 7 ,had to erase the burned out sky with the eraser tool ,but when i came near the trees they darkened quite badly so kept away from them . apart from using a smaller brush to navigate around the trees is there an easier way ? tim.

I think the join is too obvious, and perhaps the sky was made a little bit too dark to look natural. The clouds should probably be white, with just enough detail in them to avoid looking completely burned - IMO.

On that basis you can use a much bigger and more feathered eraser brush to reveal the shot underneath, which would look more natural I think. The broad brush approach seems to work better for me at least.

You can also set the opacity of the eraser brush so you can work at the image gradually - painting detail into the clouds without going overboard.

If you like, post both examples here (blown out version and the one with a good sky) so some people here can have a go with it, and do the explaining. Adding skies in, to repair blown out ones isn't that hard (even with tree lines)but it's much easier explaining with some examples.

Martin.

[IMG]http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr203/timritaharry/IMGP1435.jpg[/IMG]
original image.
[IMG]http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr203/timritaharry/harrysky.jpg[/IMG]
exposure lowered to reveal the sky.

If this is a RAW image, upload it somewhere and post a link. This looks like a candidate for pseudo HDR (several images at different exposures from one RAW file) to me.

Here's my attempt at a more natural looking effect:




I made the original shot the top layer, and made a duplicate layer of it which I turned off.

I then traced around the trees with a feathered selection and hit delete to reveal the dark version underneath.

Then I switched the duplicate layer back on and reduced the opacity to my personal liking. More opacity will show more of the darker sky. It's a matter of personal preference I guess.

yours looks much better ,thanks.ive a lot to learn.

Here's mine.
[IMG]http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr227/TTKPhotography_2009/IMGP1435-SKY.jpg[/IMG]


Not quite right.


EDIT: Typo

Here you go. Just the two combined with some masking and different blending modes in layers.
Using elements 6.0. It took me about 5 rushy minutes.




Martin.

I would say that Pentaxophile's version is the best.
Just kissing the clouds with the brush works well and just stay away from the trees. It's quite normal to have very white sky.

Terry ! what's that? not even the correct perspective on the clouds.

A cock up I was messing about with two or three and put the wrong one on.