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Enhancing your sky painting skills
Picture this: You’ve just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip, your camera filled with breathtaking landscapes. But as you scroll through your captures, the skies seem dull, failing to do justice to your memories. What if there was a way to infuse those skies with the drama and vibrancy they deserve?
Enter the era of modern photography, where anything is possible! Whether you’re a professional or an enthusiastic amateur, editing the sky in photos has become an essential skill in the digital age.
Seamless Sky Replacement with One Click
In this post, we’ll delve deep into the transformative powers of Luminar Neo’s AI Sky Replacement, helping you turn those lackluster horizons into awe-inspiring vistas.
Buckle up because the future of landscape photography is just a click away!
Why the Sky is Important in Photos
The blue above in the picture is more than just a top part. Think of it like background music in movies. A clear, blue stretch can make us happy, while clouds might make it feel quiet or even a bit gloomy.
When we see a picture, a lot of what we feel is because of the top part. It could be something really pretty, like a sunset. Or it just helps show other things better, like someone under a rainbow. This top part also changes the whole picture’s appearance because it adds light and colors.
So, that blue part up there is not just for looks. It makes the picture tell a story and makes us feel things.
Evolution of Sky Changing in Photos
Before computers, photographers had a tough time making the sky in photos look good. They used tools and spent lots of time in dark rooms to make the skies better, but it was hard and took long. Those days were challenging, and a lot depended on the photographer’s expertise and patience.
Now, with computer help, we can easily change the sky in photos. AI, or computer brains, can quickly find the sky in a picture and swap it for a better one. It’s faster and more accurate than the old ways. This revolutionized the way photographers approach their work.
In the future, these computer tools will get even smarter. They might even guess what kind of sky you like and put it in your photos for you. With advancements like these, the sky’s the limit for what’s possible. Editing photos will become easier and more fun!
Tip 1: Essential Kit
Easel: If you’re just starting out you can’t go wrong with a simple lightweight metal field easel – I tend to use this on holiday or when I have to travel light or hike to get to my destination. The only downside to this tripod approach is that you’ll need to keep all your other bits and pieces in separate boxes and bags – so the alternative is a conventional Field Easel or Box Easel that works just like a suitcase – but can be a bit heavy if you need to travel far.
Paints: Entirely your choice, but my go-to options are Liquitex Acrylics and Michael Harding Oils.
Palette: A simple A4 tear off paper palette.
Brushes: Use what you are comfortable with – but I like a range of synthetics that will give me short flats for quick blocking in and a few others for detail and line work this brush case by Pro Arte contains a good selection of Acrylix brushes.
Canvas: The trend these days is to use small panels or canvas boards as they are super portable and give great results. I also use the new A4 Oil and Acrylic paper pads especially when travelling abroad where weight is an issue.
Tip 2: Find a location you connect with
Assuming you’ve found somewhere to paint – take a moment to ask yourself some key questions such as ‘What do I find most interesting about this view’ or ‘What atmosphere am I trying to capture here’. Use the answers to these questions to inform your composition and don’t start until you are really happy with your choices. Don’t compromise, you’re going to be standing there a while and you need to believe in what you’re doing from the word go. If you’re a bit shy or nervous about others seeing your work, find somewhere where you’ll be on your own. If you’re an extrovert, you might get energy from being in a busier location where members of the public interact with you. I like both – as it’s often useful to block out the rest of the world and just focus on painting. But if your subject is a busy street or place of interest I guarantee you’ll get on-lookers and wannabe art critics giving you some feedback – so be prepared.
Starting with a sketch is a great idea and I normally begin with a quick outline or underpainting in acrylic that sets out my composition and tonal values. My go to brush for this phase is a short flat synthetic of about medium to large size. This allows me to create a fine line with one edge and to block in with the full face of the brush. In the UK I might use a combination of Raw Umber and Ultramarine Blue to give me the ability to lay down both warm and cool tones as I block in key shapes. However, whilst in Costa Rica recently, I found it was more successful to use Magenta and Turquoise because the overall colours of the landscape were so much more vibrant. So the learning here is to have some go-to strategies, but be prepared to adapt.
Tip 4: Colour layers
The big choice I face at this stage is whether to continue with acrylics or switch to oils. This is largely dictated by circumstance and whether or not I’m on the move and can carry a wet painting home easily. On holiday I prefer to use acrylics for that very reason and my strategy is to fill the palette with a wide selection of colours that relate to the key values I see in front of me. With oils, in contrast, I work with a limited palette of white, yellow, red, blue and raw umber using a mixing technique to achieve the colours I need. I generally find that oils blend better than acrylics – so this is why there is a different approach to each medium. In each case the underpainting informs where I go as I start to build on the learnings from my initial sketch. Developing all areas of the painting at the same time is key, so that I can maintain a sense of the balance of relationships across the whole work as it progresses.
