Add Pop to Your Images with Sky Overlays

Make your image stand out with a sky overlay.

Sometimes, you catch a beautiful image, but in order to expose the subject correctly, the surrounding area gets over exposed, which causes the sky to get blow out. One of the best ways to boost the "wow" factor of the images is to add a sky overlay. Below is the image I will be working with.

Step One: Open your image in Photoshop and find a sky overlay you would like to use. Make sure the light matches the image well. For this image, the light is very soft and slightly warm. If I did a sunset or a bright blue sky alone, it would look unnatural. Instead, I chose a blue sky with a little bit of sunlight in the corner. Make sure the source of the light on the overlay, if there is one, matches the direction of the light on the image.

Step Two: Once you have chosen your sky overlay, open it in Photoshop, and drag and drop it onto your original image. Select "Edit", and go down to "Free Transform" to resize the overlay to cover the blown out sky, as shown below.

Step Three: Hide the sky overlay layer by clicking the eyeball symbol on the layers panel. Select the original image in the layers panel, and go to the "Quick Selection" tool. Hold your mouse down and drag slowly over the blown out sky until the entire sky is selected. Don't worry if the selection includes a little bit of extra content, you can take care of that later. Below, you can see my quick selection, and then again with the sky layer showing.

Step Four: Make the sky overlay layer visible again. You will see the dotted line of the selection on the sky layer, as seen below. Once that all looks good, select the sky overlay layer in the layers panel, then click the "Add layer mask" button at the bottom of the layers panel (the box with a dot inside). There will be a new layer mask created, and your sky will be decorationg your image beautifully. Below are my results.

Step Five: Now to make it more realistic. These next steps are a little bit flexible to each image; play with it to see what looks best. First thing is to add some blur to the sky. Notice the rest of the background below the sky is blurry due to depth of field. Our sky needs to match that. Make sure the sky overlay layer is selected. Then go to "Filter", hover over "Blur", and click "Gaussian Blur". Make sure the "Preview" box is checked so you can see how much the sky is being blurred. Adjust the radius until the blur matches the rest of the background. Below, you can see what happens if I blur the sky too much (30.4 radius). There is a strange glow around the horse. With blur, a little goes a lot way. I settled on 7.4 - it's enough to smooth out the horizon line, but not enough to cause that strange glow.

Step Six: If needed, take a moderately soft, black brush (about 50% hardness) to brush off the sky from details that accidentally became covered. Make sure you have the layer mask on the sky selected when you are doing this, as it is above (indicated by the white box around the thumbnail). I'm going to use mine to clean up the ears a touch and remove a bit from the mountains on the right, where the selection took over the edge of them.

Step Seven: Lastly, adjust the opacity of the sky overlay layer by using the opacity bar in the layers panel. Lower the opacity until the colors match well with the rest of the scenery and it looks natural. I settled on 82%, as you can see below.

Step Eight: Merge the layers before continuing with your editing as normal. That way, it will be treated like the edited sky is part of the original image. The last image below is my finished product.

Photographing With Transparency

Why I do things the way that I do.

As a small business owner, I seek to connect as much as possible with my clients. I remember every face, human, horse, and dog, that I have the pleasure of having in front of my camera. I love hearing your stories, following your journey, and watching you and your animals grow in life - as I grow too. With all of that being said, I want to be as open and honest with you as possible. For that reason, I have decided to break down a bit of why I price my collections and work as I do.

Not Making Millions

As much as I would not mind "rolling in the dough" (who wouldn't?!) so to speak, that is definitely not the case as a business owner. While my most expensive collection runs $650 + tax, that does not mean I pocket that $650 or make anywhere near that per hour. Sure, I take some home to help pay the bills for our little family of two, but not one cent of that is considered "spending money". Below is a general break down of how I price out my $650 collection.

~$10 per hour of time (so about an average job).

      - 2-3 hours of shoot time

      - Average about 1 1/2 hour-3 hours of drive time

      - Average of two hours prep (contact with client, cleaning and preparing equipment, researching location, helping client prepare, researching and gathering props, weather and time checks, etc.).

      - 30 minutes-one hour per edited digital x 25-30 digitals

      - One-three hours per complementary product ordering consultation

      - One-two hours for miscellaneous (setting up gallery, exporting/importing, product ordering, sorting images, etc.)

So, adding up all those hours (up to 43 hours per client) = about $430 worth of work at $10 an hour. This may seem like I am taking home $430 per collection, but that is not the case. $350 goes home to help pay the bills per month, and the rest goes straight back into the business. Below I will list a little simplified break down of the expenses I expect per month.

      - My camera, lenses, and lighting equipment are worth about $7000 all together. This equipment wears down and will eventually break, so I need to keep a solid amount of cash on hand for when the inevitable happens. This equipment also needs to be professionally serviced and cleaned on a regular basis, which costs a few hundred dollars each time.

      - Each month, I pay about $300 in software and computer related expenses.

      - I can expect anywhere from $300-$1000+ in print and product order costs per month.

      - Insurance per year is about $500, part of which is paid monthly. I also have various                    accounting and other not-so-fun-parts-of-business fees.

      - I spend about $300-$400 per month on various expenses such as processing fees, promotional materials, gifts for clients, travel expenses, car expenses for my work vehicle, and countless more. This month alone I put almost $300 down on my car repairs, and a couple hundred on workshop and valentine's day session supplies in addition to everything else! Some months are different, but that is a general idea.

Is your head spinning yet? Mine too! There is a whole ton of things that go into this business. During the crazy times of year, I work probably 50 hours a week trying to get things edited, uploaded, and delivered. During the slow times, I sweat and wonder if I will be able to make the bills this month and question what I am doing wrong. This is an industry that ebbs and flows rapidly, and keeps me on my toes. Despite the hairy times, it is so worth it every time I hear the excited reaction of someone who just received their gallery, or listen to another fascination story of yet another interesting person I get to meet. Yes, this business is about photos, but it is even more so about people. I wouldn't give up standing in the baking sun for eighteen hours a days during show season, or staying up until 2am cramming to get galleries delivered, or the times of struggle, for anything. YOU make it worth it. Relationships are what this business thrives on. That is why I wrote this blog post. I seek to be real with you as my client or potential client. I want you to know that there is a purpose to why my pricing is what it is. If you have worked with us before, whether it was to purchase one 4x6 from a horse show, or to enjoy our biggest collection, thank you. I appreciate you! I can't wait to see what 2018 brings for you, me, and Elizabeth Knight Photography. Here is to more new relationships, beautiful memories, and captured moment!