Creating Cloud Photos for AI Sky Swap
I have several beautiful cloud photos that I would like to use with AI Sky Swap. I am able to import these into a new "My Skies" category and add these to any photo. Only problem: the clouds appear enormous and unnatural. There is a slider to expand sky features, but no way to shrink them. Do I need to take future cloud photos using a wide angle lens such as 17mm?
-
I have a collection of around 200 of my own skies, most shot from the terrace of my house. I'm lucky in that I have an open view so most of my skies have a horizon. I think those are the kind that work best. I've actually used quite a lot of different focal lengths as I mostly have a zoom lens fitted on the camera. I don't think it matters that much really. The most important thing is to find a sky that matches and I'm not one who believes in faking it, by replacing with something totally inappropriate. You have to analyse the direction of the light so that they match up.
I'm not a big fan of On1's sky replacement module. It's better than it was, but I still find it difficult to get a realistic look.
0 -
Robert,
Possibly use the transform tool on the sky image.
0 -
Ray, I totally agree that a careful sky match is required for success, and I mostly use Sky Swap to remove a boring white sky in an otherwise interesting photo. Adding a dramatic multicolored sunset is over-the-top artificial for me. In most cases, I find that significantly reducing opacity of the sky layer within ON1's module results in a more subtle, natural appearance.
0 -
Peter, thanks for your suggestion regarding the transform tool. Of course, this needs to be used on certain cloud photos before importing into the Extras Manager. I tried mainly reducing the height of my cloud photo before importing, and this worked well in some cases. Without using this transform tool, most common clouds appear way too large after the swap. I still believe using a wide angle lens is the best way create my own sky collection, but haven't tried this yet. I just wish I had Ray's open view terrace.
0 -
Robert, if you wanted to use the transform tool, it would work best if you added your sky as a layer rather than using the Sky module. As a layer, you can resize and move it around as you like. You can still create a sky mask on the layer using the Mask Menu.
0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
5 comments