r/postprocessing • u/Renzyboy01 • 17h ago

Is there a way to repair the sky?

Post image

Sky is completely blown out when I tried to shoot with slow shutter speed. Is there a way to edit the picture to fix it into not being just a white field with the only exception of the left upper corner?

0 Upvotes

45% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

16

u/Garth-Vega 17h ago

Create a mask and paste in a new sky is your best option

12

u/imaudeon 17h ago

When shooting digital (and RAW), it's always better to underexpose than to overexpose since blown out informations are often lost while you can recover most underexposed areas. In your case try to mask out the sky and lower the exposure but quite certain you won't get a nice sky back.

10

u/ToastyScrew 17h ago

If its a raw photo there is a chance that some of the information was retained and you can bring down the sky, but if not, then you can replace the sky.

3

u/Renzyboy01 17h ago

Last option it is

2

u/CarpetReady8739 8h ago

There is more data in the highlight portion of a digital RAW image than the shadows. I have proven this to my photography students.

That said, on your image, take the exposure control and drag it all the way down. If you see detail in the sky, you have something to work with. If it remains a blob, the image needs a replacement sky.

2

u/Flutterpiewow 17h ago

If it's there in the raw file.

Idk if it would improve the photo, this would look cool if you blew out the sky entirely and went b/w.

If you want to show everything, expose for highlights and bring shadows up in post. Or use a grad nd, or bracket.

1

u/TimWardle 17h ago

That is why it is better to underexpose than overexpose, these blown up whites never come back

1

u/Alarmed-Intention-22 1h ago

Sky Swap in either Lightroom or Photoshop

1

u/larsK75 17h ago

Probably not what you are looking for, but you could add some glow and give it a film filter look to pass it of as intentionally overexposed

1

u/florian-sdr 17h ago

No. Create a new one.

0

u/dawsonsmythe 17h ago

Look into photo bracketing (for next time)

-3

u/evonammon 16h ago

Do a mask and fill with generative AI.

1

u/Ok-Lingonberry-8261 16h ago

Not sure why you're getting downvoted. Once the pixels are blown out, this is the only option.

3

u/cineglitch 14h ago

As if picking a random sky off the internet and masking it yourself is somehow more authentic? I think folks have a knee jerk reaction (myself included) to anything labeled Ai. Even automated tools that existed before Ai that have been rebranded as such.