Project #25 - Creating an Eerie Photograph - Part 1

1. Ok, first we need to select the sky. To make it easier for selecting, switch to the Channels palette. Find out which channel turns the sky white the most by clicking on each eye icon next to the channels name. For this image I chose the Blue channel. Duplicate this channel by dragging it onto the Create New Channel icon at the bottom of the Channel palette.
   
   
2. Bring up the Color Range dialogue box by selecting [Select... Color Range]. Alter the setting of the Fuzziness to somewhere between 50 and 75. With the eyedropper, click anywhere on the sky of the image. Click on the RGB channel to reactivate all channels, and then click on the Layers tab. Your sky should now be selected, including the bits between the trees and window areas.
   
   
3. Save this selection [Select... Save Selection], under the name of 'Sky'.
   
   
4. To remove the colour from the photograph, we need to change the colour mode. Do this by selecting [Image... Mode... Grayscale]. When the message saying Discard Color Information, click on Yes.
   
   
5. As you can see in my photograph, the sky has no life to it - there's little, if any, cloud. The simplest thing to do is replace it. Open the file with your cloud image.
   
   
6. Using the Rectangle Marquee tool from the Tool Box, select as much of the sky as you can, and then copy it to the Clipboard (computer's memory) [Edit... Copy].
   
   
7. Switch back to the image of the graveyard and load the sky selection [Select... Load Selection]. When the dialogue box appears, chose the name Sky from the Channel drop-down list and then click OK.
   
   
8. Expand the selection by 1 pixel [Select... Modify... Expand], and then feather it by 1 pixel to soften the edges slightly [Select... Feather].
   
   
9. What we need to do now is place the new sky into the selection. Do this by using the Paste Into command [Edit... Paste Into]. Photoshop automatically places the new sky onto a new layer. Reposition the new sky by using the Move tool from the tool box and the Transform tools [Edit... Transform] if you need to enlarge or shrink the clouds.
   
   
10. Now that we have our new sky, we need to darken it considerably. Access the Levels dialogue box [Levels... Adjust... Levels]. Move the left-most arrow toward the high peaks in the graph. You should be able to see the sky darkening as you move the slider towards the right. When you are happy with the result, click on OK.
    
    
11. The same process needs to be applied to the rest of the image. Load the sky selection back in [Select... Load Selection]. Inverse the selection [CTRL+SHIFT+I] so that the marching ants are around the foreground and not the clouds. Darken the image as you did with the clouds using the Levels command in the previous step.
    
    
12. The final stage. What needs to be done now is bring back some of the details in the tombstones, and darken other areas of the ruins etc. This is done by using a combination of the Dodge and Burn tools from the tool box.
    
13. To begin with, get the Dodge tool. This tool lightens the areas you brush over. Select a medium sized, soft edge brush and brush over the foremost tombstone. As you apply the brush you can see it lighten up, bringing back some of the original detail. Remember - don't over do it, we need to keep the dark eeriness.
    
    
14. Use this process to lighten up other parts of the foreground.
    
    
15. Now use the Burn tool to darken areas, especially on the old ruins. Darken more on the inside of the ruins and the far right outer wall. The aim here is to get rid of highlights, and add shadows. When you are satisfied with your Dodging and Burning, save the image (in Photoshop's own format). You will need this image for the second part of this tutorial.