Help with blown skies
AmbientMike
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p.3 #2Help with blown skies
ctgoldwing wrote:
I have been shooting birds at the local wetlands. The only position I can shoot some of the nesting ones puts them in the foreground with a totally blown out background. I've spent some time in LRC trying a bunch of things and just can't seem to get an acceptable image. I have tried the various sky replacements with meh success. . .
Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is my most recent iteration.
Reminds me of the image I shot of a great egret, when I was really learning a lot of pp, that had me realizing I need good light. Your image isn't bad, for sure, I think mine had a shadow across the neck in harsh midday light or something. But sky in the frame on a subject in shade/cloud coveted sun isn't the best, either
One birding site I used to be on just outright banned nest photos. You see them on here, tend to be a least somewhat cringe worthy. You hope nobody messed up a birds nest for photos, bitd populations tend to be in the toilet
If you are determined to try , it's important to realize that just because you get blinkies doesn't mean the raw is blown out. You'd probably have to overexpose the sky as much as possible (raw processors can probably do Ok replacing sky, if needed) and pick up the exposure on the bird.
Mar 04, 2026 at 10:33 AM
p.3 #3Help with blown skies
To the OP, one thing you could try, is to add a mask such as a radial gradient on the blown out area, and then go to the colour module and choose "solid colour". Then click and drag the eye dropper to an area of the sky which has colour, and that coloured will be overlayed into the mask, filling the blown out highlights with said colour. You could also try using a brush instead of a radial gradient. You could also experiment with intersecting that mask with a luminance range mask and limit the luminance to just the brightest part of the image.
Mar 04, 2026 at 12:07 PM
p.3 #4Help with blown skies
dakel wrote:
To the OP, one thing you could try, is to add a mask such as a radial gradient on the blown out area, and then go to the colour module and choose "solid colour". Then click and drag the eye dropper to an area of the sky which has colour, and that coloured will be overlayed into the mask, filling the blown out highlights with said colour. You could also try using a brush instead of a radial gradient. You could also experiment with intersecting that mask with a luminance range mask and limit the luminance to just the brightest...Show more →
That's another useful approach to try.
I like the idea of applying the luminance range mask, but I'm betting that it will require a few additional tweaks to make it work. One would expect to constrict the range quite a bit, since you want to minimize the spillover of the effect into adjacent areas that are not blown out. Another, In combination with that, is to use the option in the ACR (or, I assume, LR) mask tool to subtract unwanted areas from the mask and eliminate the effect from areas outside the blown out spots. (A hard 100% brush works well for areas no where near the blown out spot, while a softer brush and perhaps less than 100% intensity may let you blend the edges more effectively. You an also apply a curve to the masked areas to help avoid unwanted darken gin and you drop the intensity of the brightest highlights.
To the OP, one thing you could try, is to add a mask such as a radial gradient on the blown out area, and then go to the colour module and choose "solid colour". Then click and drag the eye dropper to an area of the sky which has colour, and that coloured will be overlayed into the mask, filling the blown out highlights with said colour. You could also try using a brush instead of a radial gradient. You could also experiment with intersecting that mask with a luminance range mask and limit the luminance to just the brightest...Show more →
That's another useful approach to try.
I like the idea of applying the luminance range mask, but I'm betting that it will require a few additional tweaks to make it work. One would expect to constrict the range quite a bit, since you want to minimize the spillover of the effect into adjacent areas that are not blown out. Another, In combination with that, is to use the option in the ACR (or, I assume, LR) mask tool to subtract unwanted areas from the mask and eliminate the effect from areas outside the blown out spots. (A hard 100% brush works well for areas no where near the blown out spot, while a softer brush and perhaps less than 100% intensity may let you blend the edges more effectively. You an also apply a curve to the masked areas to help avoid unwanted darken gin and you drop the intensity of the brightest highlights.
Mar 04, 2026 at 05:34 PM
p.3 #5Help with blown skies
You could always do something like this and make it all look like it is intentional. 
Edited on Sep 16, 2026 at 09:52 PM · View previous versions
Edited on Sep 16, 2026 at 09:52 PM · View previous versions
Mar 04, 2026 at 06:34 PM
AmbientMike
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p.3 #6Help with blown skies
Another thing you can do, single image HDR.
Process the raw multiple times say, once for the sky, the other for the bird, maybe others if you think it might help. Blend using layers. Lets you use noise reduction on the bird if you want for one thing, just kinda paint images together using a soft brush, generally pretty easy imo
Process the raw multiple times say, once for the sky, the other for the bird, maybe others if you think it might help. Blend using layers. Lets you use noise reduction on the bird if you want for one thing, just kinda paint images together using a soft brush, generally pretty easy imo
Mar 04, 2026 at 07:57 PM
p.3 #7Help with blown skies
At the risk of beating a dead horse, here's another comparison of the same image, simply imported from raw using 2 different profiles.
Hopefully this gives a more compelling illustration of how much "dynamic range" is discarded by the standard Adobe Color profile.
Hopefully this gives a more compelling illustration of how much "dynamic range" is discarded by the standard Adobe Color profile.
Mar 08, 2026 at 08:40 AM
p.3 #8Help with blown skies
It isn’t exactly “discarded” by Adobe profiles. The data are all still there. It can be subject to a different curve that may open one end of the luminosity spectrum and narrow another, etc.. Choosing a different profile is one quick way to apply a curve that may be more appropriate to a given raw file. Another is to use the controls in your raw converter to customize the adjustments for your image.
YMMV.
YMMV.
Mar 08, 2026 at 01:36 PM
p.3 #9Help with blown skies
The way in which I handle a similar situation is to use just a smidgeon of Flash to even-up the lighting between the foreground birds and the dawn-sky background. Depending on your flash, you may only need to use it at 1/8 power.
https://www.shelbourne-america.net/Highlights/index.html#3
This may have been shot from the self-same boardwalk as yours?
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Seems that I can't post the link but you can try entering it directly in a Browser to see what I mean?
It's the third image in the series at that link
https://www.shelbourne-america.net/Highlights/index.html#3
This may have been shot from the self-same boardwalk as yours?
----
Seems that I can't post the link but you can try entering it directly in a Browser to see what I mean?
It's the third image in the series at that link
Mar 15, 2026 at 05:57 PM
p.3 #10Help with blown skies
Flash is useless or impracticable for 90+% of wildlife photography, which is why 90+% of wildlife photographers do not use it. Probably more like 99%.
Mar 15, 2026 at 08:38 PM
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p.3 #11Help with blown skies
Funnily enough, I use WEAK flash all the time as fill-in for wildlife shots and it works rather well.
Emphasis on "WEAK".
Look at my website to see examples. At night, we often use the headlights of a second vehicle to light the scene from a different angle.
Emphasis on "WEAK".
Look at my website to see examples. At night, we often use the headlights of a second vehicle to light the scene from a different angle.
Mar 15, 2026 at 08:46 PM
p.3 #12Help with blown skies
Fine if it works for you. You are part of the 1%.
Mar 15, 2026 at 08:54 PM
p.3 #14Help with blown skies
AnnJS wrote:
That seems to apply to everything that I do?!
Your website speaks for itself. Some wonderful images in it.
That seems to apply to everything that I do?!
Your website speaks for itself. Some wonderful images in it.
Mar 16, 2026 at 12:59 PM
p.3 #16Help with blown skies
Here's another experiment: using the Adobe Color profile, we try to recover detail from an apparently over-exposed sky.
The first image shows the Adobe Color profile. Note the histogram: the high values fit within the tonal scale, but just barely.
The second image shows the Linear Profile: there is "wiggle room" at the high end of the tonal scale.
The third image shows what happens if we try to rescue details in the sky from the Adobe Color version. The result is flat gray.
Comment: Perhaps the Adobe Color profile is automatically expanding the tones outwards, to fit the extremes. The result is that the sky, which actually contains color and texture, is blown out to white. The details in the sky cannot be recovered. They have been discarded.
Please correct me if I have overlooked something.
Edited on Mar 19, 2026 at 08:50 AM · View previous versions
The first image shows the Adobe Color profile. Note the histogram: the high values fit within the tonal scale, but just barely.
The second image shows the Linear Profile: there is "wiggle room" at the high end of the tonal scale.
The third image shows what happens if we try to rescue details in the sky from the Adobe Color version. The result is flat gray.
Comment: Perhaps the Adobe Color profile is automatically expanding the tones outwards, to fit the extremes. The result is that the sky, which actually contains color and texture, is blown out to white. The details in the sky cannot be recovered. They have been discarded.
Please correct me if I have overlooked something.
Edited on Mar 19, 2026 at 08:50 AM · View previous versions
Mar 19, 2026 at 08:42 AM
RoamingScott
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p.3 #17Help with blown skies
Kenneth Lee wrote:
Here's another experiment: using the Adobe Color profile, we try to recover detail from an apparently over-exposed sky.
https://www.kennethleegallery.com/images/forum/fredmiranda/LinearComparisonBarn.jpg
The first image shows the Adobe Profile. Note the histogram: the high values fit within the tonal scale, but just barely.
The second image shows the Linear Profile: there is "wiggle room" at the high end of the tonal scale.
The third image shows what happens if we try to rescue details in the sky from the Adobe Color version. The result is flat gray.
Comment: Perhaps the Adobe Color profile is automatically expanding the tones outwards, to fit the extremes. The result is...Show more →
Which application is this?
Here's another experiment: using the Adobe Color profile, we try to recover detail from an apparently over-exposed sky.
https://www.kennethleegallery.com/images/forum/fredmiranda/LinearComparisonBarn.jpg
The first image shows the Adobe Profile. Note the histogram: the high values fit within the tonal scale, but just barely.
The second image shows the Linear Profile: there is "wiggle room" at the high end of the tonal scale.
The third image shows what happens if we try to rescue details in the sky from the Adobe Color version. The result is flat gray.
Comment: Perhaps the Adobe Color profile is automatically expanding the tones outwards, to fit the extremes. The result is...Show more →
Which application is this?
Mar 19, 2026 at 08:49 AM
p.3 #19Help with blown skies
Now I am further baffled: Using the Adobe Color profile and lowering the Exposure setting, all kinds of details in the sky are revealed.
My theory seems to be wrong. I admit it !!
Edited on Mar 19, 2026 at 08:59 AM · View previous versions
My theory seems to be wrong. I admit it !!
Edited on Mar 19, 2026 at 08:59 AM · View previous versions
Mar 19, 2026 at 08:55 AM
p.3 #20Help with blown skies
Kenneth Lee wrote:
Now I am further baffled:
Lowering the exposure setting, all kinds of details in the sky are revealed.
https://www.kennethleegallery.com/images/forum/fredmiranda/Baffle.jpg
I was going to say, that original Adobe example was simply overexposed by the looks of it. Dragging the whites down on the tone curve is comically deleterious compared to actually editing the file correctly.
Now I am further baffled:
Lowering the exposure setting, all kinds of details in the sky are revealed.
https://www.kennethleegallery.com/images/forum/fredmiranda/Baffle.jpg
I was going to say, that original Adobe example was simply overexposed by the looks of it. Dragging the whites down on the tone curve is comically deleterious compared to actually editing the file correctly.
Mar 19, 2026 at 08:57 AM