PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 99
PHOTOSHOP, ELEMENTS & LIGHTROOM
I
T’SNOTJUSTDAYTIME
skiesthatcanbe improvedin a
RAWconversion.Whenyou’ve
shota scenewitha starrysky,thereare
settingsthancanmakethestarsclearer
and morearresting.Thesettingswe’lluse
here,alongwiththeGraduatedFilterTool,
are actuallyalmosttheoppositeof those
we’dneedto useon a daytimelandscape,
becausethey’recentredon increasingthe
contrastandthedefinitionin thesky–
two adjustmentsthatwillmakestarsand
otherobjectsjumpout.
AboveThereareplentyof starsin the scene
but theycanbe givenmoreimpactin RAW.
BEFORE
3
Improve starry
skies with the
right RAW settings
2
Enhancethe
fine details
Move down
th e sliders until you find
Te xture and Clarity. These
controls will add definition
to the sky, so push them
to positive values. Texture
ca n be used strongly,but
Cl arity may start to affect
th e colour if it’s pushed
to o high. If there is some
lo ss of colour, move the
Saturation slider to the
ri ght to fix it. Increasing
Dehaze can also be used,
but sparingly.
1
Brightenthe
sky andadd
contrast
Open the night scene
RAW file that you want
to edit, and after making
your basic edits, click on
the Graduated Filter Tool.
Set the Exposure slider to
a positive value like +0.50
or +1.00. Click and drag
it out over the sky, then
add some Contrast.
You should see stars
get a little brighter.
AFTER
