How to Edit Night Sky Pictures

From one point of view, photography consists of the interplay between light and shadow. Light and shadow not only direct the viewer's eye, but they can also highlight and diminish aspects of the image. Night photography in particular presents this challenge because a night sky essentially consists of spots of light in a field of shadow. Knowing how to properly balance the interplay of the light and shadow and the constituent elements in the image can help you successfully edit night sky pictures.

Instructions

1

Open the image you wish to edit with photo editing software.

2

Select the "Color Balance" palette or create a "Color Balance" layer.

3

Adjust the values of the color balance palette until the image has the desired color balance. Generally, most photo editing software has sliders for adjusting cyan/red, magenta/green, yellow/blue and black/white values. You can emphasize a certain color or colors and diminish others by changing these values. Color balancing works even with black and white images and can significantly affect the balance of black, white and gray tones.

4

Select the "Brightness/Contrast" function or open a "Brightness/Contrast" layer.

5

Adjust the brightness/contrast values until the image has the desired balance of brightness and contrast. Higher contrast and lower brightness will increase the contrast of the stars and other bright objects against the sky. Lower contrast and higher brightness will brighten the sky and decrease the contrast of stars and other bright objects against the sky. Generally, high contrast helps clarify and intensify a night sky image.

6

Open a new layer, and select the "Brush" tool.

7

Click on the "Eyedropper Color Selection" tool, and select a neutral, dark color of the night sky.

8

Paint in any portions of the image that remain too bright after the brightness/contrast adjustment. Reflections from city lights often create an undesirable haze of light that detracts from the intensity of the night sky's darkness.

9

Adjust the opacity of the painted layer until the painted areas of the sky have the desired darkness.

10

Click on the "File" menu and select "Save." Enter the desired file name and click "Save" to save the file.

---

From one point of view, photography consists of the interplay between light and shadow. Light and shadow not only direct the viewer's eye, but they can also highlight and diminish aspects of the image. Night photography in particular presents this challenge because a night sky essentially consists of spots of light in a field of shadow. Knowing how to properly balance the interplay of the light and shadow and the constituent elements in the image can help you successfully edit night sky pictures.

Instructions

1

Open the image you wish to edit with photo editing software.

2

Select the "Color Balance" palette or create a "Color Balance" layer.

3

Adjust the values of the color balance palette until the image has the desired color balance. Generally, most photo editing software has sliders for adjusting cyan/red, magenta/green, yellow/blue and black/white values. You can emphasize a certain color or colors and diminish others by changing these values. Color balancing works even with black and white images and can significantly affect the balance of black, white and gray tones.

4

Select the "Brightness/Contrast" function or open a "Brightness/Contrast" layer.

5

Adjust the brightness/contrast values until the image has the desired balance of brightness and contrast. Higher contrast and lower brightness will increase the contrast of the stars and other bright objects against the sky. Lower contrast and higher brightness will brighten the sky and decrease the contrast of stars and other bright objects against the sky. Generally, high contrast helps clarify and intensify a night sky image.

6

Open a new layer, and select the "Brush" tool.

7

Click on the "Eyedropper Color Selection" tool, and select a neutral, dark color of the night sky.

8

Paint in any portions of the image that remain too bright after the brightness/contrast adjustment. Reflections from city lights often create an undesirable haze of light that detracts from the intensity of the night sky's darkness.

9

Adjust the opacity of the painted layer until the painted areas of the sky have the desired darkness.

10

Click on the "File" menu and select "Save." Enter the desired file name and click "Save" to save the file.

---

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