INTENSIFY SKY

[alan jay]

INTENSIFY PALE BLUE SKY AND NOT ALTER ANY THING ELSE IN MY IMAGE.
MANY OF MY BALD EAGLE IMAGES WOULD BENEFIT IF I COULD DARKEN AND INTENSIFY THE PALE BLUE AND ALSO THE NEAR WHITE SKY THAT SURROUNDS THEM.
I DO NOT WANT TO REMOVE ANY PART OF MY IMAGE, I JUST WANT TO DARKEN THE SKY.
I AM USING PHOTOSHOP CS6. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY IDEAS. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE.

 

[IamSam]

Hello and welcome.

As I'm uncertain as to your current knowledge of Ps, I will just have to assume that you will understand the following.......if not, please let me know and I can explain in greater detail. It also wouldn't hurt if you posted one of the images in question.

I DO NOT WANT TO REMOVE ANY PART OF MY IMAGE, I JUST WANT TO DARKEN THE SKY.

Make a selection of the sky and then clip any of the adjustment layers...........most likely a Curves adjustment layer.........then adjust to the desired darkness and color intensity.

Note: After a selection is made, adding an adjustment layer will also create a corresponding layer mask along with the adjustment layer (Curves). Then the Curves adjustment layer will be clipped to the original image layer. Any "adjustments" made in the Curves adjustment layer will be limited to the previlously selected area which has now been converted into a layer mask.

Original with selection of sky....


Sky darkened (and possibly intensified) with Curves adjustment layer.

 

[alan jay]

The white feathers of the bald eagle prevent me from only selecting the white sky to colorize.

i selected a sample of the white sky as the criteria for selecting it for a color enhancement/ intensification.
some eagle white feathers are the same color as the sky making it difficult to only select the white sky for treatment

 

[IamSam]

There are several ways to make this selection. Here is one way.

(Note: This is not perfect. I did this quickly for demo purposes. Also, your sample image is very low quality, hopefully you have images with better resolution!))

I prefer an alpha channel selection which involves duplicating an alpha channel (blue in this case) and creating a layer mask selection.
Adjust the blue channel copy until it's black and white.
This may involve the Dodge, Burn, and Brush Tools as well as some Levels adjustments.


Use the selection to create a layer mask on the original image layer.
Use select and mask to refine the mask/selection.
Add a Gradient adjustment layer below the original image layer. Adjust to your liking.

 

[thebestcpu]

INTENSIFY PALE BLUE SKY AND NOT ALTER ANY THING ELSE IN MY IMAGE.
MANY OF MY BALD EAGLE IMAGES WOULD BENEFIT IF I COULD DARKEN AND INTENSIFY THE PALE BLUE AND ALSO THE NEAR WHITE SKY THAT SURROUNDS THEM.
I DO NOT WANT TO REMOVE ANY PART OF MY IMAGE, I JUST WANT TO DARKEN THE SKY.
I AM USING PHOTOSHOP CS6. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY IDEAS. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE.

Hi @alan jay
If you took the image in raw format with a camera that has 12 of 14 bits depth, you just might be able to do this with Photoshop ACR in the Color Mixer panel and reduce luminosity of the blue/cyan channels. I don't think the bald eagle has any blues so no or minimal masking would be required.
If you share the raw file with a file sharing site or tool details could be provided if desired.
Just another path to consider
John Wheeler