how mask trees against a sky

#1

hello, I have always ran into difficulties when it comes to key trees against a bright sky in photoshop, for example let’s say I have a still photo of trees where I have to replace a bright sky with a dark background, if I use the “color range” option I still can see a white halo around the trees, is there a good way of doing this without having to go in and paint? thank you

#2

Layer->Matting->Remove White Matte

#3

thanks, I just tried though and it doesn’t seem to do anything? am I missing some step?

#4

Sometimes all you need to remove a blue bright sky are the advanced blending options: right-mouse click the layer, and leave the blue channel selected. Deselect R and B. Then drag the right top slider (this layer) to the left. Hold down <ALT> while dragging to create a smooth blend.

Often this will give you a good start. Then convert layer to real transparency, and refine the mask.