was the sky replaced in this shoot?

[modelsfret]

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/anais-pouliot-is-a-beach-babe-for-bon-springsummer-2013-by-benny-horne/

wondering if the sky looks like its been dropped in , and if this is a common thing in beach fashion shoots thanks

[skoobey]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

More likely that the polarizer was used when shooting.

[klev]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

I would say it's very likely due to the relative scale here. Some of the background elements appear quite large relative to the subject. That aside though, it's important to note that they are color corrected either way. It's very common to see backgrounds that are too bright relative to the subject, so I'm sure these were brought down a bit and color corrected to favor of those blues. I do see tell-tale signs of these things, but consider if they didn't do it. Bright borders can be very distracting, and it would have made the model's appearance feel a bit flat.

[Repairman]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

This is fun. 1. Original sky behind head and centre to left has been cut and shunted from either another shot or the outer left sky of the original image. 2. Top right comped in with too much blur - probably magnified too much. Top left rotated in to position to make the edge of the cloud coincide with the original white cloud where it abuts the model - saves cutting out hairs. 3. A lot of colour curves through masks. Wish they'd keep horizons straight when cropping. Could be a crock, but hey, who knows!

[insmac]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

I'd say 85% not a composite. You're overthinking it a bit. I tend to underexpose the clouds in post a lot but at some point it does look more like either a hdr image or a composite because the dynamic range is too high and you become confused. Also, the shots themselves appear to be underexposed by purpose say 0.67 ev down below.

There is absolutely no way to tell for sure (like 100% sure) because you're watching a heavily compressed image truncated by a website uploader and the photos are really small. Hence, any apparent blurriness, halos or discolorations can be caused by the compression itself. Just sayin.

[Repairman]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

Size and rez not too important in these cases as the rest of the detail holds up pretty well.
Image 53 - left side sky compared to right side; really odd - if it's natural they should have changed it! Good fun, this.

[AKMac]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

Size and rez not too important in these cases as the rest of the detail holds up pretty well.
Image 53 - left side sky compared to right side; really odd - if it's natural they should have changed it! Good fun, this.

But people don't look at the sky when they view an image. If you deprive yourself of the compositional potential of a sky, in terms of how it can aid the image as a whole, simply because it might seem implausible when viewed in isolation, then your thinking is questionable.

Apart from which, I don't think it is a composite anyway.

[klev]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

I'd say 85% not a composite. You're overthinking it a bit. I tend to underexpose the clouds in post a lot but at some point it does look more like either a hdr image or a composite because the dynamic range is too high and you become confused. Also, the shots themselves appear to be underexposed by purpose say 0.67 ev down below.

There is absolutely no way to tell for sure (like 100% sure) because you're watching a heavily compressed image truncated by a website uploader and the photos are really small. Hence, any apparent blurriness, halos or discolorations can be caused by the compression itself. Just sayin.

As skoobey mentioned they could have used a polarizer to help with that sky. I just haven't seen anyone do that due to the amount of light that can be cut out. Quite a few cameras from the past few years can handle a wide enough range to bring the sky in quite a bit in post, which is how I think it would have been approached with original skies. I'm a little unsure of these, because to get that relative scale to the clouds and model, you would probably end up shooting with at least a 200mm lens. I'm still unsure overall. It could be shot that way, and you wouldn't have to deal with hair meeting sky or edges of the clothing that are too bright. It would just be difficult.

[Flashtones]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

I don't know, a couple might have had a little comping to remove a distracting element in one corner or antoher, but for the most part the lighting and feel is pretty consistent on model, sand, water, sky.

Lets put it this way, I'd say any sky elements used were from the same shoot, not from a different location on a different day.

[Repairman]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

"But people don't look at the sky when they view an image." Retouchers do though and this is a retouching forum. My answer to the OP is yes, it is quite normal to drop in new skies and/or modify them (if only for the reason the weather was crap on the day of the shoot) and secondly it looks like no one here knows for sure to what degree they were altered.

[insmac]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

"But people don't look at the sky when they view an image." Retouchers do though and this is a retouching forum. My answer to the OP is yes, it is quite normal to drop in new skies and/or modify them (if only for the reason the weather was crap on the day of the shoot) and secondly it looks like no one here knows for sure to what degree they were altered.

Like I said, there is no way to tell for sure, no matter the skill. The images are small and heavily compressed.

[WhoIsCeeJay]

Re: was the sky replaced in this shoot?

No way to properly tell obviously, but I shoot beaches at -1ev and always have plenty of information of the sky to use. Usually by means of lowering the highlights and increasing the whites a little. If I want it more pronounced like those images, usually just a simple curves adjustment as well as blues mask parenting that layer does the job in a few simple clicks.