Post Processing Software Recommendations

Hello All,

 

I've been using Photoshop Elements 15 with the NIK Collections plug-in. This combo has served me well as I really don't do too much post processing beyond the basics of exposure, sharpening, noise reduction, white balance, saturation, etc... Having said that, I've found that I just cannot get the results that I want when attempting sky replacements for blown out skies. PSE 15 does not include the "blend if" option (if it does, I cannot find it) and the Magic Wand tool doesn't capture all the pixels. I've seen some PS options out there that offer simpler methods for this, however, the user interfaces appear too complicated for my limited skill set (GIMP, for example).

 

I really don't need the full PS or Lightroom setups for what I typically do. Any recommendations? Photoworks, Luminar 3 or 4?

I have Luminar 4. I works very well for sky replacement. You can see one of my posts where I used Luminar 4 to replace the sky in the latest Post Processing Challenge here: Post Processing Challenge October 24, 2020

Rather than sky "replacement," I prefer to use sky "enhancement," with bracketed exposures rendered with AuroraHD (by Skylum). This process easily recovers foreground detail when the sky is clouded over, and a surprising amount of detail in the sky as well. Automatic masking and compositing has a formidable task, since every gap between tree branches reveals the original sky we wish to replace. Moreover the foreground is illuminated much differently on a cloudy day. How do you fix that?

 

After and before with a single frame (A7Riii) under heavy overcast. It's a bit overcooked, but at least you see the actual sky.

 

....Magic Wand tool doesn't capture all the pixels.

Did you know you can add to selections by holding down the shift key while clicking on an unselected area? This allows you to expand a selection or select non-contiguous areas.

 

Similarly you can remove parts of a selection by holding down the Alt key.

 

The selection tolerance can also be changed in conjunction with the above controls.