Hi bro, sorry may you help me please in your video on 3:36 min. you choosing "SELECT AND MASK" but in my version of photoshop I don't have exact one, may you know where I can find it or what can be an alternative in my case, here is a PrintScreen of what do I have, Hopefully, you can help me. My version of PS is CS6 Great regards Grigory.
Sorry, I am not sure how to add my Prin Screen that's why I will write what options do I have: _____________________________________ Disable Layer Mask | Delete Layer Mask | Apply Layer Mask | Add Mask To Selection | Subtract Mask From Selection | Intersect Mask With Selection | Refine Mask | Mask Options | -----------------------------------------------------------
Thank you sooooo so much for this!!!!! I have been struggling with blending milky way shots with foreground that contain trees for so long now and this video just changed it completely for me!!!! With the select and mask and going over those settings - that def was a gamechanger now for me. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. Much love from Germany
@@Milkywaymike yeah I know but often it wasn't ideal or the blending just didn't look that good. But this technique now to me looks and feels so much better 🙏🏻
Thanks for the tutorial, Mike! I for the longest time had been struggling to find a quick and easy way to blend complex foregrounds like this. This video was a game changer for me. Thanks for all your great content.
Love this tutorial, so helpful in melding a stacked starry sky with Sequator with a single sharp foreground. Very useful, thanks so much. Love all your tutorials...
I’ve been in such dark bortle zones that I didn’t have to expose more than once. Those places were always on ships hundreds of miles from land. When the sea cooperated that is. I love this video tho. This is such an impossibility for most folks unless they composite.
Good stuff Mike! Rather than outlining the wires and brushing them in I use the Line Tool to mimic the wire, rasterize the layer than add a stroke to it. Easy Peasy!
Also, do you have the Nik Collection plug in for Photoshop? The only reason I like that more than using the stand alone app is that I can use a layer mask to brush where I want to apply the effects to on my image as opposed to it being applied to the whole thing.
I got to the point where you said to Select and Mask but then I get the black and white mask in my view. I can't see the actual photos. I set everything the way you said to, but it doesn't remove the sky around the trees like it does in your image - it will either erase the trees or increase the sky area around the trees that I had already painted out. Suggestions? I'm using the newest subscription version on a PC. Thanks!
Unfortunately Adobe has made changes to photoshop in the past couple of years that has made “select and mask” not function nearly as good as it use to. With that being said I highly recommend using there sky replacement option instead. It works so much better and is easier to blend naturally. I made a video talking about it called “photoshop 2021 sky replacement- is it better than Luminar”. Check that out as a alternative to select and mask… It’s my favorite and easiest way to replace the sky in my opinion
Try as I might , I cannot make the “select and mask” to work to blend the edges.. I had made a comment three years ago in which I was able to do that, but I now cannot so I’ve given up on that and now I use sky replacement which is much more elegant and even replaces the sky seen through the branches in the trees..
Yeah I don’t know what Adobe did to their software but the select and mask is worse than what it use to be. I have switched to their sky replacement as well for better results.
Great video, Mike! Just what I needed. Have you ever shot against an older iron bridge and had to composite a starry background? Would the approach be similar? Your final image was just spectacular. Well done.
Chris Mosner Thanks for the kind words! Yeah I would use the same technique to mask out the bridge. There are other ways to create the mask, but the way I teach is what I use for 99% of my night composites. It seems to give me the best results compared to the other techniques
@@Milkywaymike Well I used your method. The polygonal selection technique worked beautifully for supports and girders! Took some time, but looks great. Thanks again!
Hey nice Tutorial! I have a problem with "select and mask".. when i do this step, it always wants to draw back the foreground layer. I did everything step by step i dont know what is going on. Could someone pls help?
I'm not sure what is going on with it, but I have had issues in the past which were either fixed with a future update and in the mean time I would use an older version. You should be able to re-download photoshop 2020 or 2019 if you have issue with 2021. Also I recommend using the sky replacement in photoshop instead which does a fantastic job in the meantime.
Hi Mike, love your tutorials. question for you: I have two pictures f the same subject, one exposed for the milky way and the other one for the foreground. Do you recommend I edit the looks of each in Lightroom and then use this technique to patch them together in Photoshop? I have never done this before. Thanks for your tutorials, they are great!! Keep up the great work!!!
You can edit them separately and then combine them, however I wouldn't go too crazy with your editing. Meaning, if you make one picture (lets say the sky) really contrasty to exaggerate the milky way and then your foreground is looks a little flat then the combined images may look like they don't belong. I typically do subtle changes to my images before combining them. Usually I am adjusting the white balance to make the pictures look similar, some sharpening, maybe some noise reduction if needed. As far as contrast, saturation, vibrance, dodging & burning and a S-Curve, I usually wait until I have the combined photos. With lightroom or PS you can target certain areas with those editing tools even if the image is combined so I find it best to save that when the photos are merged together. Good luck!
Thanks Mike that is super helpful! I will try it out. Last question, if I blend the pictures and then export it to edit in Lightroom (I am new to photoshop so I am not that comfortable with the program yet!) will it still be dealing with a RAW file?. Thanks for your help Mike
Hi Mike, for the first few times this seemed to work though later on every time I would press 'select and mask' as you did at 3:38 the brush doesn't work. What might the problem be?
I'm not exactly sure... Have you tried the Sky Replacement option on Photoshop yet? Go to Edit - Sky Replacement. You'll have to import you milky way shot into the sky replacement first but I like it much better than select and mask now.
Hey Mike, at 4:10 my refine brush doesn't do anything when I paint? I have the exact same settings, layers are all in the correct order ( same as yours) I've played around with the global refinements and just does nothing. Any reason that you can think of as to why? thanks
Sometimes I will adjust the temperature before blending to make the foreground look more natural with the sky. It is something I do by eye and not a specific number since often times my images are different white balances due to light pollution or time of night is was taken. Also some people prefer cooler night images while I typically shoot for warmer and neutral tones. This boils down to personal preference at that point. Ultimately you just want to make sure that the final image looks naturally blended... Avoid a dark sky with a bright foreground and avoid a cool foreground with a warm sky (or vice versa).
Hello Mike, thank your the great tutorial. Unfortunately after successfully trying to duplicate your success, I have found that now the "select and mask" option no longer works. Using cc 2019. I haven't changed any settings, and nothing else has changed, it just doesn't work. I can still access the 'select and mask' option when using a layer mask, but when I use the brush tool, it doesn't do anything, it seems to be doing something when I release the mouse, but then no change is made to the mask. Any ideas? Thanks
I've had quirky things happen with "Select and mask" in the past in which it didn't work however usually with a reboot of the software or an update everything would work again. My only suggestion would be to restart the computer and try using different images to see what happens. If it still persists you may have to reach out to Adobe or trouble shooting forums. Sorry I couldn't help more
When I load layers in photoshop they lap on top of eachother and look nothing like this. I also can’t even see the second layer when I click on it. Fuck this program so much.
Wow, instagrammers must love this....how to completely fake your Milky Way shots and not have to go out hundreds of miles in the dead of a cold night and spend hours shooting your Milky Way with its natural foreground. You don't even have to worry whether the core is going to be in the right direction for your foreground! Now you can do everything in seconds without leaving your house!
Totally agree. At least he is being honest about blending two different images, but I bet there are plenty of individuals selling images like these as "photographs" and not disclosing their true origins.
Hi bro, sorry may you help me please in your video on 3:36 min. you choosing "SELECT AND MASK" but in my version of photoshop I don't have exact one, may you know where I can find it or what can be an alternative in my case, here is a PrintScreen of what do I have, Hopefully, you can help me.
My version of PS is CS6
Great regards Grigory.
Sorry, I am not sure how to add my Prin Screen that's why I will write what options do I have:
_____________________________________
Disable Layer Mask |
Delete Layer Mask |
Apply Layer Mask |
Add Mask To Selection |
Subtract Mask From Selection |
Intersect Mask With Selection |
Refine Mask |
Mask Options |
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hey Grigory, you are going to want to choose REFINE MASK this was the old option before they changed it to "select and mask".
Thanks a lot.
Thank you sooooo so much for this!!!!! I have been struggling with blending milky way shots with foreground that contain trees for so long now and this video just changed it completely for me!!!! With the select and mask and going over those settings - that def was a gamechanger now for me. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. Much love from Germany
You are very welcome! Photoshop also has the sky replacement tool now which also works really well with blending the sky and trees!
@@Milkywaymike yeah I know but often it wasn't ideal or the blending just didn't look that good. But this technique now to me looks and feels so much better 🙏🏻
Thanks for the tutorial, Mike! I for the longest time had been struggling to find a quick and easy way to blend complex foregrounds like this. This video was a game changer for me. Thanks for all your great content.
Awesome, I'm glad I could help!
Great tutorial! the easiest way to composite images! Thank you
Love this tutorial, so helpful in melding a stacked starry sky with Sequator with a single sharp foreground. Very useful, thanks so much. Love all your tutorials...
Thank your for the kind words and the feedback! Glad I could help!
Thank you Mike! I love your tutorials and how you explain your technique.
Anytime! Thanks for watching!
Thank you nicely done.
I’ve been in such dark bortle zones that I didn’t have to expose more than once. Those places were always on ships hundreds of miles from land. When the sea cooperated that is. I love this video tho. This is such an impossibility for most folks unless they composite.
Thanks! Unfortunately I live in a terrible bortle class and have to travel hours away for any decent night sky.
Good stuff Mike! Rather than outlining the wires and brushing them in I use the Line Tool to mimic the wire, rasterize the layer than add a stroke to it. Easy Peasy!
Also, do you have the Nik Collection plug in for Photoshop? The only reason I like that more than using the stand alone app is that I can use a layer mask to brush where I want to apply the effects to on my image as opposed to it being applied to the whole thing.
stevenjmagner great point brotha!!
stevenjmagner yeah I have it for photoshop as well. Yeah I definitely experiment with applying it to specific layers too!
thanks mike I love your tutorials and I always learn a lot!
please don't stop posting!
Appreciate it!
I got to the point where you said to Select and Mask but then I get the black and white mask in my view. I can't see the actual photos. I set everything the way you said to, but it doesn't remove the sky around the trees like it does in your image - it will either erase the trees or increase the sky area around the trees that I had already painted out. Suggestions? I'm using the newest subscription version on a PC. Thanks!
Unfortunately Adobe has made changes to photoshop in the past couple of years that has made “select and mask” not function nearly as good as it use to. With that being said I highly recommend using there sky replacement option instead. It works so much better and is easier to blend naturally. I made a video talking about it called “photoshop 2021 sky replacement- is it better than Luminar”. Check that out as a alternative to select and mask… It’s my favorite and easiest way to replace the sky in my opinion
Thank you Mike
Thanks. Exactly what I needed. Really appreciate it.
Try as I might , I cannot make the “select and mask” to work to blend the edges.. I had made a comment three years ago in which I was able to do that, but I now cannot so I’ve given up on that and now I use sky replacement which is much more elegant and even replaces the sky seen through the branches in the trees..
Yeah I don’t know what Adobe did to their software but the select and mask is worse than what it use to be. I have switched to their sky replacement as well for better results.
Nice way to achieve the composite. I use Luminosity Masking for my composites.
Ryan Luna also another great way to composite! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this tutorial!
Incredible tutorial! I have learned so much from your excellent videos. I just got the Ioptron Skytracker Pro, can't wait to get out and use it!
Thanks for supporting my channel! The sky tracker is going allow you to get some crazy detail of the Milky Way... Enjoy!
another awesome one! thanks man love these
Thank you for watching!
Great video, Mike! Just what I needed. Have you ever shot against an older iron bridge and had to composite a starry background? Would the approach be similar?
Your final image was just spectacular. Well done.
Chris Mosner Thanks for the kind words! Yeah I would use the same technique to mask out the bridge. There are other ways to create the mask, but the way I teach is what I use for 99% of my night composites. It seems to give me the best results compared to the other techniques
@@Milkywaymike Well I used your method. The polygonal selection technique worked beautifully for supports and girders! Took some time, but looks great. Thanks again!
brilliant, thank you -
Thanks!
Great guide! Thanks a lot :)
Hey nice Tutorial! I have a problem with "select and mask".. when i do this step, it always wants to draw back the foreground layer. I did everything step by step i dont know what is going on. Could someone pls help?
I'm not sure what is going on with it, but I have had issues in the past which were either fixed with a future update and in the mean time I would use an older version. You should be able to re-download photoshop 2020 or 2019 if you have issue with 2021. Also I recommend using the sky replacement in photoshop instead which does a fantastic job in the meantime.
@@Milkywaymike yeah, thanks for the reply :)
Great video buddy , thank you very much , just become a subscriber
appreciate it!! cheers!
Hi Mike, love your tutorials. question for you: I have two pictures f the same subject, one exposed for the milky way and the other one for the foreground. Do you recommend I edit the looks of each in Lightroom and then use this technique to patch them together in Photoshop? I have never done this before.
Thanks for your tutorials, they are great!! Keep up the great work!!!
You can edit them separately and then combine them, however I wouldn't go too crazy with your editing. Meaning, if you make one picture (lets say the sky) really contrasty to exaggerate the milky way and then your foreground is looks a little flat then the combined images may look like they don't belong. I typically do subtle changes to my images before combining them. Usually I am adjusting the white balance to make the pictures look similar, some sharpening, maybe some noise reduction if needed. As far as contrast, saturation, vibrance, dodging & burning and a S-Curve, I usually wait until I have the combined photos. With lightroom or PS you can target certain areas with those editing tools even if the image is combined so I find it best to save that when the photos are merged together. Good luck!
Thanks Mike that is super helpful! I will try it out. Last question, if I blend the pictures and then export it to edit in Lightroom (I am new to photoshop so I am not that comfortable with the program yet!) will it still be dealing with a RAW file?. Thanks for your help Mike
I'm trying to use this Select and Mask technique, but when i make changes and hit OK, it doesn't do anything.
Hi Mike, for the first few times this seemed to work though later on every time I would press 'select and mask' as you did at 3:38 the brush doesn't work. What might the problem be?
I'm not exactly sure... Have you tried the Sky Replacement option on Photoshop yet? Go to Edit - Sky Replacement. You'll have to import you milky way shot into the sky replacement first but I like it much better than select and mask now.
@@Milkywaymike Wow!!!! Just tried it and it's incredible. Thanks for recommendation and prompt reply. Am now subscribed :)
Hey Mike, at 4:10 my refine brush doesn't do anything when I paint? I have the exact same settings, layers are all in the correct order ( same as yours) I've played around with the global refinements and just does nothing. Any reason that you can think of as to why? thanks
I'm not sure without seeing a video of it.
I'm having the same issue. hopefully you guys got it sorted out 😊
@@andyleclerc200 Same Issue!
All goes wrong when I select and mask. There must be an easier way to do this?
Mike do you color grade the 2 photos before blending or do you blend the raw's? I noticed in lightroom all the color sliders were default
Sometimes I will adjust the temperature before blending to make the foreground look more natural with the sky. It is something I do by eye and not a specific number since often times my images are different white balances due to light pollution or time of night is was taken. Also some people prefer cooler night images while I typically shoot for warmer and neutral tones. This boils down to personal preference at that point. Ultimately you just want to make sure that the final image looks naturally blended... Avoid a dark sky with a bright foreground and avoid a cool foreground with a warm sky (or vice versa).
Hello Mike, thank your the great tutorial. Unfortunately after successfully trying to duplicate your success, I have found that now the "select and mask" option no longer works. Using cc 2019. I haven't changed any settings, and nothing else has changed, it just doesn't work. I can still access the 'select and mask' option when using a layer mask, but when I use the brush tool, it doesn't do anything, it seems to be doing something when I release the mouse, but then no change is made to the mask. Any ideas? Thanks
I've had quirky things happen with "Select and mask" in the past in which it didn't work however usually with a reboot of the software or an update everything would work again. My only suggestion would be to restart the computer and try using different images to see what happens. If it still persists you may have to reach out to Adobe or trouble shooting forums. Sorry I couldn't help more
@@Milkywaymike No worries, I appreciate the reply. Thanks again. I will give your suggestions a try.
When I load layers in photoshop they lap on top of eachother and look nothing like this. I also can’t even see the second layer when I click on it. Fuck this program so much.
Wow, instagrammers must love this....how to completely fake your Milky Way shots and not have to go out hundreds of miles in the dead of a cold night and spend hours shooting your Milky Way with its natural foreground. You don't even have to worry whether the core is going to be in the right direction for your foreground! Now you can do everything in seconds without leaving your house!
inefekt69 to each their own man...
Totally agree. At least he is being honest about blending two different images, but I bet there are plenty of individuals selling images like these as "photographs" and not disclosing their true origins.