Learn how to create an ominous darkened sky effect in Photoshop.

This tutorial shows you a quick and simple method to darken the sky in an image. Use this to seamlessly darken any part of an image

Before and After

Add An Adjustment Layer

• Load your image
• Goto the Layers Panel and click on the Black/White circle to add an Adjustment Layer
• Choose Levels from the pop-up menu

Create a Gradient

• From the Toolbar on the left hand side choose Gradient.
• From the Gradient drop-down menu choose "Black,White" and click the Reverse box.
• In the image press the Shift Key and drag the mouse from the top of the image to point where the darkened sky effect should finish (pressing the Shift Key creates a straight-line gradient).

Darken the Sky Using Levels

• On the Layers Panel double the black and white circle.
• In older versions of Photoshop a pop-window should appear. In CS5 you might see it above the Layers Panel as shown here.
• On the Output Levels section drag the white pointer on the gradient slider to the left.
• You will see the sky darken as you slide to the left - stop when you are happy with the effect.