Using color select/erase to change sky in a photo

[cyberqueen]

I have been trying to use the color select/erase feature in Xara P&GD9 (version 9.1.1.28178) on my Windows 7 64-bit computer. According to various Help explanations, I can use this feature to change the appearance of the sky in a photo -- for example, to change it from something drab to an attractive blue. I've now tried to do this in several versions of two photos, and I've been completely unsuccessful. Following the instructions in Help, I first used the color select/erase tool and clicked on the sky in several places to erase it. I then clicked on the Make Soft Mask button and saw that everything but the sky was now pink. I then went to Enhance in the Photo Tool and selected the Hue control. But no matter where or how much I changed the Hue and/or the strength, nothing happened. I was left with the same drab sky I started with. I've tried to show what I've done with four thumbnails. I'd be most grateful for some help with this.

[PeteS]

Is the image on the left of the above 4 the original image? The sky area in that image is white, so it has no hue to change. Any change that is happening will be very difficult to see because of this.

[cyberqueen]

Pete, thanks very much for your prompt response. I think that the image on the left is the original, though I'm not sure. I'll put up another thumbnail that I'm sure is the original (it needs to be rotated, but I'll just leave it as it is). But even so, I thought white was a color and that it could be changed just like any other color. (Also, I doubt it's pure white, since it is the sky, not a painting.) ??

[PeteS]

Using the colour picker in Designer Pro it shows that the sky area is #ffffff (white).

Any colour on the greyscale (white through to black) has no hue value, so changing its hue will make no difference to the colour.

[amoore]

Once you've erased the existing sky, you'll have a tranparent area where the sky used to be. You can layer the building photo over a photo of blue sky to get the effect you're looking for.

[cyberqueen]

Pete, thanks for your followup response. Apparently I was confusing "hue" and "color." I'm still surprised that the sky was uniformly "white," but at least I now see that if something is white (or black), apparently one cannot use the Hue setting to change it. Again, thanks very much.

[cyberqueen]

Once you've erased the existing sky, you'll have a tranparent area where the sky used to be. You can layer the building photo over a photo of blue sky to get the effect you're looking for.

Thanks very much, amoore, for this helpful suggestion!

[amoore]

That worked out well! Glad to be of service.

Allison