How to Add Realistic Clouds to Photos Using PhotoImpact

Adding realistic clouds to a photo is so neat. I took a photo that I had with a plain blue sky and added some clouds. It looked so real. In this tutorial I will show you how to apply the realistic clouds to your photos using PhotoImpact.

Open PhotoImpact and let it load. When the splash screen comes up, click Create New Image. We will need to create a new image to work on and then open our photo. You can create the image any size that you want. You can also select any background color that you want.

Next, you will need to open the photo that you want to apply the clouds too. Click Object at the top of your PhotoImpact window and then click Insert Image Object > From File. The window will open and you will need to find the photo that you want to use on your computer. Click the photo and click the open button on the box. Your photo will open in your window.

On the right side of your screen you will see the different panels. You will need to maximize the Easy Palette panel. Click the square at the top of the box to maximize it.

Inside the Easy Palette panel you will see Image Enhancements. Click the plus sign to expand the Image Enhancements section. In this section you will see the Particle link. Click the plus sign beside it to expand it.

Click the Clouds link in the Particle section. You will see the different clouds in the window to the right of your panel. Scroll through the thumbnails and try the different clouds by double clicking the thumbnail. You will need to undo each effect before you apply another one. If you don't undo the previous effect, the other effects will just build on it. Sometimes when you add more than one cloud effect it looks cool but sometimes it doesn't look that great. To undo an effect, click the back arrow at the top of your window.

You can also change the clouds options like the size and thickness. Right click on a cloud effect and select Modify Properties and Apply. When the box opens you can adjust the Effect Control and the Particle Parameters. Click Apply to apply it or you can click Preview to preview it before you apply it.