Help Needed Using Two RAW Conversions

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere but a search provided not useful info.

I have a photo with an OK foreground and an over exposed background. I understand that there is a technique that can be used with 2 RAW conversions (one for background and one for foreground) so that you get the best of both worlds. I was once shown how to do this in CS2 but now I only have Elements 5 so the instructions don't work due to the lack of the "Add layer mask" option.

Could anyone talk me through how to do this in PE5 or point me at a tutorial?

Thanks in advance.

Please take a look at THIS THREAD

In a nutshell, I find that putting the bright one on top of the dark one, then - using the erase tool - erase away the blown sky to reveal the properly exposed on below.

Rad

Thanks for the quick response but I need a bit more detail on how this is done - I am a complete n00b when it comes to any flavour of PS.

Nice pic btw - that's pretty much what I am trying to achieve.

(Assuming Windows)

Open BOTH shots in PS.

"Select All" on the brighter one then press the CTRL and C keys at the same time.

Move to darker one, then press the CTRL and V keys at the same time. This should drop the light one on top of the dark one.

Select the "Eraser" tool (It looks like and eraser ), and choose a size of several hundred pixels, the actual size you want will depend on size (pixel-wise) of the shot. Make sure the "hardness" is set to a low number (I use zero). Set the opacity for 50%, but experiment with this value to find what works for you.

Start erasing the blown areas.

The closer you get to the edge*, the smaller of an eraser you need, and the more you will need to "zoom in" on your work. *By "edge", I mean an border between the light version on top and where you want the dark area below to show through.

When happy, select "Flatten" from the "Layers" menu. If you don't flatten it, you will not be able to save it as a jpg.

Rad

Many thanks!

Take a look here. It has some good info with photos. http://www.luminous-landscape.com …ls/digital-blending.shtml