How do I make my sky blue again?

Hi,

I took the two photos below with my Canon PowerShot A570IS set in fully automatic mode. Here are the choices the auto mode made:

WhiteSky.and.forest: ISO 80; 1/100 F4.0; auto white balance, evaluative metering.
WhiteSky.and.house: ISO 80; 1/250 F4.0 auto white balance, evaluative metering.

Notice that in both photos the sky is totally white. In fact, in the photo with the white house the corder of the house roof and the sky blend into one.

My questions are:

a) how can I get my blue skies back if not in the auto mode, then in the program or even the fully manual mode?

b) what is the best technique to retouch skies? I have the GIMP installed on my computers, but selecting only the sky is really hard as sometimes the sky blends into an object (like the house) and sometimes it comes through in many different part of the photo (say through the branches of a tree). What is the most effective way to select only the sky, but all of the sky (once I get it selected, I can easily change it's color)

Many thanks in advance for any help!

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Usually, if you get the blue skies in the original exposure, the rest of the shot will be underexposed. For exposure, start with this: First set the f-stop & shutter speed you need. Then adjust the ISO.

Need an exposure crutch?

How the subject affects the exposure & why manual keeps me worry free: Post #47

Selecting only the sky isn't easy, even in PS, & I don't know what tools GIMP has. Shooting RAW is a big help, & you might consider getting a GND:
Crop sensors and soft GND filters

Conkin-G2_02.jpg
.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Have the sun behind you instead of behind your subject, that way the sky and subject are lit equally.

Here's an example, shot in jpg mode, straight from camera except for slight brightening of the shadows and resizing for the web:

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/png' | Byte size: ZERO

thank you both for the excellent advice! Yes, I do need an exposure crutch and now I now where to get it!