Change sky colour in my image

[ipbr21054]

Hi,

Ive cropped this so its real small.

The day was dull but the steam from the engine was nice & white.

I am looking for advice on how i can either alter the steam colour or the sky.

My goal is to make the steam stand out much more than it currently shows.

I will then follow your advice on the original.

Thanks

[fotofrank]

Just to start - Can I ask what version of elements you are using?

For starts , and this is just my view, your images appears to be very oversaturated and flat. So just toning down the saturation and adding in some contrast may help.

[ipbr21054]

Elements 12

Thanks

[ipbr21054]

This any better ?

[fotofrank]

I still think it needs a levels adjustment layer - just try auto.

[pontiac1940]

A difficult challenge. The submitted image is small and I increased the pixel before making some adjustments. 
Did you shoot raw or jpg? Does not matter a lot. If you use Adobe Camera Raw with your PSE 12 you might open the original images in ACR. 

This is very fast and far from good. The slider image (below the train) shows the following was done: increased contrast, reduced shadows, recued vibrance and saturation and increased clarity (which can be dangerous.) 

Clive 

[ipbr21054]

Thanks that will give me something to go by

[Moto]

Smart Brush Tool / Blue Sky. Adjust Opacity.
Edit: Add a Levels Layer to tone down the sky, (beyond adjusting opacity.)
Carefully, touch up or repeat if necessary.

[ipbr21054]

Thanks i am now trying the smart brush tool

[PeteB]

Here is my attempt.

Opened Levels and selected the white eyedropper. Clicked in the whitest part of the smoke. This corrected the white smoke. Used the levels adjustments and adjusted the shadows and the midtones. The foreground became very bright so I used the Levels mask and masked out the foreground by applying black on the mask at 70%.

As an after thought I adjusted the gray sky by using the Magic Wand to select the gray area and used Levels to make it slightly darker.

[tourerjim]

Thought I'd join in with my attempt, copy layer, used levels to brighten smoke, copy background & move to top & add layer mask, with soft edge brush & opacity about 30%, then save image and bring into Raw to complete.