How to add or replace a sky in Photoshop

Hey guys!

Today I'm going to show you how to add contrast or drama to a photo's existing sky. This technique is very helpful in photos with a bare or boring sky that just needs a bit of pick-me-up. So start off by thinking of a time that you have ever taken a picture of the sky and it just turned out flat and lifeless. Upload that picture to Photoshop, and we'll start to give it a major boost and bring the life back into it from there.

This is the picture I'm going to use. I took this picture on a hot summer day in the middle of the blah of the day. At this point the sun was straight up above and didn't help the lights reflection from the lens what-so-ever. Knowing that I didn't take the picture during golden hour, which is the best time to achieve ideal lighting, I didn't worry. I knew that by using this simple trick, I could enhance the sky and add just the right touch that was missing from the sky.

1. The first step is to open a picture in Photoshop.

2. Then add an image over lay by pressing place embedded

3. After adding your desired sky overlay, press multiply in the layers section. You also may want to turn down the opacity on the sky to create a more realistic look.

4. Finally add your desired touch ups and erase the sections were the sky over laps the picture. Here's the final outcome!