Add wow factor to your images with Sky Replacement.

Get the sky you love in three easy steps.

The Sky Replacement tool uses artificial intelligence-powered Adobe Sensei to insert a new sky in place of the sky in the original image. Thanks to Sky Replacement algorithms, Photoshop can analyse and recognise the current sky and then plug in a new one. Upgrade your original sky in three steps:

1. Go to Select and choose Sky from the drop-down menu.

2. Choose Edit › Sky Replacement.

3. Use the sky drop-down to select a new sky from one of the preset sky images.

Adobe Photoshop offers a collection of skies, organised in three categories: Blue Skies, Spectacular and Sunset. Blue Skies include daytime skies in solid blue or with clouds. Spectacular skies range from dramatic storm clouds and sunscapes to rainbows and a night sky. Sunset features yellow, orange, pink and red sunset hues.

You can also import and use your own sky image to replace the sky. To do this, click the down caret and then the plus sign — you can import any JPG or PNG image.

“The best thing about Sky Replacement is that everything remains editable via the traditional Photoshop workflow,” says photoshop expert Jesús Ramirez. “This is not like a filter where once you apply it, you’re stuck with it. You actually have a lot of control and all these controls eventually become a layer mask or adjustment layer.”

Masking sliders adjust the edges of the sky image.

Use the Shift Edge slider to create distance between the foreground image and the sky. Drag the slider to the right to zoom the layer in. Drag it to the left to extend the mask further away from the edge of the original image for a halo effect. You can make the sky sharp or blurry with the Fade Edge slider.

Zoom in on your new sky.

If the new sky doesn’t cover the background as well as you’d like or it bleeds over into the original image, just click Zoom and use the Brush tool to paint in (show more) or subtract from (hide) the new sky. You can also use the Move tool in the Sky Replacement window to control the position of the sky if it needs some realignment.

Set the mood with sky adjustments.

Make the sky brighter or darker with the Brightness slider. This becomes a brightness and contrast layer. To turn the sky warmer or cooler, use the Temperature slider. This becomes the colour balance adjustment layer.

The Scale slider lets you shrink or enlarge the sky image. You can also flip the sky horizontally to match the light direction of the foreground image. To do this, click the Flip tickbox.

Control your original image with foreground adjustments.

The Lighting mode drop-down is a regular pixelator that adjusts the brightness of the image. Select Multiply to darken and Screen to lighten. Use the Lighting adjustment slider to lighten or darken the background of the original image where it connects to the new sky so it blends with the new sky.

You can also create a curve adjustment layer to harmonise the colours with the Colour adjustment slider. It takes the colours from the new sky image and applies them to the original image in the foreground.

Make the finishing touches.

Whether your aim is a natural or surreal sky, Colour Lookup Adjustment will help you to match the sky to your image. “After replacing the sky, you can colour-grade your new image with a Colour Lookup adjustment layer,” says Ramirez. “This will help your foreground image look realistic with the sky look and feel you are going for.”

1. New Adjustment Layer › Colour Lookup.

2. Select 3DLUT in the file drop-down menu. To achieve a nighttime look, select either Moonlight.3DL or NightFromDay.CUBE.

3. Add a Hue and Saturation adjustment layer or use Curves to further refine your photo so you achieve the look you want.

Save your image as New Layers.

When you’re satisfied with the changes you’ve made, it’s time to save your new image. Set your output to Output to New Layers to keep everything editable, then click OK. Photoshop will generate an adjustment layer for each of the adjustment options.

Sky Replacement works for videos too.

You can use Photoshop to replace the sky in video clips by transforming it into a smart object and then following the steps outlined above.

1. File › Open video.
 

2. From your Layers panel, right-click on your video and convert it into a Smart Object.

Your video will still play, but Photoshop won’t recognise it as a video layer — it recognises it as a photo layer. “For Sky Replacement to work with video,” Ramirez explains, “you need to have your video shot on a tripod because Photoshop can’t do motion tracking like Adobe After Effects or other applications.”

The sky’s the limit for creating a customised look and feel for your original images by photo editing with Sky Replacement. It’s an intuitive, easy and fun feature that gives you control over the weather that any photographer would love to have.