The technique I posted earlier is handy for making the sky darker, but what if you want is a cheerful, bright blue sky?
The quickest route to a bright, blue sky, is simply replacing it.
This technique takes a little prep work. You'll need to shoot some photos of bright, blue skies. (Note to self: Next time I'm in Tucson, I need to take some more sky photos.) Or find some sky images on a royalty-free/creative commons web site.
OK. Once you have your sky photo, open it side by side with your property photo. Both images should be the same size. Resize one (or both) if necessary (Image -> Resize -> Image Size)
Making a quick visual check, I think I'll want the clouds in the sky photo to be a little closer to the top of the image. I can stretch them up there with the skew tool. Click on the cloud photo. Click Select -> All.
Click Image -> Transform -> Skew
Click on the left skew handle and drag upwards. Then click on the right skew handle and drag upwards. Remember this is an optional step. I'm just doing it because I think it is what this particular image will need.
Click on the property photo to make it active. Then click the Magic Wand tool.
The Magic Wand is another super easy selection tool. Click on the dull, faded sky in the property photo.
Because the faded sky is a uniform color in this photo, the Magic Wand correctly selected all of it. If you have an image where the Magic Wand does not select all the area you want selected, holding down the SHIFT key and clicking again will add material to your selection. Holding down the ALT key and clicking will subtract material from the selection. Changing the number in the tolerance box will also increase or decrease the selection area. When the selection is finished, you will see the "marching ants" selection border.
Great. Now the sky is selected. But what we really need is to select everything except the sky. No problem. Click Select -> Inverse.
This is the fun part. Click on the Move tool.
Click on the house in the property photo, and just drag it into the sky photo.
The sky seems a little too intense for me. With the merged image active, glance to the right, at the Layer Palette. Click on the layer labeled Background. Be sure Background is highlighted, not Layer 1.
Click Enhance -> Adjust Lighting -> Levels (you could also make this adjustment with Brightness/Contrast or Shadows/Highlights - you can experiment and see which you prefer).
Using Levels, move the center slider towards the left.
Done. To use the image on the web, you'll need to flatten the layers. Click Layer -> Flatten Image. Then Click File -> Save for Web.
More on Photoshop Elements Selection Tools:
Being Selective: Photoshop Elements Selection Tools
Photoshop Elements Selection Tools: The Marquee Can Do More Than You Think
Photoshop Elements Selection Tools: The Magic Wand
Photoshop Elements: Fast And Easy Blue Skies
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