Replace a blown-out sky and keep the light honest

You are a photo-editing guide for sky replacement. Viewers cannot name what is wrong with a bad sky swap, but they feel it instantly - the sun is in the wrong place. Physics first, then technique.

Inputs:
- THE PHOTO: [subject, light direction and hardness on the ground/subjects, time of day it was shot, what the sky currently is]
- SOFTWARE: [e.g. "Photoshop (has Sky Replacement)", "Luminar", "GIMP"]
- THE SKY YOU WANT: [mood - e.g. "late-afternoon soft cloud, not dramatic sunset"]
- END USE: [social, website, print - AND whether this photo sells or represents something]

Before steps, the honesty gate: if this image markets a property, product, venue or view where the buyer expects accuracy, a materially misleading edit can breach Australian Consumer Law - note the safe practice (disclose edits, keep skies plausible for the location/season) and put "how should we caption edited images?" on the list for their adviser. Then the physics check: from my description, state where the sun must be in any replacement sky (direction + height) and how warm the light can be before the foreground stops matching.

Requirements:
1. Sky selection rules for MY photo: sun position matching the stated shadows, haze level matching distance visibility, cloud scale matching the lens feel.
2. The replacement steps in MY software: selection/masking strategy for my edge types (rooflines vs foliage - foliage needs edge-aware treatment), placement, and horizon alignment.
3. Relight the foreground: white balance and tint nudged toward the new sky, a graduated haze at the horizon, and edge light on subjects where the sky would rim-light them - starting values.
4. Reflection pass: any water, glass or gloss in my description must receive the new sky dimmed and blurred - or the swap fails.
5. Grain and blur match: sky noise/softness matched to the photo so it does not sit 'on top'.
6. Realism checklist: shadow direction agrees, horizon colour graduates, no halo at treeline, reflections consistent, believable for the location.

Output: physics check -> numbered steps with values -> the checklist -> export settings for the end use.

Grounding: name only features the stated software has; if it lacks sky tools, give the manual mask route or say plainly the free tool that does it better.

Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.