Several photo processing packages have a sky replacement tool. Most work reasonably well on simple images with a distinct horizon but have problems with images with 'holes' or main features having much the same shade as the original sky.

I've included the results from the Photoshop and Luminar 4 sky replacement tools for comparison. Both tools have pros/cons. Photoshop errors on the side of not overlaying sky on the main feature and Luminar 4 errors on the side of overlaying main features. In cases like this it is probably worth the effort to resort to the tried and true method of sky replacement, i.e.: mask the main feature(s) and overlay them on the sky of your choice. Of course you could also just wait to shoot the picture when the sky is just the way you want it...

Enjoy!

bwa

Don't think I'm alone wanting to keep myself and my gear generally out of the cold. Won't be flying anywhere again this year, so after the next forty or so days, will be looking for some activities to keep me busy photographically. I always shoot a bit from the house and car, and when the weather is unseasonably warm, will get out prospecting for wildlife. I don't care for the condensation dance, so generally don't let the cameras get very cold. This year I have a couple of old pro cameras and some second tier lenses and may push my former limits. There are always the thousands of slides waiting to be digitized, a couple of big cartons of ancient family photos to be scanned, but that wears out pretty quick for me and becomes an endurance exercise. I have film cameras, film and even chemicals for processing. Might go there, it's been too long. Indoors, of course, cooking stuff - easy to expand that. The Dogs, always glad to model. Random things that catch my eye. There may be some photo friendly events at the Arena. If you live in a place with genuine Winter, what are your favorite pursuits? I can use some new ideas.

Don't think I'm alone wanting to keep myself and my gear generally out of the cold. Won't be flying anywhere again this year, so after the next forty or so days, will be looking for some activities to keep me busy photographically. I always shoot a bit from the house and car, and when the weather is unseasonably warm, will get out prospecting for wildlife. I don't care for the condensation dance, so generally don't let the cameras get very cold. This year I have a couple of old pro cameras and some second tier lenses and may push my former limits. There are always the thousands of slides waiting to be digitized, a couple of big cartons of ancient family photos to be scanned, but that wears out pretty quick for me and becomes an endurance exercise. I have film cameras, film and even chemicals for processing. Might go there, it's been too long. Indoors, of course, cooking stuff - easy to expand that. The Dogs, always glad to model. Random things that catch my eye. There may be some photo friendly events at the Arena. If you live in a place with genuine Winter, what are your favorite pursuits? I can use some new ideas.

I am in the midst of working on a presentation for our photography club on Macro/Closeup. Our goal was to study alternatives above & beyond a true 1:1 macro lens. A big concern is working distance from your subject i.e. moving insects as an example. How close does she really want to get to her subject and what does she hope to capture i.e. just flowers? I work with a Nikon D7100 crop sensor and a 36MM extension tube with my 50MM f/1.8 gave me great results for flowers but a 2" working distance was too close for bees as an example. I spooked them. I personally find closeups of flowers with my 18-140MM at 140MM to be very pleasing. I did have some nice results with my 18-140MM at 140M with a screw on +4 Opteka screw-on diopter. The other issue is lighting when you get this close. I used my on-camera speedlight with the Angler Diffuser for walk around shooting for the extension tube shots & diopter as well. My partner on the presentation really liked her Sony Bridge Camera shots at 600MM and our birders have similar results with their long lenses. Focusing is normally manual tipping in and out unless you use a tripod except for the long telephotos. All of the attached photos were taken with my 18-140MM at 140MM f/5.6. Are these close enough? If not, I can share what I took with my extension tubes and diopter. Please advise.

my 11 year grandaughter wants/needs a lens to take closeups of flowers etc. I have nikon D90 mostly in auto mode which liimits me. she has a canon rebel t6. I have looked at several websites of canon lenses but don't understand model numbers/description. the kit lenses do not fit the need. i don't remember the range of zoom, one reaches about 55mm the other definetly 300mm. IF you have time, suggestions for appropriate or THIS IS THE ONE lens, CANON or other would be appreciated. I am a regular daily reader. right now she feels she is a good photographer after winning 1st place in local county fair photo contest and a photography club in her middle school. She talks the talk with confidence I want to help her walk the walk for her future. She will eventually be regular on this forum. Thank you for any help and guidance.

I complement ABJanes, UHH needs more studies like his. We live in a very technical world once we step out of simplistic point-and-shoot cameras. [I am not talking about compact sophisticated Superzoom 1" sensor cameras, they are not simplistic and should not be called point-and-shoot.]

Elements+ is a $12 addon to PSE, ABJanes said, "Elements+ an Elements 2021 Plug-in that opens up Photoshop features hidden in the software."
https://elementsplus.net/

The Raynox dcr-150 is about $70 on Amazon. This snap-on adds 1.5x for macro work. This lens has 3 elements.
Note that the OPTEKA has 4 elements compared to Raynox 3. Elements are combined glass with differing refractive indexes which combined reduce chromatic aberration (CA).

The OPTEKA 10x is bout $20 for 55mm and $35 for 77mm on B&H, "this add-on lens features a four-element construction made from high refractive index, low dispersion clear optical glass for maintained image quality. A hard anti-reflective coating has also been applied to the glass elements to reduce lens flare and ghosting for greater contrast and clarity."
https://opteka.com/search?type=product&q=10x*

When I bought my close-up attachment I chose Opteka because it was a screw-on and had more elements.

Opteka close up attachments come in a set of lower power:
https://opteka.com/products/opt-optcu67a?_pos=3&_sid=03c046499&_ss=r

I use the Raynox DCR-150 as a 'tube lens' for infinity microscope objectives for it has an equivalent focal length of 208mm.

I've used it as a 'magnifier' on other camera lenses and I have had success with it on primes and not-so-good results on my zoom lenses and with lenses of larger diameter glass the spring-tension mounting blocks much of the lens so I have little use for it with larger diameter lenses and if I were to use screw-on adapters the result would be the same.

If I were to take highly detailed images of flowers my first choice of lens would not be one with a magnifier attached. Deciding factors for me would be the size of the flower, how close I could get to it?, do I want to showcase the entire bloom?, do I want to showcase the reproductive parts showing the pollen? what lighting will I be using?

An often overlooked lens that produces stellar flower images is a wide angle lens which allows for a very close focus distance. Although not a macro in the true sense of the term, they do produce high level of details being that close to the subject. My favorite is a 17-30mm on a full-frame camera and add a short 12mm extension tube and it opens up an entire new world of viewing.

I don't know how to predict which focal length will give vignetting or not with this Raynox lens. For me, it would be mainly a matter of just trying it. Cropping would be the solution for the current arrangement, and personally I think it is a viable option. It wouldn't bother me at all to crop this picture and call it a success.
A Raynox 250 will be more powerful, showing only the center of the image you see here so it will show very little if any vignetting.

As for the presentation, the likely things to bring up for lenses are:
> Reversing rings (the cheapest option. But need to pre-set the aperture).
> Extension tubes (cheap and versatile. A bit tedious in the switching in and out department).
> Good diopters (also pretty cheap, and the most convenient for the general photographer who wants to quickly move from landscapes --> close up--> landscape).
> Macro lenses (now we are gettin' serious! But the lenses are good for other things too).

But also very important is lighting and diffusion. I'm sure you know that one needs smaller apertures for macro if you want some depth of focus, but smaller apertures mean you often need a flash. The built in flash is often not powerful enough, and a longer lens rig won't work well with it since the lens casts a shadow over the subject. So an external flash is important. And the light needs to be diffused & deflected downward. A diffuser can be simple (a "cup" made of Kleenex paper, or a chunk of translucent white milk jug plastic), commercial, or a more involved but home-made diffuser. There are tons of pictures online showing different diffusers.

Raynox lenses are rather good and I use them with my macro lens to reach magnifications greater than 1:1. I have several Raynox lenses that have different powers. The lenses have different focal length requirements in order to prevent vignetting. Raynox lenses are rather good but not particularly cheap. The weakest Raynox lens that I have is the DCR 250.

I have not noticed vignetting with my m.zuiko 60mm macro lens or my 85mm micro-nikkor. I suspect you must select a longer focal length. There is information in the Raynox documentation. According to Raynox ,

http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/digital/d_slr/index.html

you need to use a lens of 75mm (35mm equivalent) or greater to prevent vignetting. The DCR 150 is a +4.8 diopter lens.

Using a step down ring instead of the adapter leads to more secure fitting to the lens. Are you sure that you have correctly mounted the adapter?

The flower that you have photographed is rather large. Are you sure you need a macro lens for this subject? I have several non-macro lenses that could photograph this subject with out issue.

I complement ABJanes, UHH needs more studies like his. We live in a very technical world once we step out of simplistic point-and-shoot cameras. [I am not talking about compact sophisticated Superzoom 1" sensor cameras, they are not simplistic and should not be called point-and-shoot.]

Elements+ is a $12 addon to PSE, ABJanes said, "Elements+ an Elements 2021 Plug-in that opens up Photoshop features hidden in the software."
https://elementsplus.net/

The Raynox dcr-150 is about $70 on Amazon. This snap-on adds 1.5x for macro work. This lens has 3 elements.
Note that the OPTEKA has 4 elements compared to Raynox 3. Elements are combined glass with differing refractive indexes which combined reduce chromatic aberration (CA).

The OPTEKA 10x is bout $20 for 55mm and $35 for 77mm on B&H, "this add-on lens features a four-element construction made from high refractive index, low dispersion clear optical glass for maintained image quality. A hard anti-reflective coating has also been applied to the glass elements to reduce lens flare and ghosting for greater contrast and clarity."
https://opteka.com/search?type=product&q=10x*

When I bought my close-up attachment I chose Opteka because it was a screw-on and had more elements.

Opteka close up attachments come in a set of lower power:
https://opteka.com/products/opt-optcu67a?_pos=3&_sid=03c046499&_ss=r