Twilight and sky replacement

Hi Ian,

Not sure I totally understand the phrasing of your question but I think your sky replacement is the source of the issue.

In the first shot the new sky has some gaps that need to be filled and the second has caused some contrast issues in the top half of the image (see attached image). See how the gables are dull compared to your first shot. I believe either a "Relight" feature took over or your mask wasn't very crisp.

I do a lot of architectural work and use the older Luminar 4 or AI for sky replacements because it gives the best results and most control. (Luminar Neo has some bugs still and missing features). In some rare cases Photoshop works better.

More importantly is finishing off with a good color grade that uses micro-contrast to give your images some punch. In a good dusk shot the artificial lights should be the star. If you have the time, a good dusk shot usually is a combination of pre-sunset and post sunset exposures which are exposure blended to a single image.

Good luck,
Daniel