Damien Symonds

Cool.

You have two externals?

Yes ... isn't it? Have you checked? To see that your photos are on there?

Terrific! And how about your non-photo files? Email attachments, personal documents, that kind of thing? Do you back them up onto that drive too?

No more of an idiot than any other Lightroom user, I promise. This, in a nutshell, is the problem with Lightroom - its users don't truly know where their files are. Where did you backup to? An external hard drive, or a cloud?

How have you backed up before now? It shouldn't be any different.

Yes, that's right. This one is also important: https://www.damiensymonds.net/preventing-banding-in-backdrops/

Download PSD

No clue, I'm so sorry!

It'll be really hard, I reckon. I don't envy you. Getting rid of the lights is one thing. The clouds, another matter entirely.

https://www.damiensymonds.net/2012/10/using-photoshops-gradient-layer.html

Oh, wait, I just saw your last comment. Yes, if you want to get rid of the clouds too, it might be a gradient job.

No, this really is a job for cloning. Make sure you clone with a nice big brush. https://www.damiensymonds.net/2010/10/role-of-masks-when-cloning.html

@Gera?

Hmmm ... was it this one? https://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/06/using-gradient-to-fix-sky.html May I see the photo you're working on?

The classes will blow your mind in so many ways, I promise.

There are no shortcuts for this kind of edit, sorry @jharden724. This will require the Raw Class and the Levels Class, and a large investment of your time.

Sorry about the delay. Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest for a microsecond that post-processing isn't involved. Of course it is. I meant, the dual-exposure (twice raw processing) isn't necessary. Just one good raw edit, then your Levels work. It's been a LONG time since you took the Raw Class, and a heck of a lot has changed in that time. As a previous member you don't need to pay full price again, only the refresher price. I urge you to consider it. This is with a single raw edit, then Levels: Yes, of course you should have used one of those. Some lighting would have helped your cause a LOT.

Generally blending like this should be avoided if possible, and I think it's possible here. Could you send me the raw file? https://spaces.hightail.com/uplink/BellePhotography

https://www.damiensymonds.net/desktop-monitor-brightness

Ah, bummer. Everything you describe suggests that the lab has changed their printing between your old prints and your new ones. Unless it's a different lab?

When you got new prints, were they of the same photos as your old prints?

I don't think "Transfer" should be turned on, should it?

How about in the Brush panel? (Via the Window menu). Is the "Shape Dynamics" box unchecked as (I think) it should be?

Isn't it the pencil-in-a-target button right at the end? That's what it is in my version.