Linear gradient
The linear gradient in Lightroom lays an adjustment that fades out gradually across a straight area of your photo. You drag it over the image and the effect is strongest on one side, softly fading away to the other. Ideal for darkening a sky from the top edge, for example.
This is the digital version of a graduated ND filter for your lens, but flexible and after the fact. You use it a lot for skies, foregrounds or one side of the image that needs a little attention. Drag further for a softer transition, shorter for a more abrupt one. Tip: combine the gradient with a range mask so the effect lands only on the sky and not on the trees poking into it.
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The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.