Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:
I can’t actually see what’s going on in your pictures, but I don’t need to. Ceilings that get a popcorn finish have been casually (to say the least) taped and skimmed. What you need to do (assuming you want a visually pleasing flat ceiling) is skim out further from the tape joints. This will also have the benefit of filling any dings/voids. There are plenty of tutorials on youtube, but here are my tips: use topping mud as it is easier to sand less is better… build gradually in multiple coats, rather than trying to glop it all on in one if you have high standards/ low patience, and/or the light hits the ceiling at a low angle (sunset, sunup), you might consider calling a pro. Drywall is a...
Full answer by Aloysius Defenestrate: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/287634 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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