Photograph help

[kenoh]

Hi Guys,

Looking for some help. I like to take pictures with the moon in them, for example a city skyline (theortically, not taken one yet), landscapes etc. but maintain detail in the skyline/landscape AND get some detail in the moon.

My challenge is that I want the moon to not be a blown out white smudge in the sky.

How do you guys do that? do you use a graduated ND filter? do you bracket the shot and if so how many stops? do you take multiple images and stack? or do you photoshop a previous capture into the image later?

I am struggling with this one as there is a lane, a dark lane near my house and it is spooky as hell but I cannot reproduce the horror movie look that I see with my eye - the dark but detailed trees and undergrowth, with the ominous moon above peeking through the trees. - bit dramatic but you get the drift.

Help!
Ken.

 

[deeddawg]

I can't give specific advice since I don't typically do that style of shot, but perhaps this will help:

The moon is in full sunlight. You need to expose for it accordingly. As in "sunny 16 rule" type exposure, though I suspect often a bit less depending on air quality and how far off the horizon the moon is (i.e. amount of air dimming the light).

Either way you're probably going to need to make two exposures (one for the moon, one for the scene) and combine them in post processing.

 

[kenoh]

I can't give specific advice since I don't typically do that style of shot, but perhaps this will help:

The moon is in full sunlight. You need to expose for it accordingly. As in "sunny 16 rule" type exposure, though I suspect often a bit less depending on air quality and how far off the horizon the moon is (i.e. amount of air dimming the light).

Either way you're probably going to need to make two exposures (one for the moon, one for the scene) and combine them in post processing.

Thank you, I thought this was the case as I have been trying to get it with a graduated ND filter - trying real hard to get it out of camera rather than constructing it later.

Thanks, for validating my thoughts.

 

[bhtwo]

Here's a similar type of thing I did a while ago...

The original image was shot in daylight, the moon was shopped in.

 

[kenoh]

Here's a similar type of thing I did a while ago...

Image

The original image was shot in daylight, the moon was shopped in.

This is precisely the look I am going for... Thx

 

[deeddawg]

The trouble with using even a graduated ND filter is you don't get any of the night sky. A pure black sky with just the moon wouldn't seem "right" and you'd anticipate some amount of moonlit clouds and perhaps a few stars.

The other factor to overcome is the odd optical illusion in which we perceive the moon as being much larger than it is in reality. So often a photo of the moon looks odd because the image of the moon is so small. By constructing the final image as a composite of two images you will likely have a more pleasing product than you could get out of the camera.

See http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/moon/

 

[snberk103]

deeddawg is perfectly correct.... you expose the moon with same settings as the side of barn on a sunny day. A good starting point would be ISO 100, 100th of second, F/11. You can go up or down a stop or two from there. If there are city lights in the scene - also much brighter than most people realize - then you may get a good exposure without much post production or filters. An ND filter will help if the scene is being lit 'by' the moon, instead of being the city lights themselves.

 

[kenoh]

Thanks guys, awesome advice.

Looking forward to the next night with the right conditions now...

 

[bhtwo]

Great! We look forward to seeing your results.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Good to know as I haven't yet tried a moon shot. I'll give it a go to at the next full moon.

 

[kenoh]

Great! We look forward to seeing your results.

Do my best not to disappoint....

but I found out that I missed a harvest moon last night! AAARGH!!!

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Good to know as I haven't yet tried a moon shot. I'll give it a go to at the next full moon.

Hiya,

Be sure to use a telephoto or the moon becomes a tiny circle in the sky. This is the optical illusion eluded to earlier in this thread. That particular phenomenon did my head in for a while!