Shoot for the moon

I have an A7 using the 24240 lens. I am trying to find the right settings where I can see the clouds, trees, and some moon detail, but the right settings have eluded me. Any help would be really appreciated.

KBWechsler said:

I am trying to find the right settings where I can see the clouds, trees, and some moon detail, but the right settings have eluded me. Any help would be really appreciated.

Click to expand...

You can't find those settings since they don't exist. The brightness of the full moon is very bright. Any shot not overexposing full moon high in the sky will be too insensitive to properly expose the ground. See eg MoonExposureCalculator for typical settings. For a night time moon lit shot you'd need multi-second exposures. One way to overcome this is use HDR aka blending different exposures.

...... or take your shot when it is twilight.....

KBWechsler said:

I am trying to find the right settings where I can see the clouds, trees, and some moon detail, but the right settings have eluded me.

Click to expand...

The dirty secret is that more or less all of the moon shots online that show a moon at full brightness and unlit detail in the same frame have been composited, bracketed, or are using some other HDR technique (or--gasp--have digitally inserted moon detail!)

This has fooled non-photographers into believing these shots are real and possible without advanced editing techniques, which they are not.

For detail on the moon use the "sunny 16" rule: ISO 100, f16, 1/100th of a second (or some equivalent thereof). That's because the moon is a sunlit object. As others have pointed out the sunny 16 exposure will grossly underexpose the trees and ground.


--Wayne

Or try to illuminate the trees somehow, with a low flash level or some constant light, with some sort of diffuser in front to soften whatever shadows, then expose for the moon in a way that nothing clips on the histogram.

Settings for moon details :

• first quarter
• F7 to F8
• 1/200s on tripod
• ISO 200 to 400
• EFCS activated

Then for the foreground you need to take another photo or to use a flash.

In the photo linked below. If you click on the image it should bring up a larger one.

http://www.mattreynoldsphotography.com/prints/osprey-nest

I tried to make the moon look as real as possible within the scene but this example still required 2 photos. On my shot for everything else the moon is over exposed and has no detail at all in the moon itself.

I took a separate moon photo at a faster shutter speed to expose it properly. Everything but the moon is black basically on that one.

You don't use bracketing, as the stop difference is much more than 3 stops or whatever one's typical bracket might be. Need to be a separate properly exposed for the moon highlight's shots, which likely means changing your metering mode to spot with the moon in the center for a light reading or just guessing based on some of the above suggested moon settings.

I then blended the two but to make it look natural compared to the lighthouse which has bright Christmas lights on it, I had to lighten the moon so much it almost looks blown out anyway!

I also had to then redirect some light or glow around the moon to give it a more natural look in the sky itself.

The moon was not completely full which makes it look not round in the final photo.

I could have gone for a large unrealistic moon for the scene, focal length like many of those "supermoon" shots are but wanted this to look completely natural.

Anyway sharing the image and work involved to give you an idea of what is involved. I am debating if I should just clone out the moon in the end as I am not sure if it ends up more of a distraction than adding to the picture.

--
online gallery at:
www.MattReynoldsPhotography.com

To add on (or disagree) with others: You CAN get the moon and the foreground exposed well, but only a couple days a month (really 1 day a month ideally) at the full moon, when it rises/sets after the sun has lit the foreground. For example, the next chance where I am (Denver,), on April 10 the Moon will set at 6:29, and the sun rises at 6:31...so in the half hour before the sunrise the moon will be down near the horizon (where it appears larger), and the sun will not be up yet to wash it out. If you haven't checked out the Photographer's Ephemeris app for your phone or computer, it will be very helpful to check these times out.

Some examples (sorry for the links, can't attach currently):

https://goo.gl/photos/DCTWN39ByYyMFG6t8

https://goo.gl/photos/nb7Q6EQZsSG8Rp6H9

If it is already dark, you can use distinctive features (trees) as silhouettes against the moon, but you have to be FAR away from these features so they are very small, similar to the size of the moon, like this (this is heavily cropped):

https://goo.gl/photos/Tr7CBqA95ky79di49

--
Jordan
Denver, CO
http://www.jordanchapell.com