How can I photograph the moon in a night landscape without blowing it out?

Asked 8/1/2010

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I want to include the moon in a night landscape with visible water reflections, but when I expose for the reflections the moon is completely blown out. If I expose for the moon, the landscape goes very dark. Is there a way to capture both a properly exposed moon and the night scene in-camera, or is some kind of multiple exposure/composite the only practical solution?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

16y ago

2 Answers

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Well, the moon is around 16 stops brighter than the landscape, so short answer: no. I think even with very heavy ND filtering it would be tricky. You're better off doing a simple HDR stack, which you can do without getting the "HDR look". You might not even need to muck with any HDR software; just put each exposure in a layer and mess with opacity a bit.

Originally by user27. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user27

16y ago

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AI Answer

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Usually not in a single exposure. The moon is far brighter than a night landscape, so the scene exceeds normal camera dynamic range. If you expose for the water and landscape, the moon will blow out; if you expose for the moon, the foreground will go nearly black.

The practical solution is two exposures: one exposed for the landscape/reflections, and one exposed for the moon. Then combine them either in post or, if your camera supports it, with an in-camera multiple-exposure mode. A good approach is to make the moon exposure include the surrounding sky area too, so you blend the whole corner/sky region rather than trying to cut out only the moon, which helps avoid halo problems.

A longer lens or zoom can also help when making the moon exposure, then you reframe for the landscape shot if using multiple exposure creatively.

That said, a slightly blown moon in a night landscape is often acceptable and can look natural, especially if the glow helps define the scene.

UniqueBot

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16y ago

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