malissa Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I just recently did a project on outdoor night photography, and have found a new love for night sky shots. However, being that this is something new to me I've come across quite an obstacle that I can't seem to pass. I can get some beautiful shots of the stars and the clouds in the sky. However, when I try to take photos of the moon, it becomes a big, white glaring ball. In a particular photo I've perfected getting some beautiful detail on the side of the moon, but on the other side where the light is actually reflecting, is that same problem that I've encountered in almost all of my night shots. This includes shots I've taken late at night downtown where the same glaring, bright ball occurs on most tall-standing light posts and other larger sources of light. What could I be doing wrong? Or what am I missing? Anything will help, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnholland Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Malissa, you will need to set you camera on manual because the camera light meter is fooled by the dark sky - the moon is basically a sunlit object. I shot this photo of the moon a few days ago (http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6856527-lg.jpg) - 1/250 second, f/11, ISO 200. Another "rule" is 1 over the focal length at f/16. Try several different exposures/f-stops (i.e. bracket the shot). The phase of the moon will have an impact on the camera settings (full moon is reflecting more light than a quarter moon). Experiment and have fun. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acbeddoe Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Overexposure, pure and simple. I get good moon images at 400mm, f/20, 1/40 sec., ISO 125 (or thereabout).<br> I like the stopped down aperture for depth of field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_hoffer Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Charles, Will the Depth of Field be any greater for an object 240,000 miles away? By my calculations, you could shoot a 1200mm lens at f/1 and have the whole thing in focus. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acbeddoe Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Tony,<br> Right you are. I had never calculated the DOF, but I see that I need not worry. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_hoffer Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Yeah, I bookmarked that site to do all the math that I'm not smart enough to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_dehart Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 John basically got it right except the actual formula for a sunlit object is a shutter speed of 1/ISO at f/16. Thus if you are using an ISO of 100, it would be 1/100 sec at f/16. Be mindful that with a long telephoto, too slow of a shutter speed can show the moon's motion through the sky - resulting in a blurry image. For a 1000 mmm lens, this can be as short as 1/2 sec. I found an interesting web site with lots of information about photographing the moon. It is worth a look as a starting point for moon photos. http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/howtophoto/index.htm Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_holland Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Yeah, like those guys said. Some call it the 'Moony f11 rule', analagous to the classical sunny f16 rule. But the big problem you'll have is the fact that if you expose for the moon, your cool stars and foreground will be underexposed. If the foreground you want is close, you could use flash to bring it into balance. But if you want stars or more distant foreground to expose properly, you'll have to use a double exposure technique and combine photos later in photoshop.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troupn Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 No one answered the light post issues. Light posts are going to be a problem with city scenes; especially if they are close to you and the ambient light of the city scape is much darker. This will not stop the problem, but maybe you can change the issue a bit. You can find those filters that make bright spots turn more into a starry effect. They should not affect the general cityscape. While the light posts will still be bright, they may be more appealing than simple burned out holes. Troup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malissa Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hey thanks everyone, I haven't been able to try out any of the suggestions yet but I'll let you all know. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachk1 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 The moon is a sunlight grey rock, the real issue is that it is really small (1/2 degree). I used a telescope which acts like a 1900mm lens. Depth of field is not an issue as the moon is at infinity, no matter how long your lens is. The best time to shoot is about the first quarter moon, you get some nice definition on the lunar terminator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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