by Jim Zuckerman
The simple technique of putting a moon into the sky above a landscape or cityscape can enhance the image a great deal. However, the technique is not that simple in reality because too often the moon doesn’t look real. Some photographers make it too large, and too often there is a thin dark line around it from its original background. In addition, the moon is frequently overexposed and it looks like a white disc. Retaining some lunar detail is important. The correct exposure for shooting the moon in a clear sky is 1/250 at f/8 with 100 ISO.
In my Advanced Photoshop Techniques there is a lesson devoted to placing the moon as well as other objects, like lightning and fireworks, into a night or twilight sky. The secret is that you don’t have to cut around the various objects before they are pasted into the sky. Instead, the blend modes can be used to make the insertion of the celestial objects look correct.
Make sure when you do this that you make the composite as astronomically correct as possible. For example, don't put a full moon in a sky with a sunset glow because that never happens. A full moon rises in the sky opposite the setting sun.
The two photos included here, the twilight photo of Mojacar, Spain and the night shot of the duomo in Florence, Italy were good without the moon, but with that additional component they are so much more compelling.
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