supermoon

[_mikro_]

so this is my first post on this forum. I just got back into photography and I thought I would take advantage of the wonderful moon out there tonight. I'm just looking for any advice on how to improve this pic in LR. thank you

mike

 

[Peeb74 2]

Looks good!

 

[KmH]

Did you make a Raw file in the camera you can edit?
A Raw file is a 12 or 14 color bit depth file while a JPEG is limited to an 8-bit color depth.
A 12-bit file can code 4096 colors per color channel. 8-bits can only code 256 colors per color channel
Plus the JPEG has locked the image pixels into groups of pixels called MCUs (Minimum Coded Units) which become the the smallest part of the image you can edit.

I bring that up because what you have posted looks to me to be a JPEG you made in the camera.
If so, there is probably little, if any, additional editing headroom.

I would also suggest you correct the under exposure, and de-saturate the photo to help control some of the posterization that produced some colors that aren't actually there on the moon. There are a few spots around in the middle of the moon and more over towards the eastern limb.

Instead of trying to sharpen the photo, and if you have a Raw file, I would instead recommend increasing the mid-tone contrast. In Lightroom the easiest way to adjust the mid-tone contrast is to use the Clarity slider near the bottom of the Basic panel in the 'Presence' section of sliders. I edited the JPEG you have posted here and using the Clarity slider made it worse, not better.
I de-saturated (100%), added 1 stop of exposure. In the Sharpening panel I used Amount: 25, Radius: 3, Detail: 15, Masking: 0. I only used the Noise Reduction Color slider and set it to 90, which also brings both the Color Detail and Color Smoothness sliders to 50.
I also cropped the photo so the moon isn't dead center in the frame.

 

[Designer]

I got a couple of shots last evening, but I need to do it again this evening.

Here is my first try:

Obviously, I was farther away from the moon than you fellers.

 

[KmH]

How to watch and appreciate tonight’s “supermoon”

 

[Peeb74 2]

The moon is a much easier subject when NOT full in my experience. Here is one from a week ago with nice shadows that help:

 

[Designer]

My latest attempt from last evening:

 

[chuasam]

the moon looked a bit suspicious

 

[David Kennedy]

the moon looked a bit suspicious
View attachment 130378

That's no moon....

 

[_mikro_]

The moon is a much easier subject when NOT full in my experience. Here is one from a week ago with nice shadows that help:
View attachment 130347

nice!!

 

[_mikro_]

Did you make a Raw file in the camera you can edit?
A Raw file is a 12 or 14 color bit depth file while a JPEG is limited to an 8-bit color depth.
A 12-bit file can code 4096 colors per color channel. 8-bits can only code 256 colors per color channel
Plus the JPEG has locked the image pixels into groups of pixels called MCUs (Minimum Coded Units) which become the the smallest part of the image you can edit.

I bring that up because what you have posted looks to me to be a JPEG you made in the camera.
If so, there is probably little, if any, additional editing headroom.

I would also suggest you correct the under exposure, and de-saturate the photo to help control some of the posterization that produced some colors that aren't actually there on the moon. There are a few spots around in the middle of the moon and more over towards the eastern limb.

Instead of trying to sharpen the photo, and if you have a Raw file, I would instead recommend increasing the mid-tone contrast. In Lightroom the easiest way to adjust the mid-tone contrast is to use the Clarity slider near the bottom of the Basic panel in the 'Presence' section of sliders. I edited the JPEG you have posted here and using the Clarity slider made it worse, not better.
I de-saturated (100%), added 1 stop of exposure. In the Sharpening panel I used Amount: 25, Radius: 3, Detail: 15, Masking: 0. I only used the Noise Reduction Color slider and set it to 90, which also brings both the Color Detail and Color Smoothness sliders to 50.
I also cropped the photo so the moon isn't dead center in the frame.
View attachment 130309

yes i do shoot in raw. I took your tips and used them in LR and I like the outcome. thank you for helping that was very kind

 

[TCampbell]

Since you asked about Lightroom...

In the "Develop" module you can scroll down the right margin to the "Detail" category and within that section you'll see a slider to adjust "Masking". HOLD DOWN the alt/option key on your keyboard while sliding that slider. You'll notice that if it is all the way left the image will be completely white. All the way right it will be completely black. But at points in between you'll notice that you see a mostly black image with white (almost looks like white chalk) squiggles on the image. Those "squiggles" are showing you were Lightroom is finding "edges" of detail in your image. You want to adjust that slider so that it's picking up the edges but _not_ picking up things that are not edges (such as the moon's various mare ("oceans" like the "sea of tranquility", etc.))

NOW that you've done that, you are set to boost the sharpening. If you don't adjust the "masking" slider then as it boosts sharpening it will boost it everywhere -- including where an image simply has noise (so noise is amplified by sharpening). But by using the masking slider, those areas that should be "flat" (the mare) are not sharpened... the sharpening would only be applied at edges such as the rings around the craters, the mountains, etc. Now that you've masked the image, you can also apply some noise reduction so you end up with smoother flat surface areas and sharper edges.

I do find that the moon looks MUCH better when not full because that's when the sun is lighting it from the sides so we get much better shadows and that creates a more interesting 3D textured surface rather than the flat 2D surface we get at the full moon.

Here's an example:


Gibbous Moon by Tim Campbell, on Flickr

And here's another example, but honestly (and this is my own image) I think this is a bit overdone. If I had it to do over again, I'd back off the sharpening on this. But I'm adding this so you can see how the craters are now starting to get this white edge (pushing up the sharpening a bit too much.) It's "a look" some people might like... but often I realize I should adjust an image to what I think is right... then sit on it for a day and come back and have another look. Often I'll find myself saying "I can't believe I thought that looked good." Then I'll re-adjust.

(Edit: I noticed that this doesn't look much different once it's reduced to the 1024 pixel wide size... but if you click the Flickr link to see it in larger size you'll see what I mean.)


First Quarter Moon by Tim Campbell, on Flickr

 

[KmH]

Image sharpening in and of itself is a book length topic:
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe, among the principals and founders of Pixel Genius, LLC, created the Sharpening and Noise Reduction panel Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) uses. Photoshop Camera Raw and LR's Develop Module are both ACR.
Jeff Schewe has been a long time consultant to Adobe regarding various aspects of the development of Adobe Camera Raw.

 

[Peeb74 2]

Since you asked about Lightroom...

In the "Develop" module you can scroll down the right margin to the "Detail" category and within that section you'll see a slider to adjust "Masking". HOLD DOWN the alt/option key on your keyboard while sliding that slider. You'll notice that if it is all the way left the image will be completely white. All the way right it will be completely black. But at points in between you'll notice that you see a mostly black image with white (almost looks like white chalk) squiggles on the image. Those "squiggles" are showing you were Lightroom is finding "edges" of detail in your image. You want to adjust that slider so that it's picking up the edges but _not_ picking up things that are not edges (such as the moon's various mare ("oceans" like the "sea of tranquility", etc.))

NOW that you've done that, you are set to boost the sharpening. If you don't adjust the "masking" slider then as it boosts sharpening it will boost it everywhere -- including where an image simply has noise (so noise is amplified by sharpening). But by using the masking slider, those areas that should be "flat" (the mare) are not sharpened... the sharpening would only be applied at edges such as the rings around the craters, the mountains, etc. Now that you've masked the image, you can also apply some noise reduction so you end up with smoother flat surface areas and sharper edges.

I do find that the moon looks MUCH better when not full because that's when the sun is lighting it from the sides so we get much better shadows and that creates a more interesting 3D textured surface rather than the flat 2D surface we get at the full moon.

Here's an example:


Gibbous Moon by Tim Campbell, on Flickr

And here's another example, but honestly (and this is my own image) I think this is a bit overdone. If I had it to do over again, I'd back off the sharpening on this. But I'm adding this so you can see how the craters are now starting to get this white edge (pushing up the sharpening a bit too much.) It's "a look" some people might like... but often I realize I should adjust an image to what I think is right... then sit on it for a day and come back and have another look. Often I'll find myself saying "I can't believe I thought that looked good." Then I'll re-adjust.

(Edit: I noticed that this doesn't look much different once it's reduced to the 1024 pixel wide size... but if you click the Flickr link to see it in larger size you'll see what I mean.)


First Quarter Moon by Tim Campbell, on Flickr

Possible to do same thing in photoshop?

 

[KmH]

Yes, when using Camera Raw's Sharpening panel.

Camera Raw and Lightroom's Develop module are both Adobe Came Raw (ACR).

ACR was developed for and became a part of Photoshop Photoshop several years before Adobe started creating Lightroom.
Camera Raw was first available with Photoshop 7 in August of 2002.
Note that today's Photoshop CC 2017 is Photoshop 18. I think CC 2017 is still using ACR 9.
FWIW - Photoshop CC 2017's development code name was "Big-rig".

Some early Photoshop history:
http://www.designbyfire.com/pdfs/history_of_photoshop.pdf