Critiques of Moonlight Photos(How to Photograph the Moon - Part 2)
Analyzing moonlight photos taken by other photographers will help you improve your own moon photography. A great way to advance your digital photography is to study the photo mistakes and successes of other photographers. Sometimes it can feel a little insulting to have others make comments on your photography, but remember it is subjective. When someone makes a comment about your photo, it's their perception of your image and not a reflection on you as a person.
Study the two photographs above. One of the most common photo mistakes we all do is placing the center of interest in the center of your composition. I cropped the original photograph on the left to get the cropped image on the right. I personally use the Rule of Thirds in my nature photography and landscape photography more than any other. The resulting photo after cropping is a little more dynamic. I agree it's not a huge difference; but paying attention to a few little details in your photos will turn average photos into great photos.
The boat house and the dock are being lit by a light on the shoreline out of the view of the camera. The dock is a leading line that our eye follows into the photo. Although it's usually a mistake to have the horizon divide your photograph in half, the boat house breaks that division and makes it an interesting image. Notice the composition in the next two photos below. What might have happened if we tried a variation with the moon not place in the center of the photo?
It's a good balance with the moonlight creating a beautiful skyline. The buildings on the edges of the photo act as framing devices. A amber color emitting streetlight to the left, outside of view contributed to this strange moonlight photo below. The cold moonlight on the clouds bring out their texture and contrast with the orange lit buildings below.
You can definitely create a variety of unique photographs when photographing the moon. Knowing how to photograph the moon starts with using good composition technique as well as an ability to observe the lighting conditions and setting your digital camera to the right settings. Best Wishes Photographing the Moon. If you enjoyed the article and have a thirst for more, there are more moon photos and analysis related to composition and lighting in this photography article. Back from Moonlight Photos to Nature Photography |
I wanted to start this article with a tip on photography composition and then talk specifically about the moonlighting in a few photos.
Both of the first two images in this article only had moonlight as the source of lighting. The image above and the two images below have more than one light source.
Taking this photo from such a high location gives an interesting perspective. The buildings' outside walls are being lit by the many lights in the recreational park and along the shoreline.
All of the pictures of the moon in this article include man-made elements. It can also be fun to do nature photography and use the moonlight as the source of light and not as part of the subject of your photos.