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04/18/2006 01:28:14 AM · #1 |
I like shooting at night with a tripod, doing star trails and the like sometimes, but also just fairly short exposures. The problem is, I'm not really sure how to process the images so that the foreground is exposed decently, and so is the sky, and the stars are still visible. I've been using USM to bring out the stars, and some Levels and Curves on a layer with a gradient mask to adjust the sky, but I'm not thrilled with the results... eg; this image:
The 1600px original
Anyone care to share some tips/their standard steps for processing night photos from RAW? Thanks. |
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04/18/2006 03:08:14 AM · #2 |
Looks like skiprow's
He didn't put post proc steps I don't think, but you can look for related threads or PM him or wait til someone else pipes in. I suck at night shots with the exception of a few lucky ones. |
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04/18/2006 03:15:42 AM · #3 |
I think what you would have to do is use a flash unit when you are shooting to illuminate the foreground better. I'm not certain that there is anything you can really do post-processing... Wait a minute... In Photoshop Elements 3.0 there is an automatic adjusting setting that I used in one of my photos to really bring out the lighting in a night shot. I'm not sure of the name of the function because I haven't used that program in a long time, but it seems like when it is opened the top slider starts at 50 and then just keep sliding it back to the left until you get the image you are looking for.
To shoot this and still keep the stars still, I think you would have to open your aperature all the way and then use a flash for the foreground, perhaps on the second curtain to be sure to capture everything. It would be worth a try to see how it works for you. |
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04/18/2006 05:47:01 PM · #4 |
Glad you noticed that, Art.. I did a tribute to that image with another scene for Deja Vu but wasn't too pleased with the result (noise, lots of dybamic range in the scene, stars were dim as a result) so went to reshoot with a shorter exposure in a different place.
lfordhere: I don't have elements, but it's true I didn't think to try auto levels on it.
Anyone else? |
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04/18/2006 06:01:50 PM · #5 |
Timing is everything. The best way to get foreground exposure is to use the moon, but you must shoot when the moon is in the right phase and position; planning is essential, and the weather can, of course bugger things up.
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