How do I process this shot to look like the moonlit shot it is?

[JBW]

This was shot by the light of a half full waxing moon but it looks like a daylight shot. How do i subtly suggest that it was shot at night?

[Manfred M]

A shot like this one, you can't. It would look the same whether you use the sun, moon or an artificial light source.

To demonstrate that you have a night shot, you have to give the viewer visual clues that shows it was shot at night; for instance having a lit up building or the moon and stars in the image. Street lights and strange shadows that are cast by artificial light are all clues as well. A dark sky is useful too.

For instance, this looks like a night shot, as the visual clues tell us it is.

[xpatUSA]

This was shot by the light of a half full waxing moon but it looks like a daylight shot. How do i subtly suggest that it was shot at night?

One more time ...

[JBW]

so basically up the blue and lower pretty much everything else.

[xpatUSA]

so basically up the blue and lower pretty much everything else.

Pretty much.

Will you be giving it a try? I'm sure that all those functions that I arrowed are available in your editor ...

[JBW]

Ted, I worked on it and now it looks like hat I see when I wander the garden at night. I'll be posting it in a while.

[JBW]

This was shot by the light of a half full waxing moon but it looks like a daylight shot. How do i subtly suggest that it was shot at night?

To my eyes this version done in TTPP (Teds Technique Post Processing) looks a lot more like what I saw last night. Although not as obvious as stree lights or the moon it certainly has (to me) more of a nightish quality to it than the original.

[JBW]

Pretty much.

Will you be giving it a try? I'm sure that all those functions that I arrowed are available in your editor ...

I did. I'm not sure what Capture 1 calls gamma but all the rest I played with. The difference is subtle but strong.

[xpatUSA]

I did. I'm not sure what Capture 1 calls gamma but all the rest I played with.

If Capture 1 has 'Levels', you could play with the middle slider ... it has a similar effect.

The difference is subtle but strong.

Thanks!

[Manfred M]

One more time ...

You have done the correction for the physiological effects of night vision by correcting the saturation, contrast, gamma (mid-point) and increasing the blue channel as was previously discussed. Would most people think this is a night shot? My guess is probably not.

Some years ago when I was very much into videography, I took a number of video production courses at the local college. One of the areas covered was the are of video production referred as "day-to-night", i.e. shooting in daytime conditions in a way that editing would convince the viewer that the scene was actually shot at night. Darkening and desaturation were definitely part of the effect, but most of it was shooting with visual clues that suggested night. Some of these were done in studio, for instance, having the subject standing below a hard light source that suggested night time street lights, editing in an establishing shot that was done at night, etc. This was overlaid with lighting effects done in editing, like you have shown here as the controls in the software you are using are also available in non-linear video editing software.

[Manfred M]

I did. I'm not sure what Capture 1 calls gamma but all the rest I played with. The difference is subtle but strong.

In C1, the best tool under "Exposure" is the Curves adjustment. You have three points on the curve; black point, white point and mid-point (gamma). Click on the "RGB" or "Luma" tab, pull down the mid-point. Moving it to the right can be considered too.

Problem is that it looks like a desaturated, lower contrast image. It simply does not say "night shot" to me. The night reference is missing. If someone told me it was a night shot, then that would help too.

[JBW]

If Capture 1 has 'Levels', you could play with the middle slider ... it has a similar effect.



Thanks!

It does I did.

[JBW]

In C1, the best tool under "Exposure" is the Curves adjustment. You have three points on the curve; black point, white point and mid-point (gamma). Click on the "RGB" or "Luma" tab, pull down the mid-point. Moving it to the right can be considered too.

Problem is that it looks like a desaturated, lower contrast image. It simply does not say "night shot" to me. The night reference is missing. If someone told me it was a night shot, then that would help too.

But that's just what it should look like. From years in a wheelhouse, and many more years in areas where there were no artificial lights i know what night looks like. Walking Moons allow people to move around but there is still a chance to walk into a hole because things are desaturated and low contrast.

[xpatUSA]

You have done the correction for the physiological effects of night vision by correcting the saturation, contrast, gamma (mid-point) and increasing the blue channel as was previously discussed. Would most people think this is a night shot? My guess is probably not.

If I understand correctly, the claim is that my corrections did not answer fully the question posed in the title of this thread - to whit, "how do I process this shot ...".

[Manfred M]

But that's just what it should look like. From years in a wheelhouse, and many more years in areas where there were no artificial lights i know what night looks like. Walking Moons allow people to move around but there is still a chance to walk into a hole because things are desaturated and low contrast.

I agree, to a point. When you did those activities, you were out in the dark, so you had a point of reference that told you it was night; the sky was dark and on some nights you could see the moon and stars. Here we see a patch of thatch in isolation, so what is the point of reference?

[JBW]

I agree, to a point. When you did those activities, you were out in the dark, so you had a point of reference that told you it was night; the sky was dark and on some nights you could see the moon and stars. Here we see a patch of thatch in isolation, so what is the point of reference?

low colours, soft shadows, the single brighter leaf reflecting the moonlight, low contrast. These all references to the night.

[Manfred M]

If I understand correctly, the claim is that my corrections did not answer fully the question posed in the title of this thread - to whit, "how do I process this shot ...".

Brian wrote "This was shot by the light of a half full waxing moon but it looks like a daylight shot. How do i subtly suggest that it was shot at night? "

I believe you have partially answered Brian's question, but the place where we are not aligned is that in looking at your edit, "night shot" does not immediately pop into my mind. You have adjusted the contrast, saturation, gamma and bumped up the blue channel. For me, something is still missing and that is the visual context.

I've done the same types of edits that you have with this image; and it might be, but is not necessarily a night shot. The visual clues / context suggest something it might be something else.

[xpatUSA]

Brian wrote "This was shot by the light of a half full waxing moon but it looks like a daylight shot. How do i subtly suggest that it was shot at night? "

I believe you have partially answered Brian's question, but the place where we are not aligned is that in looking at your edit, "night shot" does not immediately pop into my mind. You have adjusted the contrast, saturation, gamma and bumped up the blue channel. For me, something is still missing and that is the visual context.

I see.

So, in the case of Brian's un-lit (artificially) outside shed roof in the jungle on the side of a volcano, what visual context should be included since that is the only subject we are discussing?

I've done the same types of edits that you have with this image; and it might be, but is not necessarily a night shot. The visual clues / context suggest something it might be something else.

I have non idea how night could be suggested, edits or no, in what appears to be an artificially-lit tunnel with no windows. Any link to a rural moonlit scene is beyond me, sorry. I can only assume that you are widening the discussion to include scenes other than the one asked about, for educational purposes.

[Manfred M]

I see.

So, in the case of Brian's un-lit (artificially) outside shed roof in the jungle on the side of a volcano, what visual context should be included since that is the only subject we are discussing?

If you can see an un-lit outside shed rood in the jungle on the side of the volcano, you have a more vivid imagination than I do. I see some unidentifiable textures in a predominantly monochrome image and without the words to describe it, I wouldn't have clue what I was looking at and the lighting conditions it was taken under.

That is exactly my point; unless one can pick up the cues by looking at the image, there is something missing.

I have idea how night could be suggested, edits or no, in what appears to be artificially-lit tunnel with no windows. Any link to a rural moonlit scene is beyond me, sorry.

Absolutely nothing; and that is the point I'm trying to make. The edits that you (and I) did do not have any link to a moonlight shot, hence it is not enough to put the shot into the context Brian is trying to achieve.

[Manfred M]

low colours, soft shadows, the single brighter leaf reflecting the moonlight, low contrast. These all references to the night.

Yes they can be, but not necessarily so. These edits alone are not enough to convey what you are trying to do. They need something else to put the image in the context you are looking for.