Problems with a moon reflection on water

[Canna W]

There are undoubtedly loads of things wrong with this composite, but the thing that is really bugging me is the reflection of the moon. I tried giving it a slight gaussean blur, moving it around, and lowering the opacity, but nothing looked right. I was also wondering if I should give it a ripple effect (though don't know how to do that.) Even though this is a very 'staged' pic, I want the reflection to look as realistic as possible.

I am also posting an image without the moon reflection, just in case anyone else is prepared to have a go at it.

[0lBaldy]

This is just a quickie from my laptop and it looks different on the web.. my version still needs a bit of Gaussian and maybe muted some more.... Oh well it is Just a thought anyway..

Personally I think less is better, the reflection and bright moon seem to distract from the pup and path/bridge.

[igot2pman]

I think it looks off because it's not in line with the camera. Not 100% on this but i think you should be able to draw a line from the camra position to the subject. Drawing the line will put it eather in the dock or in between the first and second lights on photo left.

OlBaldy is going in the right direction as to what it should look like, but it no longer looks like a moon. It deffinetly needs wave distortion and softening.

My toughts,
-Keven

[crazyfly1]

Hi Canna,
My first issue was the candles. At first glance, to me this was a picture of candles... and oh the moon was full... oh and look a cute little dog. I used a shadow highlight layer to cut the candles in half and I think you could go further.
Second thing (Baldy saw this too) I was very troubled by the reflection and then realized it was because the reflected objects were not in the sky. I created another layer, flipped it and put the reflections in the creek in the sky,
Likewise I flipped another layer and put the moon in the water, I used a 1.5 pixel guasian blur and then a 10 pixel motion blur (igot2pman is right, it needs a little ripple too but that would involve a texture map to do it right and I didn't wanna do it. ).
Lastly I used another layer to blur the moon and the top left of the tree, I also burned the top left of the tree.

[Canna W]

OlBaldy

This is just a quickie from my laptop and it looks different on the web.. my version still needs a bit of Gaussian and maybe muted some more.... Oh well it is Just a thought anyway..

Personally I think less is better, the reflection and bright moon seem to distract from the pup and path/bridge.

I really like the quality of your moon. I tried to copying it with all the different blending modes, but couldn't. I like it's crispness. In your version you seem to have something in front of it as well, which I liked too. So I pasted in a branch in front of mine.

igot2pman

I think it looks off because it's not in line with the camera. Not 100% on this but i think you should be able to draw a line from the camra position to the subject. Drawing the line will put it eather in the dock or in between the first and second lights on photo left.

OlBaldy is going in the right direction as to what it should look like, but it no longer looks like a moon. It deffinetly needs wave distortion and softening.

Many thanks for that, it was really helpful! I tried to make the moon more in line with the camera. I should have gone back and re-read your posting :-( I put the moon half under the bridge near the first candle.

I really like the quality of OlBaldy's moon. For me it comes nearer a ripple effect than a blurred moon. I need to think about a texture map over the moon...

crazyfly1

My first issue was the candles. At first glance, to me this was a picture of candles... and oh the moon was full... oh and look a cute little dog. I used a shadow highlight layer to cut the candles in half and I think you could go further.
Second thing (Baldy saw this too) I was very troubled by the reflection and then realized it was because the reflected objects were not in the sky. I created another layer, flipped it and put the reflections in the creek in the sky,
Likewise I flipped another layer and put the moon in the water, I used a 1.5 pixel guasian blur and then a 10 pixel motion blur (igot2pman is right, it needs a little ripple too but that would involve a texture map to do it right and I didn't wanna do it. ).
Lastly I used another layer to blur the moon and the top left of the tree, I also burned the top left of the tree.

Wow, a big thank you for that!!! It was incredibly helpful. In my edit here I have dampened down the brightness of the candles. I have put clouds in the sky (not a copy of the clouds in the water, rather a copy of some night clouds in the sky, but I think the idea of white water gives me some leeway).
I also gave the moon some gaussian blur. I have moved it half under the bridge now, near the 1st candle.

Darn, I left out your last 2 instructions....just going back to add those to my edit, and then I will post it! Thank you so much for all your help!

Okay, now I have blurred the moon a tiny bit, the top of the tree a bit more, and I have darkened it too.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by crazyfly1

Hi Canna,
My first issue was the candles. At first glance, to me this was a picture of candles... and oh the moon was full... oh and look a cute little dog.

This is once again proof of the old saying in photography that the first thing people see when they look at a photo is the brightest object. Especially if that brightest object is also the biggest object.

Also, is there more to the image? The dog really needs to be placed more in accordance to the rule of thirds rather than just at the bottom middle of the image. And could you induce a bit of warp or something to make the dock bend a bit rather than just go straight back?

[Canna W]

Originally posted by Mike...

Also, is there more to the image? The dog really needs to be placed more in accordance to the rule of thirds rather than just at the bottom middle of the image. And could you induce a bit of warp or something to make the dock bend a bit rather than just go straight back?

Very imperfect, but I had a go!

[cun030876]

Hi Canna,
If the river current that strong, IMHO the moon will only reflected as small highlights on certain portions of the water. I also highlighted some treetops below the moon.

[plantphoto]

I think you need to distort it over the water to make it look more like a reflection at the moment it's just floating there.
Simon

[Canna W]

Sorry about the delay in picking up these responses, but I have only just looked at the thread again!

From Cun030876
If the river current that strong, IMHO the moon will only reflected as small highlights on certain portions of the water. I also highlighted some treetops below the moon.
I think what you say is spot on - I can't believe I didn't see it for myself. Of course you don't see a reflection in rushing water, but you would get highlights. I also love what you have done in accentuating the light on the trees. Thank you for some great ideas.

From Plantphoto
I think you need to distort it over the water to make it look more like a reflection at the moment it's just floating there.

I think what Cun030876 has said about the water being too fast in this instance for a reflection is true.

Another, separate issue, is that when I do reflections in water in the future - in still water - I need to get my act together better. The problem is it is quite difficult distorting a reflection. I did it fairly recently in another pic, using the liquify filter just to push the verticals in the reflection in and out a bit. It kind of worked. Certainly the moon would not just be lying on the water like a saucer....

Thanks for your input