Composite a dramatic full moon into night sky photographs using layer masks, atmospheric haze, and color matching. This technique works beautifully on landscape and portrait night shots.

Step 1: Prepare the Night Sky Photo

Open your landscape photo (File > Open). Duplicate the background layer (Ctrl+J) and name it "Base Edit". Use Image > Adjustments > Levels to deepen shadows — drag the black point to 15.

Ensure your photo has visible sky area where the moon will be placed.

Step 2: Place the Moon Image

Open a high-resolution moon texture on a black background. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to select the moon, then copy and paste into your document.

Scale with Ctrl+T to roughly 15–20% of frame width.

Step 3: Blend with Screen Mode

Set the moon layer blending mode to Screen.

Add a layer mask and use a soft black brush at 30% opacity to fade harsh edges where the moon meets clouds or trees.

Step 4: Add Atmospheric Glow

Duplicate the moon layer. Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 40px.

Set blending mode to Soft Light at 50% opacity. This creates a natural lunar halo.

Step 5: Color Match the Scene

Add a Photo Filter adjustment layer (Warming Filter 85) clipped to the moon.

Add a Curves adjustment layer to match the moon's brightness to ambient sky tones.

Step 6: Final Atmosphere

Create a new layer, fill with dark blue (#0a1628), set to Soft Light at 25%.

Add a subtle vignette with Filter > Lens Correction > Vignette Amount -30.

That's it! You've completed this tutorial. Experiment with the techniques and share your results with the Designstacks community.