The moon is always circling the Earth and has always been a favorite photo subject. It has also been a frustrating photo subject for many photographers. Our photo lesson will show you how to easily take great moon photos.
Moon photography is something almost everyone has tried at some point. Many times the result is a blurry image or a bright speck on the film. However, getting great moon pictures is simple once you know a few tricks to the subject. Many photographers already have the equipment to successfully take great moon photos. To reliably get good moon photographs you will need: a camera that lets you control shutter speed and aperture, and a zoom capability to about 300mm (this is 10x zoom on some point and shoot type cameras). That’s it, no tripods, no $5000 lenses, no super-human powers.
Exposure
The main problem most people have with moon photography is that they think of the moon as a “night subject”. Because of this they turn their cameras to the night preset or automatically start at a slow shutter speed to increase light. The moon, however, is so bright that the opposite is true. It is basically like taking a photo of an illuminated light bulb in a dark room. If you use the exposure reading your camera gives you with its built-in light meter, the image will be overexposed and a bright dot without any detail. To get a clear, detailed photograph of the moon you will need to underexpose the image by 1/2 stop to 1 stop. It is fine to use a small F-stop (large aperture) for this application as the distance between us and the moon increases the effective depth of field considerably.
Shutter Speed
The moon moves. Because the moon rotates around the Earth as the Earth itself is moving, slow shutter speeds will cause blur on your moon photographs. Use the highest possible shutter speed with a relatively small F-Stop to get a good exposure (in this case slightly underexposed) image. With the desired slight underexposure, you should be able to get a fast enough shutter speed to hand-hold your camera. With a 300mm zoom you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/350 for a clear image.
When to Shoot
Contrary to what you may expect, nighttime is not always the best time to shoot the moon. Just after sunset and just before sunrise often yield the best moon images. Look for a time of day when the sky still has just a hint of blue to it and you can see where you are walking without a flashlight. Because of the timing of the moon cycle, there will be several days each month when the moon rises or sets before dark night. Also, because of atmospheric conditions, the moon appears largest just after rising. The first 30 minutes after moonrise is the best time to get close-up images of the moon as it appear much larger in the sky than later in its arc.
How to Photograph the Moon - Moon Landscapes Photography
We've learned how to photograph the moon by itself, now let's learn how to photograph the moon with a landscape foreground. When photographing the moon with a foreground object, like a landscape, distance is your best friend. Because the moon is so far away there is no way you will be able to have a close subject and the moon both within the sharp depth of field. However, if you photograph the landscape from a distance the distance is compressed visually and you have a much better match between focus of the moon and your landscape. Using a smaller aperture (large F-Stop) will increase this effect.
As with most moon photography, exposure is much easier before the sun has completely set. This is especially true with most landscapes because you need some illumination from the sun to show the details of the land. For landscapes with the moon be sure to bracket your shots as what is technically the "right exposure" doesn't always return the best results. Often a slightly underexposed image of this type works best.
To Review:
Shoot from a distance
Use a small aperture (large F-Stop)
Bracket your exposures
How to Photograph the Moon Through a Telescope
While you can take good pictures of the moon with a 300mm lens, a longer lens will help you fill the frame with the moon. However, extremely long lenses are expensive so we can turn to a less expensive alternative and take moon photographs through a telescope. Yes, telescopes can be very expensive as well but good results can be achieved with a cell phone, an inexpensive telescope, and a bit of patience.
Two Methods of Telescope Photography Afocal - The most inexpensive method of taking photographs through a telescope is called afocal. This means that you focus the telescope on the object you want to photograph and then point your camera into the eyepiece to take the photo. This method works well for point and shoot cameras and cell phones. It is highly dependent on the size of the eyepiece for your telescope. The larger the eyepiece, the easier it will be to aim the camera and avoid vignetting. The trickiest part about the afocal method is keeping everything steady. For light cameras you can tape the camera to the telescope (carefully please). For larger cameras you may need to use a tripod.
Prime Focus - A slightly more expensive method is prime focus. For this type of photography you'll need a couple of added pieces of equipment. You'll need a TRing and a TAdapter designed for your camera and your telescope. These should cost around $25 each. These pieces of equipment will allow you to attach your camera directly to the telescope without the lens or eyepiece. This method allows for sharper focus and less time spent lining up the camera with the telescope for each shot.
Additional Telescope Photography Tips Minimal Focusing Distance - Remember that your camera lenses have minimal focusing distances. A small focal length lens usually has a smaller minimum focusing distance and will be easier to use in conjunction with the telescope because you can put the lens closer to the eyepiece. If your lens has a macro setting, this will help reduce the minimum focusing distance.
Manual Focus - If your camera has manual focus this will help you get a sharper image through the telescope. Smaller lens cameras such as cell phones generally handle the autofocus fine but larger lens cameras like DSLRs see a good bit of the area around the eyepiece and will have trouble using autofocus.
Shutter Shake - If your telescope is not a large heavy one, the shutter motion on your camera might cause shake with using the prime focus method. You can minimize this with good support for the camera. You can also lower your film speed and up the time the shutter is open so there is more stable recording time to overpower the time it shakes.
The Moving Moon - The higher the magnification, the more apparent the movement of the moon will be in your photography. If you have a 1000mm telescope and a doubler on your camera the moon motion could be apparent in just a few seconds. Experiment with exposure times to see what works best for your particular set up.
Exposure - As we discussed in our basic moon photography lesson, it is ok to underexpose the moon a bit. Even with the light lost through the telescope, the moon is so bright compared to the sky around it that the camera may overexpose the moon in trying to brighten the sky.
