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Sep
26

How to Photograph the Moon

Antonio MarquesFiled under:How to

It’s a full moon today. So, here are a few tips to take great photos of the moon. Grab your camera and go out there.

 

The moon has always been a scene that attracts many amateurs and professional photographers. It’s without question the brightest spot in the night sky and maybe due to the lunar mystic or simply due to its beauty a magnet for cameras.

But photographing the moon is not as linear as it seems. The moon is very bright (more than you probably think) and getting the right exposure that avoids the flat look can be tricky.

 

300mm; ISO 100; 1/250s; f/11

 

Gear

  • Tripod – Although it’s a quick exposure, you’ll get the best results setting your camera on a tripod. Remember that you want detail and any kind of motion blurring can ruin the shot.

 

  • Telephoto lens – Ah, how nice and big the moon looks… So why does it come out so small in a photo? It’s like that… For a good moon shot you’ll need a telephoto lens. You don’t need an expensive one (I used the cheap but so far good Sigma 75-300 f4-5.6) but for good detail a minimum of 300mm is recommended.

 

  • Shutter Release cable – Not really needed but recommended. The pressure of your fingers on the shutter button will increase the motion blur. To avoid this you can get a shutter release cable or do like I did (I didn’t had my cable with me) and use the shutter delay feature of your camera (I’m sure it has one). A 2 sec delay is more than enough to get your hands of the camera.

 

Get busy with that photo

One of the most common mistakes photographers make when first attempting to get lunar shots is underestimating the brightness of the moon. The first shots will almost undoubtedly come out overexposed with an ugly bright circle where the moon should have been.

Many photographers claim that since the moon is directly illuminated by the sun, setting your camera for a “daylight photo” can be a solution. Some also recommend following the sunny 16 rule (f/16 at 1/ISO) or the loony 11 rule (f/11 at 1/ISO). If you take a look at the photo above and the settings I used, none of these actually applied but probably due to the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs a huge amount of the light and this value varies according to the angle of the moon above the horizon. Using a “fixed” value does not work and you should experiment to find the best results. I tried the following the loony 11 but gave an overexposed moon with some detail loss in the brightest areas.

Start with the following settings:

  • Aperture at f/11
  • ISO 100 (you don’t want any noise on your photo and it’s so bright there is really no need to go above 100)
  • 1/125 – 1/250

 

Now set your autofocus to point, aim at the moon, focus and turn the autofocus off. Don’t touch that ring anymore.

For good measure bracket your EV 1 or 2 units (if your camera allows you can get a few sequential shots with different EV values).

And that is it. Moon photos galore.

 

And more…

Now that you have your moon, it’s time to work on it in silico.

The photo above was only cropped. No other processing. So, you can see that is possible to get average moon photos just out of your camera. If you want to make it even better, try playing a bit with the curves on Photoshop. You’ll probably manage to give more texture to your photo by increasing the contrast between midtones and highlights. Somehow I liked the result as it is (albeit flat) and decided not to touch it anymore.

If you want a more natural texture with more shadows, giving the lunar landscape a more tri-dimensional feeling, try shooting the different moon phases and not only full moon. The different angles at which the sun illuminates the lunar surface can create astonishing effects.

Now, this photo was taken back in the end of April, but for what I can see, today is full moon or very close to it. So, why not go outside and be creative? Let’s hope there are no clouds wherever you are.

 

Got any more tips for good lunar photography? Share them with us…

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    comments (103)

    Comments:

    1. BILLy MooreNo Gravatar Says:
      January 26th, 2008 at 5:43 am

      SIMPLE AND CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS, JUST WHAT I NEED AS I AM NEW TO PHOTOGRAPHY. WILL USE YOUR ADVICE FOR MY FIRST MOON SHOT AS SOON AS I HAVE ALL THE BITS AND PIECES FOR MY EOS 40D. AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. MANY THANKS, BILLY.

    2. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      January 28th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

      Hi Billy,
      Thanks for your comment.
      I wish you lots of success with your moon shots. Don’t forget to came back and share with us how it went.

    3. AdamNo Gravatar Says:
      April 22nd, 2008 at 11:56 am

      I tried many settings on my EOS 400D and I couldn’t get a decent shot. I looked at your site, put in the settings and it worked brilliantly. Thanks. Very Clear and Simple.

      Adam

    4. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      April 29th, 2008 at 1:09 am

      Hi Adam,

      Thanks for the comment. It’s always good to know that what you put out there is useful to someone.
      Want to tell us a bit more what went wrong with your first attempts? And what about posting those photos somewhere and telling us so we can take a look?

      Thanks again for dropping by.

    5. AdamNo Gravatar Says:
      April 29th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

      My first attempts failed because the moon turned out all smudgy.

      I zoomed in on the photo in photoshop, so the quality is not that great.
      It can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamp237/2451158281/
      Prior to looking at this site, it was all a blur of one colour and no texture can be seen. This is a great improvement.

    6. JamesNo Gravatar Says:
      May 20th, 2008 at 4:12 am

      Any tips on taking moon shots with other detail in the photo??

      I’m a bit of car nut, but just love getting the moon in any shot really, finding I often have a generally good photo but just a plain boring white circle of the moon.
      This pic here was before I got a proper camera (taken with cameraphone!) but I can’t get detail in the moon without making everything else blurry.
      http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b153/gts167/GTS-TP4/DSC00063.jpg
      Now if this was taken with my 400D, it would be zoomed up more so moon is bit bigger, but I can’t anything more than a plain circle for the moon….. or am I just expecting too much?

    7. AdamNo Gravatar Says:
      May 20th, 2008 at 5:18 am

      Take 2 shots. Make one the correct aperature and shutter speed (and everything else will be blurry) and take another with the car in focus. See if you can photoshop them together.

      Hope that makes sense.
      Goodluck.

    8. DazzaNo Gravatar Says:
      September 8th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

      http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moon1gu3.jpg
      http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moon2ki0.jpg

      excellent advice!! thank you very much..went to F13 and a higher shutter speed for these.

    9. HansNo Gravatar Says:
      September 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 pm

      great tutorial. many thanks

    10. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      September 24th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

      Thanks for the comment. Hope to see you around more often.

    11. Purple CowNo Gravatar Says:
      October 16th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

      Just tried taking my first moon shots and found this when looking for more info when I got back.

      Here’s the first stab: f/8, 200mm, 1/20 @ ISO100.
      http://pix.purplecow.org/?p=110

    12. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      October 18th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

      It’s a great moon shot. By looking at it I can tell you’re in a different part of the world :) When you do the cropping, try placing the moon not so centered. Follow the rule of thirds and you’ll get a higher impact image.

      Thanks for the comment.

    13. RebeccaNo Gravatar Says:
      January 10th, 2009 at 5:02 am

      THANK YOU!!! I cannot tell you how many sites I have gone to to try and figure this out. I have taken hundreds of shots with no results. I used your instructions and took 4. I got a shot I really like. thank you!

    14. NumiNo Gravatar Says:
      January 15th, 2009 at 7:49 am

      Excellent,

      Thanks for your advise. I took the picture following your tips of an amazing orange moon and is fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

    15. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      January 16th, 2009 at 2:37 pm

      Hi Rebecca,

      I’m glad that this article helped you with your moon shot. I’ve taken a look at your Flickr stream and that photo came out really good. Congratulations. Did you tweak the setting I suggested or it was just as I listed?

      Thanks again for dropping by.

    16. A MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      January 16th, 2009 at 2:38 pm

      Hi Numi,

      Want to share a link to it?

    17. RebeccaNo Gravatar Says:
      January 16th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

      Oh I love my photoshop. I tweaked it. Thank you so much. I shared this link with my beginning photography group. You rock.

    18. Photographer sydneyNo Gravatar Says:
      May 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 am

      hi.. this is so good. its very useful and helpful post. i really like it. i love photography.. thanks .

    19. Engagement PhotographerNo Gravatar Says:
      July 15th, 2009 at 11:41 pm

      i’ve found that you don’t really need a shutter release cable as long as you have a timer set for like 10 seconds. The other important thing is to have a heavy tripod, I’ve found that for these really long exposures a wimpy little tripod won’t really keep everything as still as it should for really crisp shots.

    20. dkmNo Gravatar Says:
      August 7th, 2009 at 5:54 am

      I echo the comments of the others. Once I read your post and took a few shots, I realized I had been seriously over exposing the shot – it is a FULL moon, it is bright no need for long exposures – duh! Why didn’t I think of that!? Thanks again, very helpful.

    21. riefaNo Gravatar Says:
      August 17th, 2009 at 9:25 pm

      This is a really good article on moon photography as I always tended to overexpose. If you would like to find out when the moon will appear in a certain location, check out http://www.findthemoon.com.

    22. BriNo Gravatar Says:
      October 4th, 2009 at 11:46 pm

      Thought I would share one from tonight

      Taken with a Sony a200 using a Tamron 70-300mm lens

      Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
      Aperture: f/10.0
      Focal Length: 300 mm
      Exposure: 0.00
      ISO Speed: 100
      Exposure Bias: 0 EV

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/24378537@N07/3980941305/sizes/o/

    23. Minerva DennisNo Gravatar Says:
      October 5th, 2009 at 7:03 am

      THANKS.. 100 ISO F11 1/200 Canon 100-400 IS “L” lens @ 400 mm awesome.. Md -

    24. NickNo Gravatar Says:
      December 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 pm

      Thanks for your info and advise….Tripod, camera and I got a clear shot of the moon 5 minutes ago!

      Cheer’s

      Nick

    25. TrishNo Gravatar Says:
      January 1st, 2010 at 4:50 am

      I wanted to take photos of the New Year’s Eve Blue Moon. I’m a novice D-SLR photographer with a new Canon Rebel XS. The settings worked great. Thx

    26. karimaNo Gravatar Says:
      January 28th, 2010 at 11:14 pm

      Thanks a lot
      I realy wanna be a photographer
      I love this art so much

    27. KarenNo Gravatar Says:
      January 30th, 2010 at 3:26 am

      I always forget that the moon is light! And was very frustrated this evening when I couldn’t get a good shot of the largest full moon of the year. How happy i was to find this article. Here is the result http://gallerly.me.com/karenod1/100296

    28. TLB999No Gravatar Says:
      January 30th, 2010 at 5:05 am

      Just tried your tips and got the best photos ever. I used a Canon Rebel XT with a Sigma 170-500mm zoom, ISO 100, f/11, 1/125 to 1/250. Tonight 1/125 seems to work best here in S.E. Michigan. It is clear and cold. Thanks for the tips.
      Tom

    29. ChristinaNo Gravatar Says:
      January 30th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

      Hi! Thanks so much for the tips. Using my Canon EOS 400D with the sigma 7-300mm 1:4-5.6, I followed your suggestion 1/125 at F11 and ISO 100 and got the lunar details at F11. But a softer more natural look at F10. You’re very helpful and thank you so much for sharing. It was really frustrating to get only the bright circle when I want to capture the moon as I see it by my eyes. Found this link.

    30. MichelleNo Gravatar Says:
      February 1st, 2010 at 4:21 am

      Thanks so much! I got the coolest picture thanks to your site!

    31. abel YepezNo Gravatar Says:
      February 10th, 2010 at 9:44 pm

      Great information it help me a lot. thanks alot.

    32. Edward LoganNo Gravatar Says:
      February 20th, 2010 at 11:51 am

      I am brand new to the Photography world. I have had point and shoot camers befor but nuthing like the Nikon D90 I just got. I am really looking forward to the new world that has opened for me and many like my self

    33. Bella WoodsNo Gravatar Says:
      April 5th, 2010 at 6:51 pm

      I have never taken a shot of the moon so perfectly captured, it was always too bright and all you could see after its recopied is a flash of light.

      Thanks for this.. Great info..
      amazing!

    34. Bethany BennettNo Gravatar Says:
      May 10th, 2010 at 7:53 am

      the best Telephoto lens that i have used on an SLR is the Canon EF 70-200 F/2.8 lens. Best image quality ever.~;;

    35. ThierryDNo Gravatar Says:
      July 9th, 2010 at 6:47 pm

      To photograph the moon, stars, nebulae and other celestial objects with my SLR, I use a board equatorial.
      Plate Equatorial costing less than 50 dollards to manufacture and allows for breaks of several minutes.
      You will find all the explanations and manufacturing details on my website: rienquepourlesyeux.free.fr

    36. AJNo Gravatar Says:
      July 28th, 2010 at 3:46 am

      Thanks a lot. The settings work fine.
      Pics of the moon uploaded here – http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkknight101/4835809119/in/photostream/

    37. darren murrayNo Gravatar Says:
      August 3rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm

      thanks for the great guide to shooting the moon its something ive been trying to get into for years finally got a 300mm tele lens followed your guide and here is what i came up with i think with a bit more practise in photoshop i should get some stunning images

      here is the shot i got

      http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1378/moon01.jpg

    38. Antonio MarquesNo Gravatar Says:
      August 3rd, 2010 at 10:46 pm

      Hi Darren,

      Glad you found the article useful. Nice image, came out nice. Did you use a shutter release? There is just a tiny amount of blur on the bottom right that might be explained if you didn’t use one.

      Thanks for the comment

    39. darren murrayNo Gravatar Says:
      August 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 pm

      thank you for your kind words
      i used a remote shutter release so i dont know why there is a tiny amount of blurring ?? it might be just my poor photoshop skills maybe ?

    40. BriNo Gravatar Says:
      August 24th, 2010 at 5:05 pm

      I thought I would post a link to another image of the moon since I have a better lens now.

      Taken with a Sony a550 Sigma 100-300 f4 DG APO EX + 1.4 DG EX TC

      30 shots stacked

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/24378537@N07/4917725686/

    41. LiciaNo Gravatar Says:
      September 24th, 2010 at 5:17 am

      Great tip! I was trying to shoot the moon the other night and it was a disaster. Now I have a respectable shot.
      http://flic.kr/p/8Dysx1

      BUT OMG! Bri – you have the most freaking awesome photo of the moon. Absolutely brilliant! What does that mean, “30 shots stacked?”

    42. BriNo Gravatar Says:
      September 24th, 2010 at 9:10 am

      Hi Licia,

      I took 30 shots of the moon and used Autopano pro to overlay (stack) them all to try and retain as much detail as possible.

      I then used the wavelet sharpener in Registax to sharpen the photo and noise ninja in photoshop cs5 to reduce the noise a little.

      Hope this helps.

    43. LiciaNo Gravatar Says:
      September 27th, 2010 at 9:23 am

      Bri – amazing results! More software than I can afford, though.

      I went out this weekend and got a different sort of moon shot that I really like. These settings helped tremendously. I also don’t have a cable or wireless remote so I use the timer to allow the camera to calm down before the pic. Doesn’t work on a windy day, though.

      http://flic.kr/p/8EpS5L

    44. TinaNo Gravatar Says:
      December 27th, 2010 at 12:23 am

      Thank you for this post! I was finally able to get a fantastic shot of the moon by following your instructions. What a delight.

    45. juzhaxNo Gravatar Says:
      January 19th, 2011 at 1:53 pm

      I’ve my setting for my camera too, wish this can help.

      http://www.justin.my/2011/01/how-to-take-moon-shoot-using-fujifilm-hs-10-hs-20/

    46. rianNo Gravatar Says:
      February 2nd, 2011 at 10:53 am

      maybe samiliar with this http://photograpyreview.blogspot.com/2011/01/moon-photography.html
      nice tutorial

    47. MikeNo Gravatar Says:
      February 7th, 2011 at 9:58 pm

      I am really a novice. I followed your instructions (I hope) but all I got was a very dim image. It was a crescent moon which probably makes a difference, but I did slow down the shutter speed to 60 but could see no noticeable difference.

    48. AdrianNo Gravatar Says:
      February 12th, 2011 at 12:12 am

      Thank’s for this post iv’e finally managed to get to get a decent capture just needed a slight tweek in nikons nx2 software to remove a slight light halo,also cropped…Again many thanks for this.
      http://flic.kr/p/9h2X7Q

    49. Dylan DibdinNo Gravatar Says:
      February 28th, 2011 at 11:46 pm

      Hey there Antonio, thanks heaps for this guide!! I mucked with it, then moved into a few different settings from those guidelines and got some great results/turn-outs. Here they all are; http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081908&id=1277340432&l=61c5b88cd3 ((thankyou so much once again, the details given here deffinately worked for me [=))

    50. Lumix Camera ReviewsNo Gravatar Says:
      March 7th, 2011 at 2:20 am

      As you stated in this post. You MUST have a tripod in all honesty. I just couldn’t imagine anyone trying to take a professional picture of the moon without something to balance the camera on. Some good tips in there though.

    51. Simon DaviesNo Gravatar Says:
      March 19th, 2011 at 1:30 pm

      Thanks for this. Will try your recommendations if there’s no cloud tonight. Last night I got the ‘bright disc’ effect. I also got a shadow image of the moon which disappeared once I had removed the uv filter from the front of the lens. Thanks again.

    52. AlexNo Gravatar Says:
      March 19th, 2011 at 7:32 pm

      http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16mar_supermoon/
      Looking forward to capturing this tonight! Thanks a lot for the tips as I’m semi new to photography and just got a killer new camera with 2 lenses!

    53. EllenNo Gravatar Says:
      March 19th, 2011 at 9:45 pm

      Thanks for the clear, informative instructions. Still learning the capabilities of my D90. Most of my work is wildlife and landscapes, but the moon has always been on my “to do” list. Attempts so far have been “fuzzy” at best. Can’t wait to head out with camera and tri-pod after dinner! Thanks again…

    54. JudiNo Gravatar Says:
      March 20th, 2011 at 4:17 am

      This was extremely helpful. Just what I wanted to know without having to wade through loads of other stuff.Thank you!

    55. Kelly DouglasNo Gravatar Says:
      March 20th, 2011 at 4:50 am

      Thank you so much for the clear instructions. I went out tonight and took pictures of the supermoon and the first ones I took before reading this were like bright lights in the sky the ones I took after reading this look like the moon. Thank you so much for you help.

    56. SherifNo Gravatar Says:
      May 15th, 2011 at 12:05 am

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/sherifkhaled/5215634644/in/photostream

      That was my earlier try ..but I will go ahead for a new after a few days again!.
      I am having a Casio Exillim FH-20.

    57. BillNo Gravatar Says:
      June 15th, 2011 at 6:20 am

      Thanks for this tip! I was able to finally get a decent shot of the moon…..

      Still learning :-)

    58. amandaNo Gravatar Says:
      June 15th, 2011 at 7:59 pm

      Thanks Antonio, for moon tips I,m from South Africa gonna try tips for lunar eclipse tonight

    59. denver wedding photographersNo Gravatar Says:
      August 7th, 2011 at 5:34 pm

      There are a lot of great super telephoto or should I say telescopic lenses. But nonetheless if you capture a great detail and your photo is sharp cropping it won’t be a problem and the shot would totally be looking like those of the ones taken from high end telephoto lenses.

    60. AnnNo Gravatar Says:
      August 13th, 2011 at 6:57 am

      Thank you for this article. I only learned tonight how to use the timed exposure aspect of my camera, and then tried to photograph the moon. As you wrote about, the moon was flat. I tried your tips and was very happy with the result.

      Namaste,
      Ann

    61. Dora E. H. CrowNo Gravatar Says:
      August 14th, 2011 at 7:43 am

      I followed your instructions, but only had a 200mm lens and the camera was handheld. The results were great!

      I’ll have to borrow a 300mm lens and use the tripod next time and see how much better that is. :)

    62. CarlosNo Gravatar Says:
      August 17th, 2011 at 3:23 am

      Hi Antonio,

      Any tips on trying to capture a full moon while it’s reflection is illuminating buildings on the waterfront?

    63. DanNo Gravatar Says:
      August 17th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

      Hi there, I stumbled upon this page after struggling to get a picture of the moon last night and wanted to agree about experiment with the settings until you get it right. I’m still getting to grips with my DSLR but I managed to get this one:

      http://ddotphoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dsc01085.jpg

      My 75-300mm lense is in the mail however I got this with my 70-210 (at 210mm) using shutter priority at 1/3 second, rear flash to balance out the brightness, f7.1, and ISO-100. The smoke is actually whispy clouds that were passing by.

      I never thought to use manual focus or a larger f number so hopefully I’ll get another cloudless night to practise the art! Thanks for the article, very helpful.

    64. StefanieNo Gravatar Says:
      September 10th, 2011 at 1:42 am

      Do I have to have at least a 300mm? I have a 55-200mm lens and I’m having a lot of difficulty

    65. UlsterboyNo Gravatar Says:
      September 13th, 2011 at 4:14 am

      New to this but Thank you for the tip, I’ve a Sony A500 with a Tamron 70-300 lens and i followed your easy to read instructions and am quite happy with the results, my ISO was at 200 as it’s the lowest setting on manual mode.

      Thanks again.

    66. UlsterboyNo Gravatar Says:
      September 13th, 2011 at 4:18 am

      sorry forgot to add my pic.

      http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8291/12mbiso2001250aperturef.jpg

    67. AllenNo Gravatar Says:
      October 12th, 2011 at 10:23 pm

      my first try at capturing the moon….taken with Canon 450D + 100mm

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/9798913@N06/6238796498/in/photostream/

    68. ChioneNo Gravatar Says:
      December 10th, 2011 at 5:54 pm

      hello! =D Many thanks for the straight to the point advice! it’s my first photoshoot with the moon (and it’s a eclipse~) do drop by my site to see the fruits of ur teaching! :)

    69. g10No Gravatar Says:
      December 10th, 2011 at 8:11 pm

      Thanks for this post. It was my first outing to shoot moon and am happy with what I got. I shot it immediately after moon came out of eclipse with a Nikon 70-300 mm lens. My settings were f/5.6, 300mm, 1/320 sec, iso 100.

    70. dcs60No Gravatar Says:
      December 13th, 2011 at 4:57 am

      Great instructions! Thank you so much.

    71. Brianna StorchNo Gravatar Says:
      January 10th, 2012 at 10:10 am

      Thank you for this advice. I was getting frustrated at looking at an amazing moon tonight but still being such a novice at my camera that I couldn’t photograph what I was seeing.
      Following your advice, I took a great shot of the moon. It turned out really clear (of the craters and everything!) and I am really proud to say I took the photo without post-processing!

    72. TridibNo Gravatar Says:
      February 9th, 2012 at 12:38 pm

      Hi,

      Thank you for tips. I am a newbie to this field.I tried the settings you mentioned to photograph the full moon with Nikon D7000 18-105mm lens . I found that moon seemed hazy and and not sharp when I enlarged the photograph.

      I had kept the camera and lens in AUTO ( AF-S) and VR mode The challenge was that in the live mode moon looked like a spec and fine tuning was a challenge. Is it due to the 18-105mm lens.

      Look forward to your help.

    73. Evelyn VinogradovNo Gravatar Says:
      March 8th, 2012 at 7:32 am

      Followed your advice, then combined two images for this odd shot:
      http://byvinedesign.zenfolio.com/p59701678/hd2b27#hd2b27

    74. RandalNo Gravatar Says:
      March 8th, 2012 at 8:05 am

      I have a canon PowerShot elph 300 HS, I found out how to change the ISO but haven’t been able to change the f stop. Also, I’m using binoculars mounted on a tripod (you use what you got). I need advice on how to change the f stop.

    75. John MurphyNo Gravatar Says:
      March 13th, 2012 at 4:14 pm

      I confess to not reading all these posts but will comment anyway.

      I have found that if you have a nice or less than a good camera a great moon shot can be gotten during times when the moon is out before sunset or just after sunrise as even the lesser cameras will have an easier time with contrast and over exposure because the sky and moon will be closer in value. Yes you get a blue, instead of a black, background but you can also get some great cloud formations as well on a lucky day.

      Keep learning and shoot, the film these days is cheap. lol

    76. John MurphyNo Gravatar Says:
      March 13th, 2012 at 4:29 pm

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/11273316@N06/6265241794/in/photostream

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/11273316@N06/4896081543/in/photostream

      Sorry forgot an example or two… the first is a straight forward hand held morning shot with a long lens, the second shot I braced myself against a tree in an evening sunset and cloudy day shot but liked the drama even if the moon craters were mostly hidden.

    77. product photography torontoNo Gravatar Says:
      March 14th, 2012 at 10:01 pm

      Can you do a tutorial on shooting the night sky please?

    78. Rhod TibblesNo Gravatar Says:
      April 1st, 2012 at 11:34 pm

      01/04/2012. Just happened on your website tonite. Was an SLR user for years but last 4 years have been using 10/18x Fuji bridge cameras. Have used many of the functions but never bothered with manual settings. Took straight auto shots of the moon this evening…. just a blurred whiteout ‘blob’. For first time ever, tried using manual functions – using camera handheld, F8, 1/250, ISO 100, about 300mm telephoto, first shot …… bingo…. wife most impressed. !!! Excellent… !!!!

    79. DavidNo Gravatar Says:
      April 5th, 2012 at 1:57 am

      Thankyou!

      Was trying to take pictures and getting seriously overexposed results.

      Took your advice and got the following on my first attempt (small changes in photoshop).

      http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4898/moonp.png

      Will try to get to some areas with less light pollution for my next attempts.

    80. W"RON"GNo Gravatar Says:
      May 6th, 2012 at 6:40 am

      Sweet moonshots are great considering I only got 200mm to work with and no tripod… Thanks for the advice it helped take the brightness out of the shots I was taking last week…… LOL I know I can take some amazing shots with the tools I have but I certianly need to do some more research..

    81. KarlNo Gravatar Says:
      May 6th, 2012 at 7:59 am

      Thanks, found it Today, great tip for moon photos, mine here: https://twitter.com/#!/KarlOrange/status/199015145681334272/photo/1

    82. NDNo Gravatar Says:
      May 6th, 2012 at 2:15 pm

      great shot! thanks for the tip..

    83. chiPerseiNo Gravatar Says:
      May 10th, 2012 at 3:58 pm

      Add my voice to the accolades. I’ve taken the occasional full moon photo all my life and unless it was dim and low on the horizon I got the proverbial white blob.

      Last Saturday (May 5, 2012) was the super-moon and in preparation I found your tips. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

      Feel free to take a look: http://bit.ly/IMORfY

    84. chiPerseiNo Gravatar Says:
      May 10th, 2012 at 4:11 pm

      Oops! correction above: Super moon was last Sunday, May 6th.

    85. TBNo Gravatar Says:
      May 11th, 2012 at 8:04 am

      Hi,

      I am a newbie to moon photography. I have D7000 with 18-105mm lens. Will this be good enough for photographing the moon clearly.

      TB

    86. KylieNo Gravatar Says:
      May 31st, 2012 at 2:01 pm

      Here’s my moon photo:

      https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/477345_10151004367803900_1574513448_o.jpg

      I used my Canon 600D with a 55-250mm lens, and your settings (aperture f/11, ISO 100 at 1/125).

      I had no idea what I was doing and am really happy with the result!

      Thanks so much for posting this :)

    87. Graham KeanNo Gravatar Says:
      September 29th, 2012 at 8:15 am

      Hi
      Tried photographing the moon before looking for tips, using a Sony Nex7 with an old (20 years+) Canon fd300mm f2.8L. Absolutely concur with your advice. I set everything to manual, and guessed settings for first attempts and everything was massively overexposed! With the lens wide open I had to go to shutter speds of over 1/500 th second!
      Here is a pic from UK last night. I also tried video, which produced a nice tracking effect – I speeded the playback on YouTube by 2 1/2 times to make it a bit more interesting, and also to fit the soundtrack. Hope you like the results…
      Still photo here:

      http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/133715_10151082498517832_316894475_o.jpg

      Video here (with great soundtrack!)
      http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DFhwAbu-hRU

      Enjoy!

    88. TamsinNo Gravatar Says:
      January 3rd, 2013 at 11:32 pm

      This did the trick. Simple and effective advice. Thanks!

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