How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend

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super-moon-600x4001 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

A few years ago, we were lucky to have the full moon extremely close to earth, the closest it had been in 18 years.  It appeared larger than normal and photographers loved photographing the super moon.

The next Super Moon is Sunday, June 23rd.  According to Wikipedia this full moon will be the closest and largest  of 2013, but it is not as close as the one from 2011.

Back in 2011, we asked photographers to share their moon images with us, as well as tips that helped them photograph the moon. After reading the tips, I captured the title image above. The moon was viewable from my backyard which was fairly boring. So I combined the moon from the backyard with a shot when the sun went down in my front yard – I used blending techniques in Photoshop to combine the images and then added contrast, vibrance and finishing touches with the Photoshop Action One Click Color – from the MCP Fusion set.

Here are 15 tips to help you photograph the Super Moon (or any moon):

Even if you miss the “super” close moon, these tips will help you with any photography in the sky, especially at night.

  1. Use a tripod. For all those who said you should use a tripod, some questioned why or said they had taken pictures of the moon without one.  The reason for using a tripod is simple.  Ideally you want to use a shutter speed that is at least 2x your focal length.  But with most people using zoom lenses of 200mm to 300mm, you would be best with speeds of 1/400-1/600+. Based on the math, this wasn’t super likely. So for sharper images, a tripod can help. I grabbed by relic of a tripod, with 3 way pan, shift, tilt, and which weighs almost as much as my 9 year old twins. I really need a new, light weight tripod… I want to add, some people did get successful shots without a tripod, so ultimately do what works for you.
  2. Use a remote shutter release or even mirror lock up. If you do this, there is less chance of camera shake from when you press the shutter button or when the mirror flips.
  3. Use a fairly fast shutter speed (around 1/125). The moon moves fairly fast, and slow exposures can show movement and thus blur. Also the moon is bright so you do not need to let as much light in as you might think.
  4. Do not shoot with a shallow depth of field. Most portrait photographers go by the motto, the more wide open, the better. But in situations like this, where you are aiming for lots of detail, you are better off at f9, f11, or even f16.
  5. Keep your ISO low. Higher ISOs mean more noise.  Even at ISO 100, 200 and 400, I noticed some noise on my images. I assume it was from cropping in so much since I nailed the exposure.  Hmmmm.
  6. Use spot metering. If you are taking closeups of just the moon, spot metering will be your friend.  If you spot meter, and expose for the moon, but other items are in your image, they may look like silhouettes.
  7. If in doubt, underexpose these images. If you overexposure,it will look as if you dabbed a big white paint brush on it with a glow in Photoshop. If you purposely want a glowing moon against a landscape, ignore this specific point.
  8. Use the Sunny 16 rule for exposing.
  9. Bracket exposures. Do multiple exposures by bracketing, especially if you want to expose for the moon and clouds. This way you can combine images in Photoshop if needed.
  10. Manually focus. Do not rely on autofocus. Instead set your focus manually for sharper images with more detail and textures.
  11. Use a lens hood. This will help prevent extra light and flare from interfering with your photos.
  12. Consider what is around you. Most submissions and shares on Facebook and most of my images were of the moon on the black sky.  This showed details in the actual moon. But they all start to look alike. Shooting the moon near the horizon with some ambient light and surroundings like mountains or water, had another interesting component to the images.
  13. The longer your lens, the better. This is not true for a full landscape view of surroundings, but if you just wanted to capture details on the surface, size did matter. I tried using my Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II but but was not long enough on my full-frame Canon 5D MKII.  I switched to my Tamron 28-300 for more reach.  Truthfully, I wish I had a 400mm or longer.
  14. Photograph soon after the moon rises. The moon tends to be more dramatic and appears larger when it comes over the horizon.  Through the night it will slowly appear smaller. I was only out for an hour, so I did not observe this myself.
  15. Rules are meant to be broken. Some of the more interesting images below were a result of not following the rules, but instead using creativity.

And here are some super moon images our fans captured in 2011.  We hope you will come share yours on our Facebook Group next week.

 

photo by afH Capture + DesignAFHsupermoon1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 photo by Michelle Hires

20110318-_DSC49321 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

 photo by BrianH Photography

byBrianHMoon11 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

  The two photos directly below were taken by Brenda Photos.

Moon2010-21 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

Moon2010-11 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

photo by Mark Hopkins Photography

PerigeeMoon_By_MarkHopkinsPhotography1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 photo by Danica Barreau Photography

MoonTry6001 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

photo by Click. Capture. Create. Photography

IMG_8879m2wwatermark1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

photo by Little Moose Photography

IMGP0096mcp1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 photo by Ashlee Holloway Photography

sprmn31 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

photo by Allison Kruiz – created by multiple photos – merged to HDR

SuperLogoSMALL1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

 photo by RWeaveNest Photography

weavernest1 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 photo by Northern Accent Photography – used double exposures and combined in post-processing

DSC52761 How to Photograph the Super Moon This Weekend Photo Sharing & Inspiration Photography Tips Photoshop Tips

 

 

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No Comments

  1. Heidi on June 21, 2013 at 9:52 am

    I’m currently in Seward Alaska on vacation, and I was wondering if there is a website that I can look up what time I’ll be able to see it. I’m not familiar with the times of the sun and moon cycles.

    • Douglas on June 21, 2013 at 11:40 am

      Hi Heidi- Not sure if you have an iPad or not, but to answer your question, I have an app. called “Best Photo Times” it’s 1.99 for iPhone and iPad and it is very easy to use and gives you where the sun and moon will rise and set anywhwere in the world as well as the time that it will be happening. I hope this helps.

    • Allie on June 21, 2013 at 10:39 am

      Heidi,Usually weather websites will let you know what time the moon is rising. Try weather.com for Seward. For tonight it is saying 9:23 pm for moon rise, so check the page out on Sunday morning and it will probably tell you!Allie

    • Sharon Grace on June 21, 2013 at 11:04 pm

      This chart might be helpful. I have it set for Denver but you can change it to wherever you are.http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?obj=moon&n=75

    • Rommel Miraflores on June 22, 2013 at 8:53 pm

      http://golden-hour.com will tell you sunrise/sunset times based on your location. Excellent photography tool!

  2. Diane on June 21, 2013 at 10:24 am

    Check the sun and moon cycles here.http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php

  3. Cheryl M on June 21, 2013 at 8:53 am

    I find too, when shooting the moon (or sun), that taking off the protective glass from the lens will prevent “orbs” from appearing in your image.Such gorgeous photos above! Love it! I hope it’s not too cloudy here for this year’s supermoon!

  4. Makeda on June 21, 2013 at 2:21 pm

    The moon will be the closest to the earth at 7:32am on June 23, right before it sets. Should I aim to get the shot at that time or the night before when it comes up over the horizon?

    • ecindy on June 22, 2013 at 3:55 pm

      If I was up early enough, I’d do a moon set if the surroundings lent themselves to it. Shoot the moon rise and double matt and frame the moon set with it.

  5. Hazel Meredith on June 21, 2013 at 11:32 am

    The Photographer’s Ephemeris is an awesome – and free – website to show you moonrise, sunrise and exactly the angle of the moon or sun to a spot that you’ll be at!!! http://photoephemeris.com/

  6. Dalton on October 4, 2015 at 4:00 pm

    Great moon shots! I wish I had a lens to do this with!

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