달 사진 찍는 법(How to Photograph the Moon)

Supermoons coming

 in August 10, and September 9,

the biggest of which will occur on Aug. 10.

달 사진 찍는 법 http://blog.daum.net/usstory/5264416

달 사진을 포함한 풍경사진는 전경(foreground),중경(Midground), 배경(background)으로 이루어져 있다. 동일한 배경의 사진이라도 전경에 어떤 피사체를 위치시키는지에 따라서 서로 완전히 다른 사진처럼 보이는 경우가 많다. 따라서 풍경사진을 촬영할 경우에는 배경뿐만 아니라 언제나 전경에 무엇이 있는지 확인하고 셔터를 누르는 습관을 가지는 것이 사진 실력 향상에 도움이 된다.

 

카메라 세팅 정리

조리개: f/11

셔터: 1/250

iso:100

수동초점

http://photohistory.tistory.com/11332

왜 내가 찍으면 달이 코딱지만하게 나올까?

많은 사람들이 달이 참 예쁘다면서 똑딱이 카메라나 스마트폰으로 달을 찍지만 위 사진처럼 코딱지 만하게 나와서 실망을 합니다. 이렇게 작게 나오는 이유는 기본적으로 스마트폰 카메라나 똑딱이 카메라는 광각렌즈이기 때문입니다. 따라서 좀 더 크게 담을려면 스마트폰 줌기능이나 똑딱이 카메라 줌기능을 이용해야 합니다. 요즘은 20배 광학줌의 똑딱이도 꽤 많이 나오니 최대한 당겨서 찍으세요.  

또한 사람의 눈으로 보는 달과 광각렌즈로 담은 달은 크기가 다르죠. 참고로 사람의 눈의 화각은 표준렌즈로 50mm이기 때문에 50mm이상의 카메라로 찍어야 눈으로 본 크기대로 보입니다.

달 사진을 찍을려면 적어도 달의 음영이 담긴 사진을 담을려면 최소 200mm이상의 줌렌즈 혹은 망원렌즈가 있어야 합니다.
그 이하의 렌즈라면 달이 크게 담기지 않을 것 입니다. 다만 화소수가 높은 카메라는 일단 찍고 크게 확대한 후 크롭하면 되긴 합니다. 

달 사진을 찍을때 필요한 것들
1. 200mm 이상의 줌렌즈 또는 텔레포트 렌즈 또는 10배줌이상이 되는 컴팩트 카메라
2. 삼각대
3. 릴리즈 혹은 셀프타이머

 

200mm 이상의 줌렌즈가 있어야 합니다. 위 사진은 니콘의 300mm 줌렌즈로 전주에서 담은 사진인데요. 저 사진도 크롭한 사진입니다. 적어도 200mm이상의 렌즈가 있어야 달의 숭숭 뚫린 달의 무늬가 잘 담깁니다. 
여기서 많은 분들 포기하실거예요.   요즘 10배 광학줌이상이 되는 컴팩트 카메라도 많이 나오는데 그런 카메라도 가능합니다. 10배 광학줌은 렌즈로 환산하면 300mm이기 때문에 10배 줌으로 당긴 후 찍으면 됩니다. 20배 광학줌이면 600mm이니 더 크게 담을 수 있고요

삼각대는 필수입니다. 꼭 있어야 합니다. 그래야 흔들리지 않는 사진을 담을 수 있습니다. 
뭐 삼각대가 없으면 ISO값을 올려서 셔터스피드를  렌즈 mm대로 올리면 되긴 합니다. 예를들어 200mm 렌즈라면 1/200초 이상의 빠른 셔터스피드를 유지해야 합니다. 대신 ISO값이 올라가면 노이즈가 생기기에 좋은 생각은 아닙니다. 

릴리즈도 있으면 좋습니다. 없으면 셀프타이머 기능으로 활용해도 됩니다.

셔터스피드, ISO, 조리개 설정방법

1. 조리개는 F11로 정하라
정답은 없습니다. 그러나 F11이 가장 무난합니다. 조리개 F숫자가 높아지면 초점맞는거리가 길어집니다. 풍경사진은 보통 F11이상으로 잡죠.  달도 F11이 가장 무난합니다


2. 셔터스피드는 1/100이상으로 잡아라
셔터스피드는 IS0100일때  1/125초,  ISO200일때  1/250초가 좋습니다.  니콘의 구형 모델들은 최소 ISO값이 ISO200까지만 지원하는데 그런 카메라는  셔터스피드를 올려주면 됩니다.  ISO라는 빛의 감도를 올릴 수록 셔터스피드는 빨라진다는 관계를 잘 이해하시면 큰 도움이 됩니다.   셔터스피드는 여러 시도를 해보면서 바뀌시면 되는데   절대로 1/100초 이하로 내려가면 안됩니다. 그 이유는 이 달이라는 피사체가 하늘에 박혀 있는 것 같지만 생각보다 빠른 피사체입니다. 특히 줌렌즈로 당겨보면 달이 빠르게 움직이는 것을 느낄 수 있습니다. 따라서 1/100초 이하로 셔터스피드가 내려가면 흔들린 달 사진이 담길 수 있습니다. 


3. ISO는 AUTO기능을 꺼라
10배줌 이상의 똑딱이 카메라를 가진 분들은  ISO값을 자동이 아닌 메뉴얼로 조정해서 ISO100으로 조정하세요
ISO100이 더 쨍하고 선명한 사진을 담을 수 있습니다. ISO100으로 설정하고 ISO100을 지원되지 않다면 최소  ISO값으로 설정하세요. 

초점은 무한대, 노출은 스팟측광으로 촬영해라

 초점은 달에 직접 맞춰서 찍어도 되지만 달이 계속 이동하므로 초점은 메뉴얼로 해놓고 눈으로 직접 초점을 맞추던지 아님 무한대로 맞추면 됩니다.  달은 상당히 노출이 까다로운 피사체입니다. 그냥 자동으로 놓고 찍어보세요. 그냥 은쟁반만 담깁니다. 즉 노출 오버가 되어 버립니다.

따라서 노출도 셔터스피드와 조리개를 메뉴얼로 놓고 여러번 찍으면서 노출을 조정해야 합니다. 저 같은 경우는 노출은 언더로 3스텝 이상으로 낮추니까 달의 음영패턴이 나오더군요.  셔터스피드와 조리개 조절이 힘들면 스팟측광으로 노출측광모드를 변경하고 노출을 언더로 해주면서 적정노출을 찾아보세요. 단 셔터스피드는 1/100초 이하는 안되고 F11로 고정해서 찍으면 좋습니다. 

 배경건물과 함께 찍고 싶으면 HDR사진이나 노출 브라케팅 해라
달 사진을 많이 찍지 않았지만 작년 여름 초입무렵 탐스러운 달을 보고 사진을 찍은 적이 있습니다.
그런데 그때 알았습니다. 달이라는 피사체가 상당히 강한 광원이라는 것을요.  우리 눈에는 그냥 그런 광원으로 보이지만 
카메라로 담으면 노출 맞추기가 무척 힘듭니다.  특히 위 사진처럼 배경의 건물등 다른 피사체와 달을 함께 찍으면 분명 달의 노출이 오버가 됩니다.

달은 상당히 강한 광원이기 때문에 달에 노출을 맞추면 다른 피사체는 검댕이가 되어 버리고  반대로 건물에 노출을 맞추면 달의 노출이 확 나가서 은쟁반만 담깁니다. 이런 이유는 카메라가 눈과 달리 노출 관용도가 낮기 때문인데 이런 낮은 노출 관용도를 해결하기 위해서는  HDR기법의 사진을 찍어야 합니다.

즉 다이나믹레인지가 짧은 카메라의 특성상 노출 언더와 적정노출 노출 오버등 다양한 노출로 사진을 찍은 후에 그 사진을 합성해야 합니다. HDR기법이나 포토샵을 이용해서 사진을 합성해야 하는데 이거 모르겠고 힘들다고 느끼면 이렇게 해보세요

그냥 달을 적정노출로 찍은 후에  달이 없는 건물을 찍은 후에 카메라에서 직접 합성해보세요. 합성하기 전에 달이 들어갈 위치에 빈 하늘을 담으면 됩니다. 이것도 하나의 방법이죠. 

 

http://yourjune.tistory.com/73

 

1. 장소와 시간 물색

당연히 장소는 달이 잘 보이는 곳이 좋으며 주변이 빛이 없을 수록 깨끗한 사진을 얻을 수 있다. 시간은 보름달을 기준으로 저녁 9~10시 쯤이 좋다. 보름달의 경우 저녁 6시에 떠서 아침 6시까지 계속 떠 있기 때문에 시간은 크게 상관이 없다. 하지만 계절에 따라 남중고도가 높을 경우 삼각대 세팅이 어려울 수 있으므로 늦은 저녁시간때에 촬영하도록 하자.^[각주:1]

 

달 표면의 굴곡을 담고 싶다면 보름달 보다는 상현달, 하현달과 같은 반달 형태의 달을 찍는 것이 좋다. 음력을 기준으로 보름을 따져 어떤 달을 찍고 싶은지 생각해 보면 된다.

시기적으로는 공기중의 먼지가 적어지는 비오고 갠 다음날이 좋다. 구름이 없고 대기가 깨끗해야 사진이 선명하게 나온다는 것을 확인하자.

 

2. 촬영준비 - 삼각대 설치하기

밝은 피사체라도 야간에 촬영을 하는 것이기 때문에 삼각대를 설치하는 것이 좋다. 물론 달이 충분히 밝을 경우 삼각대 없이도 촬영할 수 있다. 여러번 촬영하기에도 삼각대를 설치하는 것이 편하다.

 

3. 측광설정 - 스팟측광

측광(피사체를 촬영하기 위해 빛의 양을 측정하는 것)의 지식 없이 촬영할 때의 대부분의 측광방식은 평가 측광이다. 즉 화면 전체의 빛의 양을 측정하여 평균적인 수치로 조리개, 셔터스피드를 설정하는 것인데 문제는 달이 우리가 생각하는 것보다 훨씬 밝고 달 주변은 아주 까맣다는 것이다.

 

평가측광으로 찍으면 아래 사진과 같이 뿌연 사진을 볼 수 있다.

구름이 많은 날 평가측광으로 찍으면 이렇게 나온다.

 

그러므로 스팟측광으로 측정을 설정하는 것이 달 사진을 찍기에 좋다. 화면 정중앙의 측광원만의 빛을 측정하여 설정을 잡아주는 방식이다.

 

측광을 마쳤다면 반셔터를 눌러 대략적인 셔터스피드를 외워두도록 하자.

여기서 말하는 카메라의 측광을 말하는 것이므로 특별히 측광설정이 없는 카메라라고 해도 찍는데 무리가 있는 것은 아니다. 측광 설정이 불가능 하다면 수동 모드로 촬영하도록 하다. 수동모드로 촬영할 때는 최초 카메라 설정에서 셔터스피나 조리개를 조여가면서 사진이 제대로 나올 때까지 어둡게 찍어나가면 된다. 

 

4. 카메라 설정(미러 락업, 화질, 화소, 조리개, ISO)
측광을 마쳤다면 최종적으로 카메라 설정을 확인하자. 흔들림 방지를 위하여 미러 락업을 설정한다. 캐논 카메라의 경우 AF/드라이브 메뉴에서 찾을 수 있다. 달은 멀리 있는 피사체이기 때문에 추후 크롭을 위하여 최대 화질, 최고화소로 설정한다. 조리개는 사용하고 있는 렌즈에서 가장 화질이 좋아지는 조리개 값으로 설정하면 된다. (렌즈마다 다름) 보통 8~11로 설정하면 적당하다.

ISO 100으로 고정한다. 이는 사진의 노이즈, 센서의 열화 현상을 막기 위함이나 셔터스피드 확보가 완될 경우 400정도까지 유연하게 조정한다. 하지만 셔터스피드가 충분히 나온다면 ISO를 낮게 설정하는게 좋다.

 

 

5. 초점잡기 & 릴리즈로 촬영시작(없으면 타이머 설정)

모든 준비를 마쳤다면 뷰파인더 중앙에 달을 놓고 초점을 잡아보자. 보통 AF를 이용해서도 정확하게 초점을 잡을 수 있지만 혹 잡지 못한다면 MF모드로 놓고 거리는 무한대로 설정하자.

 

드디어 모든 준비가 끝났다. 하지만 셔터를 누르기 전에 최종적으로 타이머 설정을 한다. 이는 릴리즈가 없는 사용자의 경우를 말하는 것인데 셔터를 누를 때의 진동 때문에 사진이 흔들리는 것을 방지하기 위함이다. 2초나 10초 모드를 사용하여 셔터를 누른후 진동이 사라질 시간을 주도록 하자.

준비가 됐다면 셔터를 누르자. 달의 바다와 육지의 명암을 잘 표현하고 싶다면 -1/3 ~ -1 스탑정도 언더로 촬영하는 것이 좋다. 후보정도 가능하지만 LCD로 중간중간 확인하면서 촬영하는 것이 좋다. 촬영값은 조금씩 바꿔가면서 여러장 찍자.

 

6. 후보정 (샤픈, 크롭)

촬영이 끝나면 후보정으로 샤픈값 높여주자. 샤픈값을 +1 ~ +2만 줘도 디테일이 훨씬 산다.

크롭이 필요한 이유는 아무래도 피사체가 작기 때문이다. 아래 사진은 초점거리 250mm에서 찍은 사진이다. 그 밑의 사진은 100% 크롭사진이다. 크롭을 할 것이기 때문에 최고화소로 찍어야 한다는 점 다시 한번 기억하자.

 

 

What's that old adage? Shoot for the moon and you'll land among the stars? Well that may be true… if your pictures are any good.

The "Supermoon" is tracing its way across the sky Friday and Saturday night so grab your iPhone, your DSLR or just an old fashioned 35 mm and post-up for the first of three to illuminate the night skies this year.

Supermoons happen when the Earth and the moon are closer than normal, according to NASA, making them the year's best moon photo-ops. If you miss it though, don't worry, this is just a warm up for other Supermoons coming in August 10, and September 9, the biggest of which will occur on Aug. 10.

Here's a "how to" from The Arizona Republic's resident photographer extraordinaire, Dave Seibert. Oh, and don't forget to show us your best work at #Supermoon.

 

When to go

Because of an optical illusion, the moon appears larger near the horizon making the moonrise the best time to capture stunning moon photos. It's also the best chance to shoot a well-composed photo that includes elements of your surroundings in the foreground, i.e. fences, cactuses, people, mountains, etc.

Alternatively, try looking for reflections in the lakes, silhouettes of planes, trains, animals or people.

 

Where to go

Some of the best and most popular places in the Valley to capture the moon madness are Papago Park, Lake Pleasant, Fountain Hills and spots in the East Valley with a good line of sight toward the horizon.

 

Smart phones tips

Capturing the essence of the Supermoon can prove challenging for even the most avid smartphone photographer. Make sure to frame the photo and set the exposure for the brightness of the moon. Try using a tripod or a brace to help keep the camera still. Turn on stabilization, if your phone has that feature, and experiment with night mode and ISO settings. Start yours around ISO 100 if you can keep the camera still, if not, work your way up.

Don't bother with digital zoom because you're essentially just cropping the picture. You can always do that later.

 

Camera tips

Use a tripod or find a way to brace your camera. Make sure your ISO is 400 or less. If you're shooting a still image, there's no need for it to be any higher. Use a cable release or a self-timer if one is available.

The longer the lens, the better your photos will look, so go for your biggest telephoto.

For the best of the best resolution, shoot in RAW rather than JPEG.

Shoot your photos on manual exposure and focus to help compensate for the high contrast between the brightness of the moon and the darkness of its surroundings

 

 

How to Photograph the Moon

Edited by Blue Moon, Maluniu, Fluffysnowdough, Flickety and 15 others

Evocative moon photos are a real talking point when done well. Unfortunately, it's not a case of simply pointing your camera moon-ward and shooting; doing that might be tempting but the end photo won't be worth viewing let alone sharing with others. Instead, once you're aware of what you need by way of a lens and how to tweak the aperture and shutter speed, you'll be able to get great shots of the moon. With a little photo-taking know-how, the moon might just become one of your favorite photo subjects.

 

1

Choose a suitable lens, which is 200mm or larger. The moon will look tiny in your photo if taken with your normal 50mm lens. After all, there is a lot of sky and the moon is just a little ball from where you're standing. Choosing a good lens will improve the whole appearance of your photo. A telephoto lens is the best lens for moon photography. The minimum to ensure good detail is 300mm,^[1] but better still is a lens with a focal length close to 500mm. This latter lens will give you the image of a full moon approximately equal to 5mm in diameter on your film or digital sensor.

 

2

Be aware of what makes the moon so brilliant. It's sunlight! We see the moon because of the light of the sun reflected from the surface of the moon. Moon is, therefore, your subject in sunlight. As such, setting your camera to nighttime exposure is not going to work as well because you'll probably need daytime settings to counter the bright light. There are several photography "rules" you can try, although it still pays to experiment because your local conditions may cause the rules to not work in your case, while something else might work better for you. Consider trying the following:

• Try the "sunny f/16" rule: Shoot at f/16 with a shutter speed of 1/200 second if your film or sensor sensitivity is ISO 200.
• Owing to the atmospheric haze and dust, and so forth, you might need to shoot at f/5.6 using a shutter speed of 1/250 second.
• Try the "loony 11" rule: Shoot at f/11 at 1/ISO.^[2]
• Try Antonio Marques' suggestion: Aperture at f/11, ISO 100, 1/125 to 1/250.^[3]

 

3

Find a suitable resting place for the camera. It is important to keep the camera as still as possible for a moon shot. A tripod is ideal, especially with the long focal length of the lens. However, if you're out walking at night and haven't managed to take along a tripod, rest on a rock, fence, car, etc. for stability.

• Another great piece of equipment is a shutter release cable. Rather than having to physically touch the camera (and therefore potentially wobble it), a shutter release cable allows you to take the shot without touching the camera again once it's set up. If you don't have one though, use the shutter delay set to 3-10 seconds, enough time to get your hands off the camera.^[4]

4

Focus the moon within your frame and set the exposure. Exposure time should be short and it's usually best to photograph the full moon. After carefully focusing the moon (and turning off your auto-focus) and setting your camera to one of the settings suggested above, activate the self-timer and take one picture. Activating the self-timer is important in order to avoid camera shake. The image of the moon here was made using a telescope.

• Take test photos. You need to get used to your camera's capacity for taking photos from different angles and at different speeds. If the initial speed isn't working for you, play around until you find the one that produces the best shots. The important features of the moon should be clearly seen on your photo (craters, the Man in the Moon, etc.).
• Antonio Marques suggests that if your camera enables you to take sequential shots with different EV values, that you bracket the EV 1 or 2 units.^[5]

5

Take more photos. Take two more pictures with exposure settings of 1/125 sec. and 1/500 sec. at f/5.6. And perhaps experiment with a few other settings. You will get at least one perfect picture of the moon with good details showing in it.

• Review if possible. If you have a digital camera with a clear screen of each shot, try to see which ones have worked best after you take them. When you think you know which ones are working well, take a few more using that setting.

6

Go through your photos on the computer at the earliest possible opportunity. Select those that produced the best photos and study them closely. What is it about those photos that appeals to you and how can you recreate that effect each time?

• Play around with the moon photos on Photoshop or any other photo altering program you own. You might like to sharpen the angles, brighten it, bring out some features with more clarity, etc. Consider highlighting some colors and textures more, if needed.
• Also try black and white, sepia, and varied color settings to see which provide the best appearance for each moon shot you've taken.

7

Be creative. Good moon photography isn't just about the settings. It's also about focusing on the angles, the different times of night, or incorporating landscape features. Think about how you might need to take into account these other elements for your moon photography hobby.

• Make notes in a photo journal to remind yourself next time of the settings, times, temperature, etc., that make for the best shots with your camera.

8

Get adventurous. once you're feeling comfortable with full moon shots, try a sequence that shows all the phases of the moon. Also consider taking moon shots during different seasons and different times of the night. The varying light and shadows on the moon will change depending on the time of night and year, so it's worth experimenting more if moon photography gives you a buzz. Make a few photo collages on your photo program, to highlight the beautiful variances in the moon.

 

 

How to Photograph the Moon

If you own a DSLR or a point and shoot with an optical zoom, I’m sure that every once in a while you see a beautiful moon and you think about taking a picture of it, especially when the moon is full and beautiful. There are other times when you spot a news announcement about a Lunar Eclipse and you think about capturing the moment, but do not know how to do it right. Or you want to capture the moon together with a foreground object such as a house or a lone tree, but the picture is not coming out right because the moon is much smaller and looks like a white blob. If you had any of these situations or simply want to find out how to take a picture of the moon with a digital camera, then this guide is for you.

Moon photography or How to photograph the Moon

1) Why does the moon look smaller in pictures?

Before we start talking about how to take a picture of the moon, let’s first answer some basic questions. I’m sure if you have already attempted to take a picture of the moon, you probably ran into a problem where the moon looks tiny in comparison to what you saw while taking the picture. Why does the moon get photographed so much smaller? The simple answer is – you are probably taking a picture of the moon with a wide-angle lens. Keep in mind that your eyes are like a 50mm fixed lens and if you are taking a picture with a wide-angle lens that is shorter than 50mm, the moon will be captured in smaller size! So, if you want to capture an object like a big tree or a house with the moon, you would need to stand further away and photograph the scene at least at 50mm to try to match what you saw with your eyes. And even at 50mm the moon might look smaller, especially if it was near the horizon when you took a picture of it. This also happens because of a phenomenon called “Moon Illusion“, where the moon appears bigger to your eyes, when in fact it is not.

2) Why do I see the moon as a white blob?

If you have taken a picture of the moon after sunset and it looked in the picture like a white circular object rather than the moon, it is because the moon was overexposed. When you take a picture of the moon with other objects around it (as in the example with a tree above), your camera by default will meter, or calculate the exposure, based on everything but the moon. This happens because the moon is too small in comparison with the objects around it and a single spot of light should not affect the overall exposure of the picture. Think of it as a light bulb – if you take a picture of a dimly lit room with a visible light bulb, the room will be exposed normally, while the light bulb will be overexposed. If the camera measured exposure on the light bulb, the room would be completely dark, while the light bulb is properly exposed. The same thing happens with the moon – it works just like the light bulb at night and it will always be overexposed. During the day, however, this is not a problem, because the amount of light coming from the moon would differ only slightly in comparison with the objects around it, including the sky. So, why do our eyes see everything normally, while a digital camera cannot? That’s because our eyes and our brain can see a much broader range of light. In photography terms, this is known as “dynamic range“.

3) Where and when to photograph the moon

Obviously, you should be taking a picture of the moon on a clear night with no clouds in the sky. Even a thin layer of clouds will make it impossible to get a clear picture of the moon, so absolutely make sure that the sky is clear. Pollution in large cities, especially in hot summer days will also play a big role, so I recommend getting out of town and traveling to a remote location with no light or air pollution, preferably at a higher elevation. The less the distance between you and the moon, the better the pictures. In terms of when to photograph the moon, take a look at this US Navy Moon Phases page, where you can find out what phase the moon is currently in and you can also calculate what it will be by picking the date from the bottom of the page. As for the time of the day – any time works, as long as the moon is visible.

4) Required equipment – Camera and Lens

1. A DSLR camera with a 200mm+ telephoto lens or a point and shoot camera that has an optical zoom capability.
2. A stable tripod.
3. Remote camera trigger (optional). If you do not have one, a timer in your camera will also work

If you want to enlarge the moon and show the details of the moon surface, a good telephoto lens longer than 200mm is almost required. The longer the lens, the better. If you have a telephoto lens that can take teleconverters, I highly recommend adding a teleconverter to increase the overall focal length. For example, a 1.4x teleconverter will increase the focal length of a 300mm lens by 40% or to 420mm total, while a 2.0x teleconverter will increase the focal length of the same lens to 600mm. The only thing to keep in mind, is that teleconverters negatively impact image quality and decrease the maximum aperture of the lens, so if you had a 300mm f/4 lens, it would essentially become a 420mm f/5.6 lens (which is not that big of a deal, because you will be using higher apertures for moon photography anyway). As the focal length is increased, camera shake can also become a big problem. At long focal lengths of 300mm and above, even a slight move can screw up the picture. That’s why if you are using a telephoto lens, a stable tripod is required to be able to produce a sharp image of the moon. Having a remote camera trigger also helps reduce the camera shake and if you have a Mirror Lock Up (MLU) feature in your camera, you can almost completely eliminate all vibrations.

The best setup for moon photography is an astro-telescope with a camera mount. Basically, you mount a digital camera to a telescope, which works as a long telephoto lens. But those setups can get very expensive and are suited best for dedicated astrophotography.

5) How to photograph just the moon

To photograph just the moon by itself, without any objects in the foreground, you will need a long telephoto lens like explained above to magnify the moon and try to fill as much of the frame as possible. Even with a good telephoto lens setup though, you will most likely be cropping the final image, simply because only a telescope would be able to provide enough magnification to fill the entire frame. With your telephoto lens mounted in your camera, secure it on a tripod and point at the moon. Make sure that your tripod is good and stable enough to accommodate and hold your lens and your camera. When it comes to shutter speed, aperture and ISO, here is what I recommend for general use:

1. Camera Mode: Set your camera mode to full Manual Mode.
2. ISO: Set your ISO to 100 if you have a Canon DSLR and to 200 if you have a Nikon DSLR (basically, whatever base ISO you have in your camera). For most other brands, the base ISO is also 100. If you have a point and shoot camera, see if you can find a menu setting to set your ISO to 100. Make sure “Auto ISO” is turned Off.
3. Aperture: Set your aperture to f/11.
4. Shutter Speed: Set your shutter speed to 1/125 on cameras with base ISO 100, and to 1/250 on Nikon DSLRs with base ISO 200.
5. Lens Focus: Set your lens to manual focus (either through a switch on the lens or on the camera) and set your focus to infinity. Be careful while setting the focus to infinity, as some lenses allow focusing beyond infinity. on more advanced DSLRs such as Nikon D300, there is a handy feature called “live-view with contrast detect”, which can accurately acquire focus on distant objects. I have used it many times for my moon photography and it works great! If you do not have such a feature in your camera, then try setting your lens to the center of the infinity sign, then take a picture and see if it came out sharp by zooming in the rear LCD of the camera.

Examples:
Nikon D90 DSLR: ISO 200, Aperture f/11, Shutter Speed 1/250.
Canon EOS Rebel XSi: ISO 100, Aperture f/11, Shutter Speed 1/125.

The above aperture and shutter speeds are derived from a Sunny f/11 rule, which is not necessarily very accurate for moon photography. I recommend starting with the above settings and adjusting the shutter speed based on the brightness of the moon. If it is too bright, set your shutter speed to a higher value. If it is too dim, set your shutter speed to a lower value. You can also play with aperture, but be careful, as changing the aperture to a small number can actually soften the image, while increasing the aperture to a very high number would mean slower shutter speeds. Remember, the moon moves pretty fast, so you definitely do not want to be photographing it with a slow shutter speed (certainly not below 1/100 of a second), especially when using a long telephoto lens.

Another thing I recommend doing is bracketing your shots. When I was taking a picture of the full moon, I noticed that some parts of the moon came out overexposed, while other parts were underexposed. I couldn’t get a perfect shot to properly expose all areas of the moon, so I decided to try taking multiple shots of the moon, then merging them into HDR in Photoshop. To my surprise, the result turned out to be better than expected – the first image in this article was done that way. If you do not want to do an HDR of the moon, I still recommend to bracket the exposures – in worst case scenario, you will keep the best photo and delete the rest.

Lastly, for those who have long telephoto lenses longer than 400mm, you might be able to use “Aperture Priority” mode instead of “Manual“, as long as you set your metering to spot metering. At 400mm and above, the moon fills enough of the frame to be able to use modes other than manual.

6) How to take a picture of the moon with a foreground object?

Let’s now move on to how you can take a picture of the moon together with a foreground object – whether it’s a tree, a house or a large rock. As explained here, the moon will always look overexposed after sunset in comparison to everything else. The only way to capture the scene with the moon properly exposed, is to take two separate shots of the scene – one with the foreground properly exposed and the moon overexposed and one with the moon properly exposed and the foreground objects heavily underexposed. Take a look at the following two shots:

As you can see, I shot the above two images in two separate exposures – one with foreground properly exposed, one with the moon. Here is the combined shot that I did in Photoshop in just 2 minutes:

The above example is not the best one in terms of subject and composition, but it gets the message across – you will need to combine two exposures to create a single image. The toughest part is to properly mask out the moon and to transparently merge the darker edges of the moon with the blue sky, which should not be a problem if you know how to use the right tools within Photoshop. If the sky is equally dark in both frames, then the amount of time spent in Photoshop is minimal – all you would need to do is copy-paste the moon and you are set!

Also, I shot both frames with a 300mm telephoto lens. But what if I had a large object in front of me that I wanted to include in the frame? Obviously, shooting a long telephoto lens wouldn’t work, since the object would not fit in the frame, so I would have to shoot the object with a wide-angle lens and then capture the moon with a telephoto lens, if I wanted the moon to appear larger in the final image.

7) Post-processing in Photoshop

No matter how good your image comes out of the camera, I still recommend doing some post-processing in Photoshop to enhance the look of your moon image. Take a look at this photo of the moon, straight out of the camera:

Moon photo straight out of the camera

Now, take a look at this image that I enhanced in Photoshop:

Moon photo edited in Photoshop

Click on both to see the difference. How did I do it? It was a two step process:

a) Image->Adjustment->Curves and selected “Medium Contrast” Preset from the drop-down menu and clicked “OK”.
b) Filter->Sharpen->Unsharp Mask and added 150% in “Amount” field, while keeping the “Radius” on 1.0 pixels and “Threshold” on 0 levels.

Very simple and very quick!

8) Reuse the moon photo in other photographs

Once you have a couple of really nice pictures of the moon, why not reuse them for your other night photographs? You could make it whatever size you want (from small to large), you could get even more creative by adding clouds in Photoshop or changing the color of the moon to match your photo – basically, whatever you feel like doing!

9) Why photograph the moon?

So, why would one want to photograph the moon? I was asked this question several times before and my answer is simple – because we only have one moon and it is beautiful, so why not? The moon also makes the otherwise boring night sky look more interesting and can add a sense of enigma to a picture. While photographing the moon by itself might be somewhat boring, including the moon as an element of composition can yield great results. In addition, there are moon phases (crescent to full) that give even more opportunities for various compositions. And lastly, why not experiment with something new and learn how to photograph bright objects at night? It is definitely a lot of fun, so get out and shoot some moon pics! :)

Here are some links to other great articles on moon photography:
- Shooting the Moon by Jeremy McCreary.
- Photographing the Moon by Andrzej Wrotniak.

Update: See our new article on how to photograph the Supermoon with some updated instructions.

Read more: http://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-moon#ixzz37RVX8yOS