Photographing the Moon

Shoot the Moon!

Those of us who are fortunate enough to be associated with one of the “Rocket City Space Pioneers” organizations are actually able to participate, at least vicariously, in sending a real spacecraft to the moon.  But even if you’re not involved in space travel, you can still shoot the moon, photographically.  You’ll need a camera, of course - the bigger, the better.  But you can get images that you can enjoy even with modest equipment.  Of course you can make images of other subjects in which the moon plays a significant part, but in this article we’ll only address making images in which you can see significant detail on the lunar surface.  Here’s how to do it.

Photographing the Moon Works Best with a Telephoto lens

You’ll need to use a long telephoto lens along with an appropriate camera.  That’s not to say that you can’t enlarge an image made with a shorter lens.  But if you wish to show fine detail (craters, mountain ranges, etc.) then you’ll need a long focal length lens.  You’ll also need a good tripod that allows you to easily frame the moon and hold the camera steady while you make the exposure.

Expose your shot properly when Photographing the Moon

It’s important that you expose the shot properly or you’ll not capture the full range of detail that’s possible.  That means you’ll have to set your camera for manual exposure and use the right ISO, shutter speed, and f-number.  If your camera is set to automatic, the meter will be fooled by the huge pool of blackness surrounding the moon, and the result will be a badly overexposed, unusable image.  If you’re using a digital SLR (DSLR), start off with your ISO set to 400, the shutter speed set to 1/400 second, and the aperture set to f/8 or set your shutter to 1/200 second and the aperture to f/11.  Since that’s only a starting point, you should review your image and use the histogram feature of your camera to be sure that your exposure is proper.  If you don’t know how to do that, search the internet for the terms “histogram” and “exposure” and you’ll get a wealth of information that’ll explain how to do it.  In any case, adjust the exposure as required to get good detail without wiping out the brightest parts of the image.

Here are some additional hints:

  • Atmospheric haze and, especially, turbulence can seriously degrade the quality of the image.  Some nights are better than others.  Often on warm, clear nights in the winter you can do well.  So keep trying until you get good results.

  • Turbulence is worse near the horizon than it is straight up.  But it’s harder to aim well when the moon’s straight up.  Try your luck in both situations and see what happens.

  • Craters and mountains are more distinct when illuminated at a highly oblique angle as occurs when the moon is between a thin crescent and half-moon phase.

  • You’re relying on your tripod holding the camera absolutely steady.  If it’s somewhat flimsy, hang a modest weight (perhaps your camera bag) to give it a little more stability.

  • Use a remote shutter release to prevent shake due to your finger pressing the button.  If you don’t have one, use the self-timer so that you can press the shutter button, remove your hand, and let the vibration settle out before the camera makes the exposure.


I hope these hints will inspire you enjoy some time outdoors at night and that you’ll capture some great images of the moon.  Have fun!

Joe Fikes, Dynetics

Photographing the Moon

Photograph – Chris Knight
Nikon D300
Focal Length – 1000mm
Shutter Speed - 1/200 Second
Aperture - f/11
ISO – 400

 

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