Taking excellent moon photos might seem simple, but in a real sense, it’s trickier than expected. It involves a variety of factors such as establishing the right time to take your shots, considering the moon cycles, selecting an ideal location among others.
You need the right gear besides including a point of reference. You must also choose the correct aperture. After taking the photos, thorough processing is necessary to get the perfect image.
This article will offer excellent tips that will make your moon photography sessions exciting.
• Timing and location
The choice of the location and the time to take your moon photos will be evident in the quality of the pictures. Excellent photos are captured on a clear night. If your primary goal is to take moon pictures, clouds in the sky will be an obstruction. Ambient light and pollution in our cities might also affect the quality of moon photos.
To circumvent this challenge, move to remote locations preferably on mountains or hills to get a better view of the moon. To obtain information on the different stages of the moon, you can visit the US Navy Moon Phases page.
• Use the right gear
You must have the right equipment to capture excellent moon pictures. These are some of the essential equipment required for the exercise; a zoom lens, a tripod, and a shutter release. A focal length of 200mm and above is necessary for detail and better magnification.
For a good exposure and to support a large lens you will need a tripod. To avoid shaking the camera as you take the shots, a wired or wireless shutter release is necessary. If it’s not available, you can use the camera’s timer for the same purpose.
• Editing
After taking your best moon shots, editing will enable you to produce the desired images. Image editors such as Photoshop and Lightroom will assist you to come up with your final images. The editing process will start with cropping the black background.
Proceed and adjust the contrast and brightness to your desired level. You will also need to sharpen the image. Remember the moon has mountains and craters; it’s not just a spherical object as seen with naked eyes.
• Select an exciting foreground
An excellent foreground is essential especially when taking wide-angle moon photos. The choice of the foreground has an immense impact on the images. Prepare adequately to take the best shots for both the moon and the foreground.
Since the moon takes time to move across the sky, you can experiment to get the best shots for the foreground. You should only take the shots when your object is in the right position to the moon.
• Aperture
When taking moon pictures, a low aperture is ideal since the moon appears distant. Most photographers prefer the F/22 since it produces sharp images. With moon photos the sharper the image, the better. Experiment by engaging higher F-stops other than F/22; the higher the F-stop, the sharper the images when shooting moon photos. Have you tried these tips? Share with us how the tips have helped in producing excellent moon photos.