The full moon is always an evocative subject for a picture, either when included in a larger scene as a compositional element, or when just photographed on its own as here.
If you've tried to take a photo of just the moon but been disappointed in how it turned out then don't fret, because this is the first moon photo I've taken that's turned out pretty much how I wanted it.
The important thing with photographing the moon on its own is to get as much clear detail on the moon's surface as possible, and that means a highly disciplined approach to taking the shot.
To get this particular image I used every trick I've learned about taking sharp photos, and I'm glad to say that these things I've learned actually worked in this case.
Let me tell you how I took and optimised this shot.
Most of the following tips assume you're using a digital SLR.
Obviously, if you want to photograph a full moon you need to know two things. When the moon will be full and if the skies will be clear or not. All this info is freely available on the web. I use the BBC weather service for the weather report and sunrisesunsetmap.com for information on the phase of the moon.
A full moon will rise just as the sun sets, so there will be plenty of light still in the sky for a while after the moon has risen. This means that you can pick your moment to photograph the moon when there's still a hint of colour in the sky surrounding it. This looks better than a pure black sky which is what you get later on.
For maximum detail and sharpness you want the moon to cover as large a piece of your camera's sensor as possible. This means you use the longest lens you've got, fully zoomed out. I used a 100-400mm zoom at the 400mm end for this shot, and even so the moon was still quite small in the viewfinder and in the file from the camera (Canon 5D).
To hold a long lens still you need a sturdy tripod and decent head, with everything tightened down. If your lens has a separate tripod collar then use it for better balance. Also, use a remote to fire the shutter as even the gentlest touch on the camera will set it vibrating for a few seconds and ruin the sharpness of the shot.
Set your lens aperture to its optimum value of f8 or f11.
Set the ISO to the sensor's native value (usually 100 or 200) as you don't want any noise to mess up the fine detail you're trying to capture.
Use RAW file capture, again to avoid losing any information recorded by the sensor.
Use mirror lock up to avoid vibrations while exposing caused by mirror slap (the 'clunk' that you hear when you press the shutter release).
Use a shutter speed that doesn't over-expose any part of the moon's surface. You'll be suprised how bright it actually is. I used f11, 1/15 second, ISO100 for this shot.
Turn off any image stabilisation. This doesn't work with tripods.
Forget fancy rule of thirds compositions. Stick the moon bang in the centre of the frame. This is where the lens is sharpest.
Focus the lens manually and very carefully. Just winding the lens to infinity sometimes won't give the sharpest result, especially with zoom lenses.
Activate mirror lock up then wait at least 5 seconds before tripping the shutter with your remote. It really does take this long for a long lens to stop shaking after the reflex mirror moves.
Review your shot at high magnification to check for fuzziness and over exposure. Take a few more shots while bracketing the exposure. The screen on the back of your camera can't show as much as your computer monitor so take several shots just to be on the safe side.
Crop your photo to the desired size. When I croppoed this shot I was left with an image of just 800x800 pixels.
Sharpen. The anti-aliasing filter over your camera's sensor will have blurred the image slightly. A light sharpening in PhotoShop or similar will fix this.
Boost contrast. The output RAW file from your camera will be a little lacking in contrast so applying an contrast boosting 'S' curve adjustment layer will pep it up.
So there you go. A little foresight, planning, discipline and post processing will get you the shot you want eventually.
Filename - moon full 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 100-400mm zoom @ 400mm
Exposure - 1/15sec @ f11, ISO100
Location - Sky above Mold
This image - 800x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera shake
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.