How to shoot the moon clearly

First, consider the phase change of the moon.

Because the moon revolves around the earth and the sun shines on the earth from different angles, we get different phases of the moon, or simply put, the moon looks different.

The moon looks and feels different at different stages. The full moon is the brightest, but it looks "flat" because the light shines on it from the front.

The moon and the last quarter moon between the first quarter moon and the full moon are the most concerned, because at these stages, the side light will fall on the moon, thus creating shadows, thus showing craters and mountains on the surface of the moon. The new moon is the darkest of all stages, emphasizing the dullness and boredom of the night sky.

Second, choose the shooting time.

The best time to photograph the moon is at dusk, before sunrise or after sunset (the moon is close to the horizon). At this time of the day, the sky will be illuminated by faint residual light, which can highlight the surrounding details and add interesting colors to the sky and clouds, thus creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Arrive at the shooting location as early as possible, so that you can get ready and set the appropriate settings, because the lighting level will change rapidly at this time. Under different light levels, different stages of the moon will get the best shooting results, so taking as many photos as possible in the twilight can increase the chances of getting amazing photos.

Try shooting at night to get a clear picture of the moon in the dark sky, especially when using a long lens. You can also see the moon during the day, although it is not clear. In this case, the moon plays more roles than the main object of photography.

Third, framing skills.

If you have a telephoto lens, you can certainly get some strange and detailed photos of the moon. The longest lens is needed, and the minimum distance is 300 mm, preferably 800 mm or more.

Most photos taken by a digital SLR camera need to be cropped, which means that you will have a more effective focal length than a Quan Huafu sensor.

In order to save money, you can combine multiple telephoto lenses into one. For example, an effective focal length of 800mm can be achieved by using two 2x rangefinders and a 200mm lens. Of course, the picture quality will decline, but it is better than shooting with a standard lens.

Fourth, use interesting prospects.

If you don't have a telephoto lens, you can use any lens or even a wide-angle lens to get excellent photos-mainly to establish a proper composition.

Don't take the moon as the main theme of the photo, but put some objects in front to create an interesting scene. Shooting the moon through the outline of grass or mountains will increase the atmosphere.

However, this method has shortcomings, and it is usually difficult to expose the moon and the foreground at the same time. If there is any doubt about exposure, underexposed foreground is better than overexposed moon. Finally, you can take two photos-one is the correctly exposed moon and the other is the correctly exposed foreground-and then combine them in Photoshop.

Fifth, reduce jitter and improve clarity.

The moon is very sensitive to camera vibration, especially when using a long lens, a slight movement will lead to blurred shooting. Therefore, it is very important to minimize vibration. Use a tripod. As far as it is concerned, it can almost completely reduce camera shake and prevent external interference such as wind.

Use the start line or remote control to eliminate the jitter caused by pressing the shutter button. If there is no such accessory, please use the release timer to achieve the same effect. With the rearview mirror lock, even if the camera mirror moves, the photo will be blurred.

Six, choose the camera settings

One of the most basic and difficult things to choose the moon is to choose the correct setting. Due to various shooting conditions, it is impossible to determine any general settings. However, the standard selection process must be followed.

Manual shooting mode. Automatic mode can't adapt to the bright moon in the dark sky, so it needs to be switched to manual mode. You should start choosing the parameters of f/ 1 1, the lowest ISO value (such as ISO 100), and the shutter speed 1/250 seconds. Use autofocus to focus on the moon, and then set the focus mode to manual to lock the focus.

Experiment. Test and view on the camera screen, zoom in to estimate details and exposure. Adjust the settings according to what you see, and then repeat the process. Try not to set the shutter speed when using a long lens. When using a wide-angle lens, you can set the shutter speed slower.