How to photograph the moon on your phone or camera with the right settings

When the full moon rises, many people pull out their cell phones to try and take an interesting Instagram photo, but unfortunately, it’s really hard to get a good one.

Two reasons: it’s too far away and unless you have a telephoto lens (which makes the moon look closer than it is) it will always appear as a very small bright dot. in the framework of.

Second, shooting at night is really difficult. Professional cameras allow you to change your ISO level or sensitivity, which means you can shoot in low light conditions without losing image quality.

Can you use your smartphone’s camera?

The short answer is yes, but I would suggest downloading an app and filming the moon with it instead of using the camera on your iPhone or Android. Some apps allow you to increase your sensitivity level, which allows you to take photos in low light conditions. I would suggest making sure there is another element in the photo – so capturing the moon as it passes, say, a beautiful bridge or a mountain. This allows the viewer to have a perspective on the size of the moon and also creates a more interesting image.

But even with these apps, you might be a bit disappointed with the result.

In order to take an amazing photo of the moon, you really need a zoom lens or a zoom lens – the higher the better. In addition to a professional camera and tripod, also use the cable shutter release or a two-second self-timer to trigger the shutter. This prevents camera shake when the button is pressed. It not only allows you to increase the size of the moon in the frame, but also get every detail while keeping the image as sharp as possible.

Your settings will change depending on the quality of the camera you are using. But you want to set the ISO to 100, which keeps the picture quality at its highest level. Set File Size to Raw – This allows the camera’s largest file size.

The aperture is not as large for photographing the moon, so aim around f8.

So who gets the best photos of the moon?

I love this photo Matt Cardy took on the Glastonbury Tour in 2015:

Cardy created such an impressive frame using her makeup and focal length. The size of the moon juxtaposed against people creates an image that seems to come from another world.