How to properly photograph a landscape with the moon. How to shoot a big moon. Thank you for the material provided

Probably everyone who is fond of photography has tried to capture the moon. Not everyone succeeds in doing this the first time. Most often, you get a blurry picture or a bright point on a black background. There are a few simple rules that will help you get a good shot of the moon.

If you are wondering how to photograph the moon, you can be sure that this does not require expensive equipment and professional skills. All you need is a camera with 10x optical zoom and the ability to adjust shutter speed and aperture. You can even do without a tripod.

Exposition

The most common mistake when photographing the moon is that many are deceived by the surrounding darkness. No need to set the night mode and take long exposures. The moon usually shines very brightly, and with these settings, the image will only show a bright spot. Photographing the moon is like photographing a light bulb in a dark room. The camera's exposure metering makes a mistake in such shooting conditions and it must be compensated for at least one stop in the negative. This will capture some of the details. To take a good shot of the moon, you need to close the aperture.

Excerpt

Shutter speed is too slow in night mode. As already mentioned, using it will not give the desired result. In addition, the camera cannot be held stationary when shooting with hands, and vibration will cause blur. A good shot will be obtained using a fast shutter speed. It should not exceed 1/350 of a second.

When to shoot?

There is a misconception that the moon should be photographed at night. The most spectacular shots are taken at dusk or dawn, when the sky is lightly illuminated by the sun over the horizon. Each month there are days when the moon is clearly visible in the sky even before dark.

The largest size of the moon occurs immediately after its rising. This is due to the peculiarities of the atmosphere. The first half hour after the moon appears in the sky is the ideal time to get crisp, detailed images.

The moon can be large and bright in the night sky, but when shooting and when viewing a photo, it seems completely faded, small and completely invisible. As a result, instead of a large and beautiful moon, we get only a faded white speck on a black background.

Fortunately, you can take a good picture of the moon if you know some subtleties. The main thing in this kind of shooting is to set up the camera correctly.

One of the first rules in photographing the moon is to use a telescopic lens. In this example, a Sigma 50-500mm telephoto lens was used. If there is no such model in your collection, then you can rent such optics in a photographic equipment store, or from a familiar photographer.

You will also need a tripod while shooting. A tripod can help prevent camera shake and blur in Moon photos. Also, do not forget to check the weather forecast in advance - you can take pictures of the moon only in clear, cloudless weather. In addition, find information about the phases of the moon, find out when the moon is rising and what time it will be brightest.

If you live in a large city, where city light can interfere with shooting, this is not the best place to photograph celestial objects. Try to go for a moon photography in the countryside, where the air will be fresh and the lanterns will not interfere with you.

For photography, it is best to set up your camera to shoot in RAW format in order to get the brightest and clearest images. The quality of such photos will help you edit images without losing sharpness. When processing RAW images, the Moon will retain its texture, detail and sharpness.

These guidelines should be enough for you to take a photo of a beautiful moon. A little later, in our tutorial, we will tell you how to insert the resulting Earth satellite into any image using Photoshop, thereby creating gorgeous landscape photos. Photographing a night cityscape along with the moon is a tricky task, so the smartest and easiest way is to add the moon using a graphics editor.

Find out the phase of the moon

Check the lunar calendar and find out what phase the moon is in at the moment. For complete information on the position of the moon, visit Moonconnection.com. With all the information you need, you can schedule your shoot in advance by choosing a full moon night. A completely full moon will look the most attractive in the frame.

Choose Lens

A telescopic lens is essential when photographing the lunar surface. The lens used in this case, a 50-500mm from Sigma, is ideal. A tripod will keep the camera in place, and a remote shutter release will allow you to take a clear, blurry shot. It will not be superfluous to set a timer.

Take a picture

Switch the camera to manual mode, and use manual focus on the lens. When choosing your camera settings, there are two key factors that will help you get a good shot. Since the moon is bright during a full moon, you can use a low ISO, and the brightness of the subject and getting closer to the subject allows you to shoot at relatively fast shutter speeds. The following values ​​were used in the example: shutter speed 1/200 sec., Aperture f / 10, and sensitivity ISO200.

Use Live View

At night, focusing through the viewfinder will not be easy, so feel free to turn on Live View and work through the LCD.

If the moon is bright orange in your photos, then switch the white balance from auto to tungsten lighting, or cloudy.

If you missed the full moon, that's okay. You still have the opportunity to take a great photo of the crescent moon. A young month, or crescent moon, can look great in photographs.

How to photograph the moon and add it to other night photos

With the help of the graphic editor Photoshop, you can add a snapshot of the moon to any other image.

Beginning of work

Start Photoshop. Open the desired image of the Moon and the image that you want to complement the frame of the moon. It is important that there is a large area of ​​dark sky in this photo.

Carve out the moon

With the moon photo selected, use the lasso tool. Use the lasso to outline the outline of the moon. Press Ctrl + C to copy and cut the earth satellite.

In this article, I will show you how to photograph the moon. And not even just the moon, but a landscape with the moon. I will say right away that the task is not easy. But the result can be very, very interesting. It's worth working for. First, let's decide when is the best time to shoot. Of course, everyone has seen the different phases of the moon. Such sickles, with different widths of the illuminated part. Every day the sickles get wider and wider, until finally the full moon comes.

Oh, these days of the full moon! Poetic time! I want to read poetry, fall in love, compliment girls. But this time we will not do anything about it. Because we're going to shoot the landscape with the moon. Although you can take the girl with you. She will not only inspire you, but also serve as a detail in the frame, an element of the foreground.

The full moon is also important for us for the following reason. The fact is that you need to shoot a landscape with the moon during the moonrise. Those. when the moon just appears above the horizon.

First, at this time, the brightness of the lunar disk is relatively low. It is quite comparable with the brightness of the foreground, with the details of our future landscape. In other words, all the elements of our image will be displayed adequately and will not require any special post-processing in Photoshop.

Secondly, while the moon is not high above the horizon, it is easily composited in the landscape, in other words, it is adequately combined with the ground details of the foreground of our future image.

But keep in mind, the moon rises very quickly above the horizon. Therefore, the shooting time is very limited. About 30 minutes. But do not rush to send the model girl to the starting position. A little more astronomy.

It is important to know that the time of moonrise is a variable quantity. Each subsequent lunar rise shifts in time by 20-40 minutes ahead. Here, watch her. And you will see that the moon during its month can rise in the morning and in the afternoon and at night.

On full moon days, the time of its rise is very close to the time of sunset. Poetically speaking, full moon days are the time when the sun, as it were, meets the moon. As if looking at each other. Well, then the sun hurries over the horizon to rest. And the moon remains the main one in the sky.

Here is another very important astronomical subtlety. Two days before the full moon, our night star rises before sunset. With a difference of a few minutes. Two days later, it will rise after sunset, at the end of twilight, practically in darkness.

Therefore, these two days before the full moon are very important to you and me as photographers. They are the ideal time to shoot a landscape with the moon.

Let's imagine a lunar month as a series of days characterizing a certain phase. In this case, the day of the full moon will be the 15th day of the lunar month. And the optimal time for shooting our landscape will be the 13th and 14th days of the lunar month. True, these days the illumination of the lunar disk is not quite full, somewhere around 98-99%, but visually it is almost imperceptible.

Write these dates in your diary, because by going to shoot the sunset on the 13th and 14th lunar days, you will be able to shoot not only the usual sunset, but also the rising of the moon. It will be enough just to turn around with the camera in the opposite direction.

Another important feature. The moon rises above the horizon in the same place where the sun rises in the morning - in the east. In summer, the place of sunrise shifts somewhat to the south, and in winter to the north.

Therefore, it will be extremely useful if you decide in advance where you will shoot. Choose the location of the future shooting in advance.

An ideal location where there is an open horizon to the east and southeast. Well, if there is a large body of water, then there is a chance to include a beautiful moon path in the frame.

No open horizon? Then look in the city for beautiful forged trellises, domes, and other architectural forms for the foreground. Perhaps just ordinary residential buildings in which the lights are already on. It would be nice to climb up to the ninth floor. Then the horizon will immediately appear, if it was not there before.

You can also try to shoot the moon over factory chimneys, or waste heaps, if you have something like that in the city. Or, for example, mountains, this is generally an ideal place for such a shooting.

Well, if you still decide to shoot the moonrise in the field, then I strongly advise you to find a shooting point near some hill (hill), or on the hill itself. In order to change the shooting point from the upper to the lower as the moon rises above the horizon.

Now it remains to clarify when these 13 and 14 lunar days, the most favorable for shooting, come. Everything is very simple here. There are enough resources on the network where this data is available.

For example site RP 5, where, in addition to the weather forecast, there is data on the time of sunrise and sunset and the moon, as well as information in what phase the moon is on a particular day.

Or type in the search engine the phrase "lunar calendar" and you can also find out the current lunar day. And there are also specialized resources, where, in addition to the time of sunrise and sunset, there is data on the exact direction of sunrise for a particular place.

Now about the shooting technique. A telephoto lens on your DSLR is highly desirable. The longer the better. In order to convey the moon as large as possible.

The lens aperture is not so important in this case. Because we still have to cover the diaphragm a little. How much will depend on the presence of the foreground in the frame.

Already at a focal length of 200 mm for a camera with a cropped matrix, the lunar disk is transmitted quite large. But with lenses with a focal length of 300 or 500 mm, the result can be even more interesting.

If you don't have such a lens, then shoot with what you have, and don't worry too much about it. Because your imagination and your perseverance will be able to overcome any technical inconsistencies or lags. And it is not at all necessary to inscribe the moon on the entire frame.

Recall, for example, Kuindzhi's painting "Moonlit Night on the Dnieper". There can be a lot of options for the layout of the future shot. A tripod for such shooting is very, very desirable, and in some cases is simply necessary.

It is very important not to overexpose the lunar disk so that the characteristic pattern and relief of its surface are not lost. Therefore, when photographing in one of the semi-automatic modes, in the camera settings, be sure to set a negative exposure compensation, for example, -0.7 or - 1.0. This will prevent the possible loss of details in highlights.

Let's consider the option of shooting a lunar landscape using one of my photographs as an example. The shooting day was chosen according to the calendar. It was the 14th lunar day, that is, one day before the full moon. The moon rose at the same time as the sun went down.

The shooting was carried out on the banks of the Dnieper, from a high steep bank. The width of the river in this place is about 500 m. Shooting mode - aperture priority. Exposure compensation -1.3EV. The focal length of the lens is 65 mm.

There was no possibility to use a longer focus. Because then it would not be possible to include interesting foreground details in the frame.

The manual exposure mode is very useful when shooting at twilight. It is more flexible than semi-automatic modes. And the correctness of the exposure can be controlled by the monitor and the histogram. Shoot preferably in RAW format. This will allow you to correct the inaccuracies in the exposure later.

I wish you to find new, interesting ideas for shooting scenes with the moon. And if you have any questions, then write, ask, always ready to help.

Date of publication: 11.06.2015

The moon is a beautiful and mysterious satellite of our planet. You can just admire her, or you can try to make interesting shots with her participation.

In this article, we will analyze the creative aspects of shooting a night luminary, learn how to take the clearest pictures, how to beautifully and expressively show the queen of the night in the frame.

What does a photographer need to know about the moon?

Movement schedule... The moon is a natural satellite of the earth. As in the case of the Sun, the inhabitants of our planet can observe its rising and setting. It moves across the sky according to its own schedule and can rise both late at night and during the day. To take beautiful photos, you need to know this schedule.

Why does the moon shine? Moon phases... The moon or part of it begins to glow when the sun's light is reflected from them. When the relative position of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon changes, the boundary between the illuminated and unlit parts of the Moon's disk shifts. Therefore, the illuminated part can grow or shrink.

Everyone knows that the moon can be full, or it can appear before us in the form of a crescent. There are eight key phases of the moon.

	New Moon: The moon is not visible.
	Young Moon (Waxing crescent).
	First quarter: Half of the moon is illuminated.
	Waxing gibbous: More than half of the lunar disk is illuminated.
	Full Moon: The moon is fully lit.
	Waning Gibbous: More than half of the Moon is illuminated; the illuminated area of ​​the lunar disk is gradually decreasing.
	Last quarter: half of the moon is lit.
	Old Moon (Waning crescent)

The phases of the moon give only a generalized idea of ​​how much of it will be illuminated by the sun on certain days. For example, the first and last quarters will include both 70% of the illuminated area and 95%. Therefore, the area of ​​the illuminated part of the moon is often measured as a percentage of its total area. At a full moon, this is about 100%, and with a thin month in the sky - a few percent.

The size and color of the moon. Big moon illusion... The surface of the moon itself is gray. Reflecting sunlight, it becomes yellowish. Also, the lunar disk can change its color due to the Earth's atmosphere (passing through the air). Sometimes the moon rising above the horizon is colored bright red, while it seems much larger. Note that for a photographer, this is the best time to create beautiful shots with the Moon.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f / 4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 800, F8, 1/8 s, 400.0 mm equiv.

We plan the shooting: choose the time, place and conditions

First you need to decide which phase of the moon you want to capture. Any lunar calendar will help you to get acquainted with the schedule of the moon's movement in the sky. The ideal option would be special programs for photographers that track the movement of celestial bodies. It is convenient to use TPE web application on the computer.

Please note: when it is deep night in the courtyard, and the Moon is high above the horizon, you can get boring shots of the lunar disk without any interesting plot or background. In my opinion, such photographs will be of interest only to astronomers. And they have seen the lunar surface thousands of times.

To be able to fit the moon into a landscape, to photograph it against the background of a city, nature or clouds, it is better to photograph at dusk. Wait for the moment when the moon will rise or set (immediately after sunset or immediately before its rise).

On the other hand, if you just want to shoot the Moon against a black background, then it is best to photograph in the middle of the night in clear weather, when the Moon is high above the horizon.

Shooting the moon at dusk allows you to photograph it not by itself against the background of blackness, but to fit it into the surrounding reality.

NIKON D810 SETTINGS: ISO 100, F8, 1/3 s, 400.0 mm equiv.

From personal experience: either the full moon or a thin month with an illuminated part of less than 15% looks most expressive in the frame.

It is also important to choose the correct vantage point. Find a place with a good view to get an interesting shot. The programs mentioned above will help determine where the moon will rise from. In the city, you can choose some elevated point with a view of its sights. In my case, they were the Ostankino Tower and the Zhivopisny Bridge. It is advisable to arrive at the shooting location in advance, because the rising moon "jumps out" over the horizon very quickly, so you will have very little time for shooting - several tens of minutes.

Necessary photographic equipment

Let's make a list of photographic equipment that will definitely come in handy for taking pictures of the moon.

• Manual camera

Taking pictures of the moon is a rather difficult task, so it's best to adjust at least some of the parameters yourself. It's good if the camera has a wide dynamic range. This will help when shooting the Moon against the background of other objects - it will not overexpose, and the background will not be too dark. For such shooting, SLR cameras are perfect: both the simplest (for example, Nikon D3300, Nikon D5500) and advanced models (Nikon D750 or Nikon D810).

Also a good budget choice for the amateur photographer will be compact hyperzums (for example, Nikon COOLPIX P900). They have manual settings and such a zoom that DSLRs never dreamed of. The same P900 can give a magnification equivalent to a lens for a full-frame DSLR with a focal length of 2000 mm.

• Lens

If you want to show the Moon in the frame large enough, then you must use telephoto lens... The longer the focal length of the lens, the larger the Moon will be shown in the frame. The footage for this article was captured with a Nikon 70-200mm f / 4G ED AF-S VR Nikkor lens with a 2x NIKON AF-S TC-20E III teleconverter. The focal length in photographs is 400 mm. A good compact and budget telephoto lens is the Nikon 70-300mm f / 4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f / 4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 640, F8, 1/2 s, 350.0 mm equiv.

Remember, the longer the focal length, the harder it will be to get quality footage. But more on that below.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f / 4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F7.1, 1 s, 110.0 mm equiv.

The moon can also be photographed with wide-angle optics. At the same time, she will not be so large in the frame, but in this case, you can show some landscape with her in the photo. It is appropriate to use lenses with a focal length of about 35 mm for a full frame or 28 mm for a crop. That is, almost any universal or kit zoom lens is suitable for such shooting.

• Tripod

If you want to get high-quality sharp images of a night light, then you definitely need a tripod. An exception will be shooting the moon during the day with standard or wide-angle optics. At operating time (early morning or late evening) and at night, the Moon is photographed at shutter speeds that are long enough for handheld photography (there may be a "shake" from the camera shake in the hands). If you work with telephoto lenses, the focal length of which is more than 300 mm, then it is advisable to use a tripod even during the day. Otherwise, lubrication is inevitable. After all, the narrower the angle of view of the lens (the more it zooms in), the more the picture in the viewfinder will “shake”. When shooting with a telephoto lens, a tripod is needed to stabilize the image. It must be very powerful, capable of reliably, without hesitation, holding the equipment.

• Remote control

It will be a useful accessory when shooting with a tripod. The remote control is needed in order to avoid vibrations of the camera at the moment of pressing the shutter button. So we insure ourselves against getting blurry frames. If you do not have a remote control, you can set the camera to self-timer, so that at least a few seconds elapse between pressing the shutter button and the actual shooting. If your camera, like Nikon D5200, Nikon D5300 or Nikon D7200, supports Wi-Fi remote control, then your smartphone can serve as a remote control.

Shooting parameters. Technical difficulties and ways to solve them

Newbie problem # 1. "Shevelenka" when shooting handheld... Novice photographers hold the camera in their hands or on a flimsy, shaking tripod. And if they shoot with a telephoto lens (high zoom), they almost always get a blurry image. To shoot handheld at high zoom levels, you need to shorten your shutter speed a lot. That is, when shooting with a telephoto lens, the maximum shutter speed should be shorter than 1/250 s. Optical image stabilization will help you get sharp shots. If you have a switch labeled VR, IS, or Optical steady shot on your lens, set it to ON.

How to calculate the maximum allowable exposure when shooting handheld is described in one of our tutorials.

If you are a beginner and did not understand anything from the previous paragraph, since so far you are only using the automatic mode and scene programs, for photographing the Moon with a strong "approach" select the "Sports" scene program - it guarantees shooting at a short shutter speed. If you are shooting the Moon in general shot, without a strong "approach", you can use the "Night landscape" subject program.

Problem # 2. The moon moves across the sky... How is shooting the moon different from other landscape photography? The fact that we are shooting a very fast moving object. If you shoot it at a slow shutter speed, it will smear.

How to correctly determine the maximum shutter speed for shooting the moon so that it turns out clearly? Usually the shutter speed is determined experimentally, making test shots. The general rule is simple: the longer you have a lens, the faster the shutter speed is needed. Therefore, photographing with super telephoto lenses is very difficult - the moon literally flies through the frame - catch it in time. Excerpts will be required rather short.

Those familiar with astrophotography know about the 600 rule for determining the maximum shutter speed when shooting stars (if 600 divided by the equivalent focal length, we get the optimal shutter speed in seconds). But when shooting the Moon, this rule will not work, because it moves across the sky faster than the stars.

To take a high-quality photo of the moon with a telephoto lens, it is recommended to use shutter speeds faster than 1 s. If we photograph with normal lenses, then the maximum shutter speed can be 2-3 seconds without losing sharpness. Since we are photographing at relatively fast shutter speeds in night or twilight conditions, the ISO will have to be raised. From my own experience, I will say that the moon is usually photographed at ISO 400-800.

Problem number 3. Exposure setting and lack of dynamic range... We have already mentioned this problem: at night, the Moon is brighter than anything that surrounds it in the frame. Therefore, the photographer will have to choose - to show in the photo either the Moon or the surrounding landscape, greatly overexposing the night star. When shooting at night, you will have to choose only from these two evils. The article has already seen illustrations of both situations. Let's take a look at them again:

The exposure is adjusted to the Moon. Its surface is not overexposed. However, I had to say goodbye to heaven: in their place is blackness.

If you are shooting at night with a telephoto lens, be guided by the moon, show all the details on it. If you're shooting with a wide-angle lens, focus on the landscape.

To avoid such a choice, it is necessary to choose lighting conditions in which the contrast between the Moon and the environment is not so high. This is, first of all, twilight - the time when the moon is already beginning to glow, but not yet as bright as at night.

The dynamic range of the camera can be slightly expanded. This will keep more details of different brightness in the frame. If you're shooting in JPEG, Nikon has Active D-Lighting technology to expand the dynamic range.

Also, some cameras allow you to create HDR pictures (for stitching several frames with different exposures). Remember that the moon moves relatively quickly across the sky. And so that the final HDR image is not blurry, each individual frame will have to be taken at significantly faster shutter speeds.

How to correctly determine the exposure when shooting the moon? I think the first time no one was able to get a perfectly exposed frame. In such difficult conditions, any metering method can fail. Always take test shots and adjust the exposure based on them, making the next shots either darker or lighter. Take advantage of the Live View screen, so you can see the future brightness of the frame right on the camera display. In order not to depend on the quirks of automation, it is best to shoot in manual mode, independently controlling all the shooting parameters.

It is convenient to use exposure bracketing. This function will allow you to make several (from 2 to 9) frames with different exposure (brightness). From this series of shots, you can choose the most accurately exposed one and work with it. You can also combine your footage using HDR or computer exposure blending.

In conclusion, I would like to wish the readers interesting filming and daring photo experiments! Remember, the skill to photograph does not end with the skill of pressing buttons on the camera. You need to find interesting subjects for shooting and choose good conditions for photographing. Pay attention to preparation for shooting, planning. This is the key to successful shots.

On November 14, another supermoon awaits us. For astronomers, this may be a fairly ordinary event, but for photographers, the supermoon is an opportunity to take spectacular pictures of the moon.

On the eve of the greatest super moon of 2016 (such a super moon happens once every 48 years), we will share with you some tips on how to photograph the moon in all its glory.

Without going into details, a supermoon is a phenomenon when the Moon is at the point closest to Earth, due to which, for an observer from Earth, it becomes 14% larger and 30% brighter. The Super Moon is a great time to experiment and take some impressive photos of the Moon.

How to Photograph the Moon: Equipment Needed

You don't need special equipment to photograph the moon. For example, the image below was taken with a kit 18-135mm lens and then cropped to fill the frame with the Moon:

So what you need:

• DSLR with zoom lens (ideally you need a telephoto lens) or
• Cable release, remote control or self-timer function.

How to photograph the moon: setting up your camera

Switch the camera to Manual mode or Shutter Priority (TV) mode.

Set the sensitivity between 100 and 200 to minimize noise. Choose a shutter speed depending on the ambient lighting and the effect you want to achieve.

Since the Moon is a very bright light source and is moving fast enough, you need to choose a fast shutter speed to get a blur-free image of the Moon.

Try using the F / 16 Rule for shooting: that is, at f / 16, the shutter speed should be the reciprocal of ISO speed. For example, if you're shooting at ISO 100, you should choose a shutter speed of 1/100 s (or 1/125 depending on your camera model).

The aperture of f / 16 may be too narrow depending on the lighting conditions - in this case, open it slightly to f / 11. In any case, you will need to take test shots and select the settings that give the most acceptable result for you. The main thing to keep in mind is that the best results can be obtained with an aperture size of f / 8 and above.

Be sure to shoot in RAW format as this will give you plenty of room to process the resulting photo.

How to Photograph the Moon: Focus Settings

Manual focusing is best for super moon photography, as autofocus generally does not perform well in low light conditions. Manual focusing will allow you to focus exactly where you want.

Slide the focus mode switch on the lens barrel or camera to the MF position. Using Live View with the zoom option will help you choose the most suitable focus point, and eliminate the need to try to focus the camera while squinting through the viewfinder.

If you want very sharp photos, you can resort to, which is great not only for macro photography, but also for photographing the moon.

How to Photograph the Moon: Metering Settings

Do you want a clear shot of the moon against the contrasting black night sky? This mode will help you achieve the desired result because it measures a very small portion of the scene — usually over the center focus point.

Spot metering works best with zoom lenses because they allow you to frame the image so that exposure is not affected by extraneous light sources outside the moon (stars, streetlights, etc.).

If there are other objects in the frame besides the Moon and you want to achieve a silhouette effect, then it will be most suitable.

By the way, if you want to expand the capabilities of your zoom lens and do not spend money on purchasing a telephoto lens, you can use a teleconverter. But remember that using a teleconverter may affect the performance of the lens you are pairing it with, and the resulting image may not be as sharp as you'd expect.

How to photograph the moon: eliminate vibration

Blurry photos can result not only from the lack of a tripod, but also from the vibrations that occur when the shutter is released. In order to avoid this, you must use a release cable or a remote control of the camera.