How to take pictures of tonight’s supermoon or worm moon

August 29, 2020
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Tonight sees a big lunar event called the “super worm moon” when the moon will look bigger and brighter in the night sky. 

Landscape and travel photographer and Canon ambassador David Noton has put together his top tips for photographing supermoon events. The best thing about this particular celestial event is that you won’t need any special gear – it’ll be visible to the naked eye so you should be able to photograph it relatively easily. 

It’s believed that the worm moon/supermoon will be visible from 5.35pm after sunset as the moon rises in the east and will peak at around 5.48pm. It should be visible for much of the evening, though. 

So what are David’s best super moon shooting tips?

1. Be in-the-know

The sun’s position in the sky at any given time of day varies massively with latitude and season. That is not the case with the moon as its passage through the heavens is governed by its complex elliptical orbit of the earth. That orbit results in monthly, rather than seasonal variations, as the moon moves through its lunar cycle.

The result is big differences in the timing of its appearance and its trajectory through the sky. Luckily, we no longer need to rely on weight tables to consult the behaviour of the moon, we can simply download an app on to our phone.

The Photographer’s Ephemer is is useful for giving moonrise and moonset times, bearings and phases; while the Photopills app gives comprehensive information on the position of the moon in our sky.

2. Invest in a lens with optimal zoom

One of the key challenges we’ll face is shooting the moon large in the frame so we can see every crater on the asteroid pockmarked surface.

It’s a task normally reserved for astronomers with super powerful telescopes, but if you’ve got a long telephoto lens on a full frame DSLR with around 600 mm of focal length, it can be done, depending on the composition.

3. Use a tripod to capture the intimate details

As you frame up your shot, one thing will become immediately apparent; lunar tracking is incredible challenging as the moon moves through the sky surprisingly quickly. As you’ll be using a long lens for this shoot, it’s important to invest in a sturdy tripod to help capture the best possible image.

Although it will be tempting to take the shot by hand, it’s important to remember that your subject is over 384,000km away from you and even with a high shutter speed, the slightest of movements will become exaggerated.

4. Integrate the moon into your landscape

Whilst images of the moon large in the frame can be beautifully detailed, they are essentially astronomical in their appeal. Personally, I’m far more drawn to using the lunar allure as an element in my landscapes, or using the moonlight as a light source.

The latter is difficult, as the amount of light the moon reflects is tiny, whilst the lunar surface is so bright by comparison. Up to now, night photography meant long, long exposures but with cameras now capable of astonishing low light performance, a whole new nocturnal world of opportunities has been opened to photographers.

5. Master the shutter speed for your subject 

The most evocative and genuine use of the moon in landscape portraits results from situations when the light on the moon balances with the twilight in the surrounding sky. Such images have a subtle appeal, mood and believability.

By definition, any scene incorporating a medium or wide-angle view is going to render the moon as a tiny pin prick of light, but its presence will still be felt. Our eyes naturally gravitate to it, however insignificant it may seem. Of course, the issue of shutter speed is always there; too slow an exposure and all we’ll see is an unsightly lunar streak, even with a wide-angle lens.

On a clear night, mastering the shutter speed of your camera is integral to capturing the moon – exposing at 1/250 sec at f8 ISO 100 (depending on focal length) is what you’ll need to stop the motion from blurring.

Liked this? Check out these tips for great low light photography

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