Lens Lovers Club - COVID COMPLIANT Evening Moon Photography Session - 26 May 2021

[Frederic]

This time we will be focusing on taking nice shots from the full moon.

Bring your DSLR with zoom lens (if you have one), or if you have a telescope please bring it along as well.

 

You can signup for the event in below calendar:

 

 

[Frederic]

Some starting information:

Lenses

You can use the kit lens that comes with your camera when taking photos of night landscapes with the moon in the background. But you need to be aware that it doesn’t have the magnifying power required to shoot close-up shots of the moon.

Now you must be asking, how do I make the moon look bigger in pictures?

The simple answer is by using a telephoto lens. Think of it as a big telescope that allows you to see everything up close. You can find so many options for your camera out there with various levels of magnification.

So what’s the optimal lens to pick for moon photography? You need to find one with a focal length of, at least, 300mm. Thankfully, the moon is so bright that you do not need fast, expensive, telephoto lenses. Anything with an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8 will do.

 

Headlamp

Even when the moon is shining, it can still be quite challenging to see everything at night. So bring a headlamp with you to make everything easier. You’ll find it useful when setting up your equipment as well as adjusting camera settings. Just remember to turn it off before you take any pictures. You don’t want to be accidentally shining a light on your lens.

Any headlamp works for night photography. But try to get one with a red LED light. Since it’s not as bright as the white light, you can use it without worrying about accidental lens flares as much.

 

How to Focus on the Moon to Get Sharp Images

If you want to get sharp moon photos, your focus needs to be precise. Unfortunately, chances are the autofocus will have difficulty when it’s so dark. So, switch to manual focus.

Do not trust the infinite mark on your lens or the hard stop of the focusing ring because it’s not reliable. Although it comes standard on all lenses, its position is often inaccurate.

In reality, the infinity zone sits somewhere between your lens’s infinity mark and the maximum focal length mark.

So instead of using the infinity mark, use all the advanced functions your camera has to help you focus on the moon. Features such as Live View, Magnification, and Focus Peaking will all help.

With the camera on a tripod, frame an area on the moon with contrasted craters. Now, try to get their ridges as sharp as you can by focusing back and forth until you find the sweet spot. Achieving good focus can take time.

If you can, use a white marker to mark true infinite on your lens. Doing so will speed up your future photographic sessions.

How to Include Landscape in your Moon Photos

Taking pictures of both the landscape and the moon can be tricky. Especially since each one requires specific exposure settings. For the most part, moon pictures need a fast shutter speed while longer exposures are essential or nightscapes (a.k.a. night landscapes).

So it’s not surprising that there are plenty of ways to take pictures of scenes with the moon in the same shot. And each method produces a distinct effect.

The simplest way is to photograph both the moon and the nightscape is by using long exposure. The slow shutter speed lets in enough light to properly expose the landscape.

In this case, the moon will be overexposed, which would otherwise be bad news. But sometimes, it creates a beautiful hazy effect that adds mood to your pictures. This method works even better if clouds are blocking the moonbeam.

But what if you want to expose both the landscape and the moon in one shot? Then you can try boosting your ISO. These days, some cameras let you work between 3000 to 6000 ISO or more without introducing distracting image noise. With such high sensitivity, you can take pictures of anything with relatively fast shutter speed.

The only downside is that even with minimal image noise, high ISO could still drastically reduce the image quality. So use this method with caution and only apply it only if you find it necessary.

The best way to expose for the landscape and the moon separately. In other words, take two photos with different exposure times and combine them in Photoshop. Mask in the moon into your nightscape, and you got yourself the perfect image.

Photographing and Editing Workflow for Moon Photography

What Settings Should I Use to Photograph the Moon?

Now to the most crucial question in moon photography: How do I set my camera to take a picture of the moon?

A lot of people end up with overexposed images because they think the moon requires long exposures. But the truth is that you need to photograph it using daytime settings.

So what does that mean?

First, you set your ISO to 100. Next, adjust your aperture between f/11 and f/16 for maximum sharpness. And finally, use a shutter speed of about 1/125th of a second or faster. It’s that simple.

To get the best results, you should always shoot in RAW. Take a test shot and check the histogram that you have not clipped the highlights and that the Moon is not too dark. The sky will probably be pitch black, but that is not a problem.

If you don’t have a remote shutter, use the built-in 2-second timer to avoid camera shake. When checking the exposure, be sure your moon is sharp.

[JeromeFJ]

Thank you @Frederic for organising this  

I can see that sunset will be 07:02 pm, and moonrise 07:09 pm (more or less, please double check). May I suggest that we meet 1/2h earlier in order to be in position and cameras ready to enjoy the moonrise ?

[Frederic]

1 minute ago, JeromeFJ said:

Thank you @Frederic for organising this  

I can see that sunset will be 07:02 pm, and moonrise 07:09 pm (more or less, please double check). May I suggest that we meet 1/2h earlier in order to be in position and cameras ready to enjoy the moonrise ?

That is a good idea @JeromeFJ, i will adjust the timings.

[Zed]

Ow man sounds like a perfect event to use my Sony A7S for Astrophotography, but alas maxed out within 5 minutes of WhatsApp announcement 😭. Dear @Frederic please put me in waiting queue in case anyone decides to drop out (not that i'm wishing for it 😅🏃🏻‍♂️)

[Ranjan Das]

Hi @Fredericplease wait list me for the event

[Hisham Masaad]

Dear @Frederic, I am not sure I have done correct thing. Morning I downloaded the event, and accepted it. Would like to join if possible, although I am not in photography, but I can join as assistant for participants 😀😀😀😀

[Frederic]

First Attempt:

70-300mm Sigma f/11

1/125 sec. shutterspeed

Canon EOS 5D mk2

 

 

[Frederic]

This one was taken with my daughter’s  Celestron 700mm telescope, with the iPhone camera 😅

[Niki]

@Frederic you inspired me to head out to the balcony and try. 

ISO 100 | F/11 | 1/125 | 200mm | Nikon D3300

I am searching online for a decent (budget) 300 or 400mm lens ready for next week 🙏