Shooting the Moon

Last night’s perigree moon was a great opportunity to get some lunar images – unfortunately, in my little corner of the world we had cloudy skies and snow! Be that as it may, I was prepared to take some pics and had spent a little time refreshing my memory on proper settings. Here are some ideas for your next moon shoot:

• Use a tripod
• Use a cable release, remote trigger, or the camera’s timer
• Use a 200 mm or greater lens
• Try the “sunny f/16” rule as a starting point for exposure (aperture = f/16, time = 1/ISO)
• If the “sunny f/16” rule doesn’t yield results, try the “sunny f/11” option
• Remember that the moon is moving pretty quickly across the sky – you should be shooting at 1/125 or faster
• Don’t overexpose the moon
• Bracket, bracket, bracket

Here is an example of a full moon shot using the sunny f/16 rule (f/16, 1/400, ISO 400) with a 100-400 mm lens (at 400 mm)

Technorati Tags: moon, lunar, photography, perigree

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