Super Moon tips anyone? :D

[m-tinkerbelle]

hey everyone!
I used the "search" function to see if there were any posts related to the upcoming "Super Moon" next Saturday, but I found none.
Any of you have tips for taking a photograph of the moon?

Tell me that it's impossible to get a decent shot with my 55-300mm so that I don't go to the other side of the city for just nothing

in case there is hope (or in case you just want to share them) what tips can you give us beginners for taking such a shot?

I was hoping to go to my planned spot at sunset time to see what I can catch with my lens and play with the different exposure settings and shutter speeds

I'm not planning to get any professional-looking photos, I just want to capture it because you don't see a super moon every night ;D

If there is hope I might go buy a tripod (I was going to buy one anyways ;D)



thanks!

 

[ukcatfan]

Sorry to disappoint you, but photographically speaking, the moon is not going to look any different than any other full moon. This is the closest pass in 18 years, but the distances are on an astronomical scale and from our vantage point here on earth, the distance is not going to be enough to make it actually appear any larger. There are always Internet hoaxes floating around that say things like it is going to be 50% larger in the sky and blah, blah, blah, but it just is not true.

As for the shot itself, the moon is very bright and requires a faster shutter speed than you would expect. Sometimes a tripod is not needed. Also, the best time to shoot a full moon is actually the day before it. You can then get shots of it rising when there is still light in the sky and a decent background.

 

[Anewman]

I think that photos of just the moon all look alike, and they are all pretty boring.

Only thing IMO that makes moon shots interesting, when you add something to them to give you a kinda scale. Anything like tree tops, planes, horizon added to a moon shot makes them much better IMO.

 

[ViOnline]

what shutter speed, exposure and ISO do you usually use for moon shooting?

Sorry to disappoint you, but photographically speaking, the moon is not going to look any different than any other full moon. This is the closest pass in 18 years, but the distances are on an astronomical scale and from our vantage point here on earth, the distance is not going to be enough to make it actually appear any larger. There are always Internet hoaxes floating around that say things like it is going to be 50% larger in the sky and blah, blah, blah, but it just is not true.

As for the shot itself, the moon is very bright and requires a faster shutter speed than you would expect. Sometimes a tripod is not needed. Also, the best time to shoot a full moon is actually the day before it. You can then get shots of it rising when there is still light in the sky and a decent background.

 

[My2Girls66]

Like UKCatfan said a faster shutter speed than you'd think with it being dark. Start around 1/250th, ISO 100/200 and play from there. Tripod, vr off.

 

[YesDear]

Think of it this way. It is daylight on the moon at night. A standard exposure in bright daylight is F16 at 125fth of a second. I would start there. ISO 200 should be fine.

 

[boBQuincy]

The moon reflects light from the sun, with an albedo of about 0.12. For the non-astronomically inclined, this is about 1 stop less than grass (or an 18% gray card) so start off by exposing for a sunny day (1/ISO @ f/16) and open up a stop. Bracketing +/- 2 stops from there should work fairly well.

Don't use the meter unless you have a really good spot meter function. The dark sky will make the camera totally overexpose the moon. Yes, a 300 mm lens can get pretty good moon photos although it will still be pretty small in the frame.

 

[ukcatfan]

I think that photos of just the moon all look alike, and they are all pretty boring.

Only thing IMO that makes moon shots interesting, when you add something to them to give you a kinda scale. Anything like tree tops, planes, horizon added to a moon shot makes them much better IMO.

I completely agree with this, which is why I say to get them the night before (i.e. tomorrow night). The moon rises something like 51 minutes later each day, so you have almost an hour more of light tomorrow compared to Saturday.

 

[Shutterbug]

Per this article from Nasa:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16mar_supermoon/

Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.

If you want the moon to appear as big as possible capture it as it rises above the horizon.

 

[rtphokie]

Anything that gets people out and looking into the night sky is a good thing, but as others have pointed out, dont expect anything spectacular. Here is a comparison of apsides from 2009.

 

[Shutterbug]

When I was at the park tonight I took note of how much the moon stood out even with all the light that was still in the sky from the setting sun.

Unfortunately the next two nights are suppose to be cloudy

 

[m-tinkerbelle]

Sorry to disappoint you, but photographically speaking, the moon is not going to look any different than any other full moon. This is the closest pass in 18 years, but the distances are on an astronomical scale and from our vantage point here on earth, the distance is not going to be enough to make it actually appear any larger. There are always Internet hoaxes floating around that say things like it is going to be 50% larger in the sky and blah, blah, blah, but it just is not true.

As for the shot itself, the moon is very bright and requires a faster shutter speed than you would expect. Sometimes a tripod is not needed. Also, the best time to shoot a full moon is actually the day before it. You can then get shots of it rising when there is still light in the sky and a decent background.

lol! now I see why there were no posts about this thank you all for saving me from an unnecessary bus journey

I think that photos of just the moon all look alike, and they are all pretty boring.

Only thing IMO that makes moon shots interesting, when you add something to them to give you a kinda scale. Anything like tree tops, planes, horizon added to a moon shot makes them much better IMO.

I don't know I've seen many great shots, but chances are they had huge amounts of photoshop. I was hoping to get the moon rising seen from the other side of the river, and some iconic monuments and all reflected in the river XD But as you say, if the moon isn't any larger than normal it won't come out looking any better than any normal nighttime picture.

what shutter speed, exposure and ISO do you usually use for moon shooting?

It would have been my first shot of the moon I was just going to play with the settings and see if I could get anything on my LCD screen

Like UKCatfan said a faster shutter speed than you'd think with it being dark. Start around 1/250th, ISO 100/200 and play from there. Tripod, vr off.

just wondering, why should the VR be turned off?

YesDear, Shutterbug, Rtphokie and BBQuincy, thank you for your ideas, suggestions and advices

We'll have clear sky both tonight and tomorrow night, and we'll probably go to enjoy the nightlife at the other side of the river but I'll leave the equipment at home thanks a lot everyone! you saved me from embarrassment hahaha

i'm laughing my heart out, all blushed I won't trust certain internet sites anymore hahahahaha

 

[ukcatfan]

lol! now I see why there were no posts about this thank you all for saving me from an unnecessary bus journey



I don't know I've seen many great shots, but chances are they had huge amounts of photoshop. I was hoping to get the moon rising seen from the other side of the river, and some iconic monuments and all reflected in the river XD But as you say, if the moon isn't any larger than normal it won't come out looking any better than any normal nighttime picture.


It would have been my first shot of the moon I was just going to play with the settings and see if I could get anything on my LCD screen



just wondering, why should the VR be turned off?

YesDear, Shutterbug, Rtphokie and BBQuincy, thank you for your ideas, suggestions and advices

We'll have clear sky both tonight and tomorrow night, and we'll probably go to enjoy the nightlife at the other side of the river but I'll leave the equipment at home thanks a lot everyone! you saved me from embarrassment hahaha

i'm laughing my heart out, all blushed I won't trust certain internet sites anymore hahahahaha

I wouldn't say to not go, I just wanted your expectations to be realistic. So many rumors spread about things like this that people expect huge differences. There is even a ridiculous rumor that floats around about once a year that says Mars will be so close that it will appear as large as the moon.

To get your background looking larger in the frame, do not get too close to it. Make it be the right size in your frame when you are already at 300mm.

Turn off VR when on a tripod because it can actually make the shot worse. It is already stabilized by the tripod, so you don't need the VR.

 

[m-tinkerbelle]

I wouldn't say to not go, I just wanted your expectations to be realistic. So many rumors spread about things like this that people expect huge differences. There is even a ridiculous rumor that floats around about once a year that says Mars will be so close that it will appear as large as the moon.

To get your background looking larger in the frame, do not get too close to it. Make it be the right size in your frame when you are already at 300mm.

Turn off VR when on a tripod because it can actually make the shot worse. It is already stabilized by the tripod, so you don't need the VR.

thank you for your post ukcatfan I've never heard of that Mars rumor that one would have been harder to believe for me. Due to athmosphere effects under certain situations in the past I HAVE seen the moon way larger than usual, I thought this was one of those days and that's why I believed the rumors were right XD
but you're right, it won't look significantly larger because of the perigee

Nah I don't think I'll be going if I happen to be near the river I'll take pics but I won't bring the tripod. If I get something nice I'll post it but I don't want to bore you all with beginner pics ^_^

I'm very happy with my new hobby though ;D

 

[GrillMouster]

When photographing the moon, think of the "Sunny 16" rule.
I agree with the comments the shots of just the moon can be bland. I find the same to be true of fireworks shots. Including other objects/structures/people to show scale and place can make for a much more interesting image and composition. However, having a clear shot of just the moon can come in handy for future creative composites!

 

[mabas9395]

In my opinion, some of the more interesting moon shots are when it is less than full. Flash photographers should understand this. When the moon is full, the light source (the sun) is practically head on to your subject. When its a half moon, the light source is off to the side and its like moving your flash off camera. You end up with more interesting shadows that help define the surface of the moon.

That being said, if the weather cooperates, I plan on trying a super moon shot as well.

 

[zackiedawg]

I love moon shots personally...just about any kind. I shoot it a lot - telephoto, wide, landscape, metered, blown out, HDR'd, with foreground object, with clouds, daytime, nighttime, multiple exposures, photoshopped...any way I can think of. A moon gallery I compiled with some of my stuff:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/the_moon&page=all

I do wish though that I had around my house a wide open vista to the horizon, as I'd love to get a rising moon shot with a foreground object silhouetted in it. I as yet haven't been able to, because I have no vistas - I can't see the horizon where I live!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

This was taken last night, nothing spectacular. It was taken at 300mm, 1/1000, F4, ISO 200. It is cropped quite a bit and taken handheld (laying on my back)


Moon 31711 by Gianna'sPapa, on Flickr

 

[zackiedawg]

Here's a preview of the super moon - took it at 1am Saturday morning, March 19, 2011 (about an hour ago) with my DSLR-A550 and a Tamron 200-500mm lens at 500mm, paired with a Tamron 2x teleconverter for 1000mm on a 1.5x crop body camera (that's 1500mm equivalent!!):

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sunset is in 2 hours time in Melbourne....