It takes some practice, but the right shot it is worth it.
This gives you more flexibility over your cameras exposure parameters so you could get just the right shot.
A typical wide-angle lens usually has a focal length anywhere between 10-25mm.
Most decent photos of the moon are taken withtelephoto lenses with focal lengths of at least 300mm.
A tripod is crucial, too.
Even a slight movement can ruin your photo because the light in the photo moves, making it blurry.
A tripod ensures your camera is stable so this doesnt happen.
For that same reason, you may want towork with a timer.
This way, you prevent moving your camera during the process, potentially ruining your shot.
Personally, I just use the built-in timer on my camera and it works pretty well.
I set it up for ten seconds, hit the shutter button, then walk away and wait.
Youll have a hard time getting decent shots if you have to contend with light pollution.
Your first order of business is to get out of the city.
If you live in one, photographer Ron Rismanrecommends driving 60 to 90 minutes away.
Thats a general rule of thumb, though.
it’s possible for you to get amore accurate idea of light pollutionwithDark Sky Finder.
It shows you where light pollution is heaviest.
And thenthere are sky conditions.
This is basically how conducive the sky is for photographing it.
As spring and summer progress, that time will get earlier and earlier.
The brightness of the moon can overexpose the milky way or stars youre trying to capture.
you could check the moonrise and moonset times atTimeandDate.com.
The site tells you the percentage of the moons illumination, too.
Apps likeSkyView(free oniOSandAndroid) are useful for figuring out sky conditions, too.
They use your phones GPS to show you what youre looking at in the sky above you.
All you have to do is point your phone to the sky.
Autofocus wont work at night, so check that your camera is set to manual.
Some photographers say you should just focus to infinity.
And then theres exposure, the setting thatll probably need the most tweaking.
You want to verify your camera has just the right exposure to get the best possible shot.
The exposure depends on three configs:aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
This is measured in f-stops.
The faster the shutter opens and closes, the less light it allows.
ISO Speed: How sensitive your cameras sensor is to incoming light.
The higher the ISO, the more sensitive itll be to light.
However, there are some ballpark guidelines you’ve got the option to start with.
This allows enough light to come in so you could actually see the stars in your photo.
Your tweaks will also vary depending on what youre shooting.
In general, if your photo comes out too bright, try lowering the shutter speed or ISO.
If its too dark, do the opposite: try increasing the shutter speed or ISO.
Remember the Looney 11 Rule
Again, the moon is a different story.
Your exposure controls will be totally different.
TheLooney 11 Ruleis a good rule of thumb for lunar photography.
From there, it’s possible for you to adjust accordingly.
Create Star Trails by Stacking Images
Weve all seen those pretty photos of time lapsed star trails.
The video above shows you how its done, but here are the basics.
The photos are edited and stacked from a series of photos taken over a long period of timehours.
You set your camera to continuous shutter, which means it takes a photo every 20 or 30 seconds.
Youll need a remote to ensure the shutter stays pressed down to take those intermittent photos for a while.
This way, the stars actually move, so when you stack your photos together, you get trails.
Its simple but not necessarily easy, even if the professionals make it look like it is.
With some practice and fine-tuning, though, you’re free to still snap some pretty impressive shots.
Illustration by Angelica Alzona.
