How to Photograph the Full Moon: 4 Tips for Epic Shots

The full moon is one of the most breathtaking sights in the sky, and yet most people find capturing interesting photos of it to be a surprisingly difficult challenge. In this video you'll learn 4 tips to take your moon photos to heavenly heights.

Introduction 0:00
The Four Challenges 1:26
Photographing Near The Horizon 2:50
The Moon Is Really Bright 4:20
The Moon Is Tiny 6:28
The Moon Moves A Lot 8:27

===================

My Easy, 3-Step System to Transform Your Landscape Photography, Free Webclass:

Ready to transform your landscape photography and shoot world-class photos? Learn my easy, 3-step approach to creating shots that have been published by Nat Geo, BBC, CNN, Nikon, NASA, Outdoor Photographer, Pop Photo, and many more.

===================

===================

Here’s the gear I used in this video. This is all stuff I love and use personally, and 100% recommend. Most of these are affiliate links, which means you help support this channel when you purchase gear using them.

My Vlogging Gear

My Photography Gear and Tools

My Must-Have Accessories and Tools

[JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

I want to see your moon shots! Tag them #JoshuaCrippsPhotography on Instagram

[prsearls]

The moon is an interesting subject to shoot. I began in 1965 in Vietnam with a Pentax, 300 mm Super Takumar telephoto and Lunasix light meter. After some calculations and test shots, I was able to shoot the moon with good detail on ASA 64 Ektachrome transparency film. I now shoot it with a Canon R and 500 mm f/4 + 1.4 teleconverter (700 mm). My best detail was rendered at f/5.6, 1/1250 sec. @ ISO 800. Eliminating ANY vibration and getting critical focus is vital to get maximum detail. It's fun to do and the cropped photo to show to your friends always seems to impress.

Here in the Midwest, we have lots of haze and humidity during the warmer months which makes shots of moon rises/settings problematic. Your tips on how to shoot with a foreground subject is very good. I also use PhotoPills; another useful app is TPE.

[dlanska]

Absolutely excellent. Adresssed common glitches clearly, in a very organized manner, with very practical tips. For a 12-minute tutorial, it is unparalleled. Great work. Thank you.

[linjencj]

I have some experiences recently shooting the moon and based on those experiences, I know you summed up all the most important tips and details a photographer needs to know. I’ve watched a lot of photography tutorials and you’re the best and the smartest guy IMO. Thanks so much!

[grosbeak]

Guess I would have to say "Wow". Concise, on point, easy to follow, audibly, very clear. Thank you Josh!

[TrickyLink]

Searching for moon overexposure solutions, there are sooo many tips that say, "make your aperture smaller, faster shutter speed, decrease iso" like we can't figure that out. Thank you for acknowledging that the goal is to make both the landscape and the moon correctly exposed and providing the solution (starts at 4:20 - "The Moon is Really Bright").

[FishGalleon]

Thanks for the upload. Good information.
I also enjoyed seeing the Eastern Sierra Corridor.

[old]

Thanks again, Joshua. I always come back to this video when I want to try my very amateurish hand at moon photography. I haven't seen any new videos rom you lately.

[avilesrg]

This is one of the best videos I have seen that has practical, useful advice for shooting great full moon pictures. Thank you very much!

[margot]

This is the best video on moon photos thank you!

[raymondmartinez]

This is great and super helpful. I've been taking moon photos and they've been boring because i have nothing else in the photo. I will work on this more now. Thank you.

[GeoscienceImaging]

I was hooked by the time you said "that sucks!".

[DrJorgeReynal]

Awesome info, bro. Thanks for sharing.

[bradleyrex]

Thanks for the great video. I shared it with my photo club.

[plumberski]

Useful tips in cutting down my learning struggle. Thanks.

[itsallaboutlight]

I've been trying to explain to people about how beautiful it is when the moon rises at the same time the sun sets It is epic. My most awesome full moon rise at sunset was in St Augustine in 2002. It will forever stick out in my mind. I continue to search for a setting that is as awesome as that.

[placebofx]

Like just for the intro alone! You just made a new fan!

[FadelGalal]

Brilliant presentation, thanks much for effort/sharing :-)

[roberthennessey]

Great tips Joshua, thanks for sharing.

[vrajesh.mistry]

This is the video I want about moon photography! Thank you for this video🙋🏻‍♂️