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
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My Easy, 3-Step System to Transform Your Landscape Photography, Free Webclass:
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===================
Full Moon Workshop, August 2022: bit.ly/2Why5iD
Andrew McCarthy: / cosmic_background
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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.
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[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

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

[@guillaumeclosset6407]

Done! Curious for your feedback @6iography 🙏

[@Lofilord]

i bet today a lot of new viewer like me come to you and want to say thank you! :Di hope i get a good shot with the S21 Ultra 5g :D #hobbyphotograph.

[@MateoTiller]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqaloaCtgJmdZ6c

[@amy_rf8397]

That intro is so true lmao

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Right? Tricky little moon.

[@JOSECANUCCJ]

Surprised he didn’t use flash, that would have been funny!

[@tristantheoofer2]

me when i use an iphone to take pictures lmaooo

[@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!

[@kimdunphy2009]

Thanks Josh, I've been obsessed with mastering my full moon photography for a while now, still a work in progress, all the tips I can learn from the masters will help me step up my game. Off to do a dry run now for a shot hopefully this evening, clear sky permitting!

[@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.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Great to hear you enjoyed it!

[@ronpettitt6184]

I couldn't agree more about the moon by itself. Every time we have one of these special moons, we are inundated with photos of a moon in a black field which to me is lacking a great deal. Great video!

[@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!

[@JessxRhiannon]

Thank you so much for this video! I’ve always been taking photos of the moon but they’ve always been very samey, this is so easy to follow as well :)

[@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.

[@Chris_2023_]

I tried shooting the full moon the other night after watching your video and your tips were sensational! Thank you so much!

[@old4004]

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.

[@alohaleslie9407]

Having just re-activated my passion for photography, I really laughed out loud at "that sucks!" LOL With the Scorpio Moon having just presented itself to the world on April 26th, I took well over 200 photos of it, never having taken moon photos before. I was pleasantly surprised and gifted with many that were stunning, but just as many ended up like your "that sucks!" moon. This is a fabulous vlog. Thanks so much.

[@grosbeak08]

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

[@SummitSeeker546]

I follow you closely. Love your content and love your entertainment value. I’m not a photographer but I like to capture my trips into the backcountry. My videos and pics are strictly for my remembrance of the event. Would love to see more content on shooting pics/videos with an iPhone. I especially suck at shooting moon shots or nighttime skyline shots. Huge fan!

[@robinc-k7162]

Heading out tonight for the full Moon, so came and watched this again for a refresher! Don't want to screw it up! #obsessed

[@niftytwo]

Incredible information. I really bomb out on night shoots. I study and plan but so far have never had a YAHOO moment. This video has rattled my cage and I will putting more effort in. Excellent video Joshua. Thank you.

[@raymondmartinez9007]

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

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vrajesh.mistry]

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

[@barryphilp7948]

Inspirational -thank you for a great tutorial your advice will save me a lot of wasted time trying to work out how to get good results-one of the best presentations I have seen

[@fromtheblonx]

Love this video man! You explain things so well! I'm currently suffering from a chronic illness and rarely leave my bed. I decided to buy a decent camera because I'm limited in what I can do. My bed faces south and from my window i get fabulous views of the moon rise! There's little else i can photograph at the moment so moon shots it is! You've given some great advice here man, new sub incoming!

[@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").

[@bio7021]

Thank you for this awesome video not only informative but funny too 🤣🤣loved it

[@FishGalleon]

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

[@Chris_2023_]

Great video! Love your tips! Thank you so much!

[@roberthennessey128]

Great tips Joshua, thanks for sharing.

[@mattorrz759]

Great tips mate. I’ll be sharing this with my niece 👌 PhotoPills is ace. I love it for my Milky Way planning.

[@margot6041]

This is the best video on moon photos thank you!

[@cmichaelhaugh8517]

All excellent points. Thank you!

[@bradleyrex2968]

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

[@creatorsjourney6286]

Just came across your channel and subscribed Josh. It would be nice to have someone like you shooting the moon. You know your moon stuff well.

[@DrJorgeReynal]

Awesome info, bro. Thanks for sharing.

[@Space-raven]

I laughed so hard at the intro! I rented way too hard lmao

[@GeoscienceImaging]

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

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Hahaha!

[@wjgraham63]

😄

[@love2travel312]

Just got the Sigma 60-600mm for my Nikon, can't wait for the moon to come back!!!!

[@Hacmm55]

Thank you! Very helpful.

[@tjc9514]

Great video Josh! I really appreciate you describing the struggle!

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

My pleasure!

[@rosalieb7909]

Very informative and entertaining video! I'm heading to Southern Utah this September and hope to get some descent full moon image while in Arches NP. Is your only video on shooting the full moon?

[@talltom0690]

I'm a hobbyist photographer, so I won't spend a lot on equipment. I got the Sony rx10 iii. It's great for travel and has a 24-600 zoom. I've gotten some great moon shots with it.

[@parthanil]

Thanks a lot. With your tips I could take a reasonably good pic of the full moon.

[@pauloricardoferreira2841]

Thanks, Joshua. Your vids are always very enlightening.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Glad you think so!

[@stephenschmid492]

Good one, Joshua. I've had trouble getting started with PhotoPills, so I appreciate the augmented reality tip. I will tag a couple of my full moon shots.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cguerrieri4866]

Great simple explanation to encourage beginners to give it a try (then be hooked)’

[@dilus13]

Only had my DSLR for a couple of months with a 200mm lens, had one session capturing the full moon and although I’m quite happy with the result myself, it’s a simply boring shot on a completely black background. I shot it at f11, 200mm, ISO 100, 1/125 sec and underexposed it on purpose as it is so bright as you say. Your tips on getting it at sunrise and sunset with an interesting foreground and light on the landscape have been taken on board and will be on my list of challenges. As you say planning a shot like that is the biggest challenge. Great tips Joshua, thanks 👍

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Right on! The first time you get that nice detailed shot of the moon it's a great feeling. But it does start to get a little stale quickly. I hope these tips give you some more mojo!

[@dilus13]

Have a plan in place to get the next full moon on the 30th Dec just after moonrise, should have just under an hour before the sun completely sets and it goes dark. We have a very tall church spire close to where I live and I have worked out where I need to be to get them both in frame. It might all go “Pete Tong” but I am going to give it a try, the church spire will be about a mile from my position and should stand tall above the horizon, just hope the moon is high enough before it goes dark for it to work 🤞🌖

[@dilus13]

The above plan failed, terrible light. Oh well will try again next month. One beginners question that I will probably get slated for is, what do I focus on, the object in the foreground (probably half a mile away) or the moon itself 😊 I presume the object in the foreground 🤔

[@lydiacruz6062]

Hi Josh, I take boring moon pics and I sure am going to try your tips! Thanks

[@garyives1218]

Blue Supermoon tomorrow. Special bonding moment for my new used 7D that came this week and this beginner......lol. Make or break moment. Hope it can forgive me! I have plenty of mountains and nice backdrops near me to potentially compose with, and it would be a blast to chase down great opportunities on my Royal Enfield if it wasn't going to be like 100F tonight.....so dang car it is. Can't complain :)

[@nene1964]

This content is pure gold

[@FadelGalal]

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

[@davearienda7175]

thank you,, you're the best👌

[@itwasthelight]

Another great video Josh. If you’re ever down in San Diego hit me up. Always down for a good moon time lapse shoot!

[@manuelferreira1279]

Top Josh :) Thank You for the video

[@evolvefromnow6735]

Super info Joshua! Thanks 🌝

[@shaunig6716]

So glad I found your channel! 😁

[@noelleperrotta4944]

Excellent video, thank you

[@brianroberts5740]

Informative stuff here. I learned something too. Yay!!! I've been an astronomer for over, oh......50 years. And you mentioned that our nearest neighbor movies its own diameter approximately every 160 seconds. I don't know why I didn't know that. But. I DO NOW. Thanks, dude . I'm basically an optical observer, or visual actually is a better term. But I'm trying my hand at some Afocal astrophotography. Not really wanting to invest in a quality dedicated CCD camera I have a Canon sx40 HD and a Fuji Finepix S1500 . Gonna try the Canon for some lunar, Milky Way photos and maybe some Star Trails too. Maybea DSLR and a " T " Ring later? Good video though.

[@dianecotton9531]

Hahaha! Loved that intro too......reminds me of your old videos that used to make me laugh. Good tips & yes, in reality, it IS TINY & moves fast!!!

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Thanks, Diane! It's time to bring the silly back.

[@dianecotton9531]

@@JoshuaCrippsPhotography That's good. The world needs a bit of silly ATM. Not sure it's just me but it always made me crack up.

[@midisax]

Awesome opening! Great vid really

[@jimwlouavl]

Thanks. Nice timing with a full moon in a couple of weeks.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Good luck!

[@monker46]

Great tips

[@jimpayton8285]

Thank you

[@neilcole3406]

So informative, so l subscribed !

[@JonStallings]

Thank you Josua, very helpful. Still trying to figure out how you impersonated me so well in the beginning 😁

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Haha. Because that was me!

[@borromine]

Great video!

[@peterq9359]

It really is a complicated tool but it is so good

[@2012photograph]

I been taken Moonlights photograph but timely play major getting those shots.

[@glaurung666]

Moon is not interesting? Objection, your honour! I love detailed Moon photos without any background.

[@Felan213]

What's the idea with the thing on the lens around 7.00? Does it stabilise the long lens or what it just used as a shelf

[@nelsonclub7722]

Terrific stuff. I tried this yesterday, but it was cloudy and there wasn't a full moon and it was daytime......

[@stevenrubin820]

Josh, I shot my shot of the super moon rising over Raleigh NC at sunset (along with my photo club... I’ve tagged the photo in instagram as you suggested). I still had issues getting the correct exposure even doing it at this time. I still had to bracket with extreme under exposure to get the details and then combined in post. Am I missing something? I used my 70-200 (at 70 ) because we couldn’t get back any further due to city restrictions (it was literally taken on a bridge over a railroad).

[@kapilbhallafoto]

Really helpful, I watched other photographers mention the F11 rule and the ISO should be the same as the shutter speed; couldn't figure that one out as the fotos were always underexposed. In fact didn't get focus right too.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Glad it was helpful

[@Amalkaru]

Thanks

[@victorbloom8286]

Yes it is . Lovely by itself

[@alejandrapalacios6525]

Hahaha !!! Great way to begin your video 📸 big hugs from Chile.

[@alwaysforwardyt]

4:41 Thank you. Exactly what l was looking for. It would be so easy if you could just temporarily dimm the moon...

[@jwleemedia]

Thanks!

[@jwleemedia]

Thanks for giving back to the photography community. It means a lot.

[@tinkm9569]

Hi josh! Can I use any lens to take moon photos or is there a minimum type of lens needed? I mean i can't get a decent moon shot using my fuji xa5 kit lens, but using my phone samsung s20 ultra, i got the full details. So i was kind of turned off with my mirrorless cam.

[@roberthicks6615]

Wow same lens I use . with a Nikon Z7ii

[@robinc-k7162]

When photographing the Moon with a zoom lens, what shutter speeds are you using to keep it sharp? It moves 'faster' when it's zoomed. Thanks!

[@chanshes8477]

1/125 or 1/160

[@mikecapell3996]

Well said on the photo Moon shots I practice all the time and I use Photopill to help me out sometimes I get a good photo sometimes not so good Thats why practice all the time so that way I don't forget Cant wait to see more

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Absolutely. I strike out about 50% of the time as well. It's such a fun, tough challenge.

[@mikecapell3996]

@@JoshuaCrippsPhotography you got that right i love a big challenge

[@brianroberts5740]

I've been an amateur astronomer for 30 years or more. Visual observation only but now I'm really wanting to try some astrophotography. I have a Fuji FinePix S1500, a Sony T77 Cyber Shot cameras. Neither can have an adaptor attached so I can mount them directly to my telescopes. I have to go with the afocal method. Not all that easy to do. Any tips? I have a proper mount to hold the camera to the eyepiece but getting good focus is near impossible.

[@eltinjones4542]

Looked at this video out of interest. I've a file of moon shots take at f5.6 to f8 at nothing higher than ISO 400 and between 1/125sec and 1/500sec. I shoot them at 300mm on a Nikon D7200 sometimes with a tripod and try to get them during daylight. I could use my D800 but the cropping would just give the same effect. I then can add them in Photoshop to other shots. I know this is sacrilege to you but it works for me, I'm just an enthusiast If the opportunity ever arises? I try your suggestions 👍

[@neilcole3406]

Brilliantl observations , now l know why my moon pics suck!😢

[@brad_in_yyc]

Photopills just put on a KZbin live with a phenomenal moon shooter out of New York last week. Did you see it? She went into pretty good detail about how she's sometime 25 miles away from her shot with her 1000mm or 1200mm focal length.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Jennifer Khordi I believe. Her NYC moon stuff is so good!

[@deepotter6774]

Great moon shots and capture tips, Josh! I'm tagging one of mine for you now! I hope you like it. :D

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

I'll check it out!

[@greggchilds9654]

Is there a handy-dandy rule for photographing the moon similar to the sunny-16 rule under normal conditions? Maybe a lunar-11 rule?

[@christopherleecowan]

Thanks I was thinking I was letting it get too dark out.

[@bernardjeansuissesur2279]

So helpful as always. Thank you Josh. For learning Photo Pills there is some very good KZbin video on "Outdoor Photography School"

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Great, thanks for the suggestion, Bernard.

[@nottambula79]

Merci et salutations du Tessin! ;-)

[@grafixnetz]

I was daunted by #photopills and didn't use it for a long time. Then I found this video, "How to Plan a Photo of the Next Full Moon with a Building" which gave me enough of a step-by-step to actually be finally useful. Afraid it makes me into a sun and moon chaser all around town now:)

[@tehseen]

Nice

[@PhotoPills]

jajaja... great intro!

[@carolynvines2027]

"All your viewers are here, on planet Earth." ⁉⁉⁉! Even after hearing this tidbit from you, we still don't know that. 🤨👽👽👽👽😄 I'm just having fun with you, I am subscribed to your channel. 😉 You are an amazing photographer. I appreciate and enjoy your videos.

[@mrdev9843]

There is a web based app called Stellarium which is open source and free to use; probably not as flash as 'photopills' but does have some good features for tracking planets, moon and milky way. There is also a paid mobile version too. Cheers 👍👍

[@jeff97-polar]

Always enjoy your videos, but jeez that intro made me laugh. Enjoyed the rest of the video, as always, too. Cool tips.

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Haha amazing! Thanks for watching!

[@rhal2930]

I saw a full moon effect the other night but the moon was going down (setting) . It was huge but a darker shade of red also. Does anyone know what this effect is called so I can google when it will happen again. Thanks in advance.

[@trout4bait549]

Are you removing reflections (within the lens) in post? That seems to be one of the things that bothers me most in trying to photograph the moon.

[@michaelmckeag960]

I’ve found the augmented reality moon position display in PhotoPills can be significantly off, accuracy depends on phone or tablet compass calibration. I’ve planned countless moon rise and set shots with high precision using full capabilities of PhotoPills Planner, previously with careful use of The Photographers Ephemeris. I was totally mystified by PhotoPills Planner until Brenda Petrella posted her PhotoPills Friday series on her Outdoor Photography School KZbin channel.

[@DaveKingMusic]

Agreed! @brendapetrella is great!

[@mikeregas3342]

great video Joshua. What is on the lens and why at 7:00? It looks like a bag of rice or something.

[@kristianplacencia801]

Settings? Please and thank you 😊 🙏

[@trfisher78]

Hmm mountains, must be nice. The highest point in my state is 535ft above sea level.

[@Goth_PL]

Hehe, the beginnig is the best :D I'd say, WTF :D Greetings from Poland :)

[@JoshuaCrippsPhotography]

Cheers!

[@kyonru]

First 25 seconds define all my photos.