Shooting For The Moon

Recently I've had a few people asking about the camera settings for photographing the moon in a single shot. As cameras have different features, I can only tell you what I use and what works for me on my Nikon D500 DSLR, but it will give you something to aim at - here goes:

1. Use a tripod if at all possible
2. Use a shutter release cable if possible, if not use the self-timer set to at least 3 seconds
3. Also set the shutter delay to 3 seconds if possible
4. Put the camera in full manual mode
5. Turn off autofocus and image stabilisation on the lens
6. Choose single point or centre-weighted metering
7. Set the ISO to 100
8. Set the aperture to f/11 (Looney 11 rule)
9. Use 'Live View' on the back of the camera to zoom in on a crater or the edge of the moon to get the best focus position
10. Focus manually by turning the lens focus ring back and forth until the image is sharp
11. Adjust the shutter speed until the exposure looks right starting at about 1/125th second
12. Press the shutter release button to take the shot.

It is possible to use autofocus with the moon, but it's sheer brightness and clouds can cause it to try to refocus, so I usually avoid it. The best moon shots are usually taken either side of the full moon, or in the waxing and waning gibbous and crescent phases, when a bit of shadow and the sun's position help to bring out the surface details. Photos taken of the full moon tend to look very flat with the direct sunlight hitting the surface.

Hope that helps.