How to Photograph the Moon and Milky Way

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Episode 175

How to Photograph the Moon and Milky Way
with Beth Ruggiero

The Moon and Foreground

• A correct exposure for the moon AND the foreground in the same shot happens for only 20 minutes once a month.
• Must capture the moon within the 20 minutes when moonrise is closest to sunset or when moonset is closest to sunrise. A large moon with that orange glow is captured when the moon is just above the horizon.
• In all other cases, you will need to create a composite image to get the foreground landscape exposed properly. If you expose for just the moon, everything else will go black.

Preparation and Settings

• Scout your location – find a good foreground.
• Photo Pills or The Photographer’s Ephemeris can help with timing, but do not account for mountains on the horizon.
• Set up an hour beforehand.
• Use auto white balance.
• Use Evaluative or Matrix metering to meter the whole scene (during the 20 minute window).
  - If the moon is higher in the sky, the light difference becomes too great - you must meter on just the moon or just the landscape.
• Exposure – less than 1 sec, based on ambient light.
• Base ISO (100)
• f/8 – f/5.6 (At night you will need your widest aperture – or close to it.)
• Keep your subject (building, tree, etc.) at a distance of about 100’ – 200’ to make the moon appear larger.
• Use a longer lens (200mm) to make the moon appear larger, or for a less prominent moon, try a wider lens. (100mm)
• If your subject is further than 200’ away, use an even longer lens (600mm) to magnify the moon and keep your subject sharp.

Moon Only

• Can be taken at any time of night. Details of the moon will be visible, but the landscape will go dark.
• Composites of the moon and foreground can be created in PhotoShop using blending modes and layer masks.
• AF and spot meter on the moon.
• Tie the focus point to the metering point and expose for the moon.
• ISO will eventually increase (200-400) the darker the sky gets. Staying at ISO 100 means a longer shutter speed which can start to show movement of the moon which will become blurred.

“Focusing at night is the biggest challenge
for any night photographer.”

Focusing at Night

• Get there early enough to have SOME available light. If you can’t get there until after dark – AF on a distant light or part of the moon.
  - Pre-focus for infinity* using AF (200’ or more) Take a shot of your subject. Zoom in on the image and check exposure and focus. The subject AND the background should be in focus (set infinity here).
  - Switch to Manual. Stabilize your focus using gaffer tape between the focus ring and the fixed part of the lens barrel.
• If you are out after dark without a distant light or moon, focus on the brightest planet or star in the sky.
  - Put it in the center of your viewfinder.
  - You can’t use AF for this!
  - Turn on “Live View”. Zoom/Magnify 10x.
  - Manually focus until the star/planet is sharp and almost “crunchy-looking” – it will become small.
  - Tape your focus ring.
• No bright objects at all? Use a quality laser pointer.
  - Aim at a surface between 50’-200’ away.
  - Use AF to focus on the pinpoint of light.
  - Switch to manual and tape into place.
• Make sure your foreground objects are also in focus.
  - Take a test shot. Zoom in with Live View and check. If your subject/tree is blurry – step down your aperture (f/2.8 to f/4), OR move back, OR change your composition.

*On an AF lens, the infinity setting is not necessarily infinity because of the AF motor.

Other Tips for the Moon

• Haze or smoke makes for a more brightly colored moon.
• Partly cloudy skies add interest to your moon images.
• During a full lunar eclipse, the moon is completely orange/copper. Because it’s not as bright, you can pick up starlight – this is the ONLY time you can get the moon and stars exposed in the same shot.

The Milky Way

• Shooting the Milky Way is no different than shooting a starry sky.
• You need a dark sky with no moonlight.
• Scout your sites for foreground during the day.
• Best times are in the pre-dawn hours (3:00-4:00 am) of March or April.
• Establish your composition and focus.
• Settings are dependent on ambient light, but a good place to start is:
  - 20s exposure – longer will start to produce star trails.
  - ISO 3200
  - widest aperture (f/2.8) *If f/4 is as wide as you can get, increase ISO to 6400, you may get noise.

“If you’re REALLY interested in night photography, you need AT LEAST f/2.8, IDEALLY you want an f/2 or f/1.4.”

Post-Processing

“Night photography is NOT straight out of camera. It all needs post-processing.”

- Minimally tweak and correct white balance.
- Noise reduction.
- Apply contrast and sharpening.

 

Final Tips

• Always use your histogram at night. Live view will not be reliable.
• Don’t rely on the light meter for exposure – it has no value at night.
• Turn the LCD brightness on your camera to the lowest setting.

 

Finding Beth

BethRuggiero.com

Facebook

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Books Flying Alone: A Memoir (Available for Pre-Order)
Fun In the Dark – A Guide to Successful Night Photography
Everglades National Park – A Photographic Destination

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