Be Ready For The 'Super Blue Blood Moon': How To Photograph The Moon

On Wednesday 31 January 2018, stargazers and those fascinated with our universe get a celestial hat-trick with a 'supermoon', 'blue moon' and 'blood moon' occurring on the same day. 

Only certain parts of the world, sadly not the UK, will be able to see the 'blood moon' which occurs when the moon is in the earth's shadow, giving it a reddish tint, but we will be able to get a good view of the 'super moon' which will be 14% brighter than normal (so long as cloud cover doesn't spoil things). Those wondering where the 'blue' part comes into it, this is just the name given to a second full moon occurring in a calendar month. 

So you're ready to capture your moon imagery, here are links to our top moon-themed tutorials as well as features that have a moon/space theme and do remember to share your supermoon images with us in the gallery. 

6 Top Moon-Themed Tutorials & Features:

1. Photographing The Moon - Here are a few tips on photographing the moon with long lenses.
2. How Do You Photograph The Moon? - Want to learn how you can capture a decent image of the moon with your kit? Have a read of this.
3. From Capture To Lightroom  - Watch photographer Serge Ramelli as he takes you through his workflow for capturing and editing full moon sequences.
4. 10 Amazing Photos Of Moon Voyages Captured By Astronauts  - Take a look at these extraordinary photographs taken by astronauts during NASA's first fifty years of space exploration.
5. Ever Captured A Photo Of The Moon With The ISS Over It?  - No? Me neither, but a photographer in Australia has done just that and the result is pretty awesome.
6. Super Cool Lunar Shots Captured By An Amateur Astrophotographer - Take a look at a rather impressive collection of lunar images captured by an amateur astrophotographer from his own home.
    

5 Top Super Moon Photography Tips:

1. Get Yourself A Long Lens

You'll need a long focal length and anything above the 300mm mark is a good starting point. Superzooms or telephoto primes are both equally as useful and we have top lists on both.

2. Use A Tripod 

A tripod is an essential piece of kit when playing with the sorts of focal lengths mentioned above. Plus, the moon moves a lot quicker than you think so any movement, when tracking it, will be exaggerated in frame. 

3. Metering Can Be Tricky

The moon can end up looking like bright light bulb shining out of the sky. To combat this, work manually, taking your exposure reading from the moon.

4. Apertures - Big Or Small?

You may start out believing you need to use a low f-stop but this will just leave the moon looking overexposed as it's a lot brighter than you first think so start with f/11 or f/16 and go from there.

5. Shutter Speed Tips

As the moon moves across the sky quite quickly, slower shutter speeds could blur the movement, losing some detail in the process. 1/125sec is a good place to start but this is just a rule of thumb and can be tinkered with. If you're going to include some of the landscape, this figure will have to be a little longer. 

Those who want to watch the eclipse will be able to via NASA TV online.