Shooting The Moon

Nikon P510 1000mm 1/500 @ 7.8 ISO 800

Taking pictures of the moon can be difficult,.at best, but a few simple tips and some practice can help you get some amazing shots. One of the first things to remember, the fuller the moon the harder it is to get detail in your picture. Remembering back to science class the sun is shining directly on the moon when it is full. You get very few shadows and the most light is reflecting back to earth. If you shoot it at other phases you will see more of the shadow detail from the moonscape.

Depending on how large a lens you are using you may need to use a tripod. Some folks can handhold but not everyone is that steady.  Use manual exposure settings to get the results you are looking for from you photo. On automatic the camera will try to average the entire scene and thus will end up overexposing the moon. If you have manual focus set it on infinity.

Most of all Practice...Practice....Practice. Continue to try different exposure settings and adjust your focus until you get it just the way you want it.