We have all been surprised at some time by the appearance of the moon, both in the city, in the mountains or on the beach. The traction power that the earth’s satellite has is surprising and causes us to try to photograph it with the camera of our mobiles. However, in most cases, the result is not at all what we had expected, no matter how good the phone we have.
It is normal to run into a blurry spot of light that does not offer us the result we expected to achieve at all. We can try it many times and in some cases, with some luck, we get the image to be more or less decent. But, it will not always live up to our expectations. Although, it is something that can be changed. If you really want to get a good photo of the moon with your mobile, you will need to put into practice everything that we are going to teach you.
Tips before photographing the moon
It’s not as simple as point and shoot. Basically because we must take into account some relevant aspects so that we can achieve a decent result with the mobile camera. Among them, we bring you a series of points that cannot go unnoticed every time we look for the perfect shot of this satellite:
- clean the lens
With dirty cameras it will be impossible to take a good photo. Not only because the images we take will appear blurry, but the camera will not be able to focus correctly. Therefore, you will need to clean the sensor. The ideal will be to use a microfiber cloth , since it is the ideal fabric to remove dirt from crystals and lenses.
- Check the lunar calendar
Believe it or not, not everything will depend on our ability and the terminal software we have. It will also depend on the moon . So we must be aware of when it is a good day to enjoy looking and photographing this star, if the clouds allow us.
- Find an area without light pollution
The ideal in these cases is to get away from the city or large population cities where the lighting conditions prevent seeing the open sky at night. In this way, if we move away to more rural areas, we will be able to make the stars and, above all, the natural satellite of the earth, be seen as clearly as possible.
- stabilization
Holding the mobile correctly will be one of the key points so that the final result of the image is not a blurry photo. Especially, being at night and when trying to capture the moon, the ideal is that we have a tripod to keep the smartphone as steady as possible. In the event that we prefer to capture the moon without accessories, the ideal is to hold the smartphone with both hands and find the most comfortable position, in addition to keeping the elbows close to the body to achieve greater stabilization.
The phone software
To achieve the best result with the mobile cameras we have at least two possibilities that provide us with the ability to get a good snapshot of the moon from the earth. Depending on the mobile that we have in our hands and the software version that it has, we can choose one or the other and thus enjoy the results that we will obtain.
However, neither with the professional mode nor with the intelligent photography modes based on the moon that we will see below, we will always achieve the perfect result with the first shot . It is necessary that we dedicate a few minutes to it and learn what the image needs. All in order to obtain the perfect end result. That is why, in photography, repeating and learning during the project is one of the bases of success. Especially when it comes to smartphones that condition software-based options.
the moon mode
As more and more people try to take photos of the moon , manufacturers have taken this need seriously and have begun to integrate a specific mode to achieve it within their respective customization layers. To check if our smartphone has this mode, we just have to access the native camera and slide through the camera options panel where we can find it. Some of the manufacturers that integrate it are Samsung, Xiaomi, vivo, Huawei.
However, in some cases this does not appear detailed, but is launched with the help of artificial intelligence. We will only have to zoom in on the Moon . Then, the phone’s sensor will recognize the scene to instantly adjust it and let us know that the mode has been activated correctly. Two situations in which it is just as easy to get the best possible photos, because we only have to point, zoom and shoot the photo.
Use Pro Mode
But, if your mobile doesn’t have a mode explicitly designed to take pictures of the moon and the AI doesn’t improve the results either, don’t worry, because we can all get decent photos. To do this, we are going to rely on the professional mode with which we are going to be able to adjust all the necessary parameters and we will be able to improve what the automatic mode does. In any case, the higher resolution we have the better, but in any case there will be no problem.
And it is that, here it is much more important the aspects to take into account mentioned before and the different accessories that can help us as we will explain later. Although, so that you can take advantage of the pro mode of smartphones that is integrated into their cameras, we are going to have to modify the parameters so that the moon can be seen without problems with the mobile lens:
- Zoom : we will zoom until the image is no longer sharp, something for which we will often have to do tests.
- White balance : modify it as you wish according to the desired result in terms of color temperature, although the best option is to leave it automatic.
- Focus : by sliding the bar as far as possible, we are going to make the focus infinite and, therefore, it will come out sharp.
- Shutter speed : the longer it is open, the more light it will capture, in this case, being a bright element, we do not need much time and setting it to 1/2000 should be enough.
- Exposure – This compensates for light, for which the moon is a must and we recommend setting it to -1 or -2 EV.
- ISO sensitivity : it should be a low value, for example 100, since we have a very fast speed and we do not need more light.
Recommended accessories for photos
With everything that we have been seeing, we will be able to get our mobile to offer us some impressive night sky photos And not only focused on the moon, but also with stars that will make us surprise what our smartphone is capable of. Although, no matter how good we are at capturing images or even using a much improved mode that the phone offers us to take photos of the sky at night, it is quite possible that we need extra help to take a picture of the moon. That is why it is becoming more and more common to have this series of accessories that will be most useful.
use a tripod
We start with the helper that places the phone in the specific position we need, that is, the tripod . This becomes very important, given that when taking photos that require a very specific light time we cannot move our hand or the phone in the slightest, otherwise the images we take with the smartphone will be blurred, out of focus or without the result we expected. In addition, it is not necessary to spend a lot of money, supporting it on a good flat surface, any basic tripod will do.
Even so that we do not have to touch the smartphone at any time when taking a picture of the moon with the mobile camera, the ideal is to have a tripod that comes with a remote control . In this way, by pressing it, we will take captures without accidentally moving the tripod or the phone itself that we had placed.
Try telephoto lenses
As if it were a professional camera, the mobile can achieve a zoom without loss of quality . This is possible thanks to the lenses that are sold separately and that we attach to the cameras of practically any smartphone in a fairly simple way. And all this is thanks to the use of fastening clips that can be used quickly.
With this, we achieve that the mobile has a superior ability to zoom, since what was previously a 10X increase will now be double or triple without any effort and, with this, the earth’s satellite will be seen in everything its splendor. For example, the lens kit that we bring you is universal, so it works for any Android phone or iPhone, in addition to having a 25x telephoto lens .
