How to Take a Picture of the Lunar Eclipse With a Digital Camera
Making a clear photographic record of an eclipse with a digital camera requires planning, as well as a little luck. The planning portion of the project involves taking a few pictures of the moon at various phases throughout the previous month and tracking the exposure settings that produce the best results. The element of luck enters the equation in the form of the local weather on the night of the eclipse. Even a light layer of clouds or excessive humidity deflects enough light to prevent clear pictures, regardless of the quality of camera used or the skill of the photographer.
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Things You'll Need
- Camera with manual exposure settings and optical zoom lens
- Tripod
- Remote shutter release
- Record of shutter settings for previous moon phases
Instructions
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Set up the tripod and test it for stability. Place your hand on the camera mount and push it gently toward each leg of the tripod. Exposure times for night shots are longer than normal. Any movement of the camera during exposure will result in blurred shots.
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2
Attach the camera to the tripod. Aim the camera and frame the shot carefully. Keep in mind that the moon moves quickly from the eastern to the western horizon. If you are trying to capture an entire eclipse, you will need to adjust the camera several times while shooting.
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Set the camera to manual exposure mode. Set the f-stop setting to the smallest number available, which creates the widest light aperture. Set the ISO (film speed) to 100. This is a slow setting that allows finer details in low-light conditions.
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4
Attach the remote shutter release. Focus the camera. Set the shutter speed to match the setting for the corresponding phase of the moon. If you haven't had a chance to keep a record for the previous month, start with a shutter speed of 1/500. Take the first shot. A remote shutter release is essential to prevent blurring during long exposures. Even on a tripod, the small amount of movement caused when depressing the shutter release is enough to reduce a picture's detail.
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Review the picture. Adjust the shutter speed as necessary for detail and effect.
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Tips & Warnings
Digital cameras with optical zoom capabilities provide clearer pictures than digital zoom. An optical zoom enlarges the image you wish to photograph, while a digital zoom enlarges only the portion of the image in the viewfinder.
Slow the shutter speed as necessary as reflected light wanes with the progression of the eclipse.
Bracket your shots. Bracketing is a technique used by professional photographers that consists of taking three shots of each image you wish to capture and adjusting the shutter speed with each exposure. Start with a shutter speed one step slower than desired, then take one exposure with the nominally correct shutter speed, and finally a shot with the shutter set one step faster than normal. Bracketing exposures in this fashion provides an extra level of insurance when photographing challenging or rarely available subjects.
To capture a clear close-up of the moon, use a lens with a focal length of at least 200 millimeters (mm).
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
