How to photograph the Moon with any camera
From a phone at the eyepiece to a sharp DSLR close-up — the settings and timing that work.
The Moon is the most forgiving target in the sky: bright, big, and up most months. With a few tweaks you can go from a blown-out white blob to a crisp, crater-filled portrait.
Here's how, whether you're shooting through a telescope, a zoom lens, or just a phone.
Expose for a bright daytime scene
The classic mistake is letting the camera meter the dark sky, which overexposes the Moon into a featureless disc. The sunlit Moon is as bright as a daytime landscape — so expose like one.
Drop your exposure: low ISO (100–200), a fast-ish shutter (1/125s or quicker), and a moderate aperture. Bring the brightness down until you can see the grey detail and craters.
Shoot the terminator, not the full Moon
A full Moon looks flat — the Sun is straight-on, casting no shadows. The most dramatic detail is along the terminator, the line between lunar day and night, where low sunlight throws long shadows from craters and mountains.
First quarter and last quarter phases are ideal for detail.
Keep it sharp
At long focal lengths, tiny vibrations blur everything. Use a tripod and a remote or self-timer, and if your camera has it, lock up the mirror or use electronic shutter.
Air turbulence (seeing) blurs the Moon too — shoot when the Moon is high and the atmosphere is steady. Stella's seeing forecast tells you which nights will be crisp.
Phone at the eyepiece
No telescope camera? Hold or clamp your phone right up to the telescope's eyepiece (afocal photography). Tap to focus on the Moon, lower the exposure, and you'll get a surprisingly good shot.
Stop guessing what tonight holds — Stella reads your sky and tells you when to go.
Download on theApp Store