Photography tips for the July supermoon on Wednesday

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The full moon in July is special. Not only is it a supermoon – which appears larger than a “regular” full moon – but it is the largest and brightest full moon of 2022. The increase in size and brightness comes as it orbits closer to Earth than any other full moon this year. .

This lunar supermoon is known as a buck moon, because the moon occurs when stags, called bucks, use their newly grown antlers. It rises Wednesday night at 9:05 p.m. in Washington and sets at 6:31 a.m. the next day. Check TimeandDate.com for moonrise and sunset times in other locations.

On Wednesday evening, the weather along the East Coast and Intermountain West will produce scattered cloud cover that can obstruct views. The skies will be clearest over the Central United States and west of the Rocky Mountains.

The term supermoon was first coined in 1979 by Richard Nolle when describing a new or full moon that is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth. Over the past few years, supermoons have become a popular target for photographers.

And to help those of us hoping to shoot a buck moon this month, I’m asking area photographers for tips and advice on capturing the perfect moon shot — from how to plan your shot, avoiding overexposure to the moon, and achieving stellar framing.

Below are photographers’ suggestions for photographing the moon, along with a collection of photos. I’ve also included some of my own. The camera settings used to take the photo are included in the description.

• The first step to planning a moon photo is to check the schedule of moonrise, moonset and moon phases. — Kevin Ambrose
• Patience is required, and helps to stay up late or get up early, depending on the position of the moon. — Chris Fukuda
• Always use a tripod and remote shutter release, wired or wireless, to avoid camera movement. — Kevin Ambrose
• Turn off autofocus and lock focus on foreground objects before the moon rises. Otherwise, autofocus may jump around during shooting. — Dave Lyons
• Take lots of photos because you never know which one will end up hanging on your wall, or someone else’s. — Josh Steele
• Various applications can be used to plan where the moon will be on a given day. Some of the popular apps are PhotoPills, Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE), Sun Surveyor and Planit Pro. Google Earth and Street View also help in understanding the foreground view of a particular location. — Dave Lyons
• Don’t worry if it’s not a particularly clear night as low clouds can often create a much more dramatic moon backdrop. — Josh Steele

• The moon is very bright as soon as it rises above the horizon, and if the moon is too bright, details are lost. — Kevin Ambrose
• Underexposed. — Kevin Wolf
• Since proper exposure is a challenge at dawn and dusk, consider curing your exposure. I will often bracket (+/- 1 or 2 stops). — Dave Lyons

• Add interest to your moon photos by pairing them with foreground subjects like the US Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, etc. And whenever possible, position yourself away from the foreground subject to make the moon appear larger. — Dave Lyons
• I like to capture shots of the moon from a distance with a long lens, ideally 400mm or larger. This makes the moon look bigger and more attractive compared to the foreground. — Josh Steele
• For perfect alignment in your photo, you need to measure the angle of elevation of how the moon rises, sets, and phase. You can get the information using PhotoPills or Photo Ephermeris (TPE). — Chris Fukuda
• The closer the moon is to the horizon, the more color variation you will see and photograph. — Josh Steele
• Windy conditions can result in blurry photos due to shaking the tripod. And blur is amplified when the camera is zoomed in remotely. So a fast shutter speed, 1/20th of a second or faster, is often necessary for sharp moon photos with the wind. — Sasa Lin
• It is very important that your foreground subject is sharp. It is not important to have a sharp moon because when the moon is near the horizon, it often appears distorted due to the atmosphere. — Dave Lyons
• I like photos that combine moonscapes with flashes of lightning. This is a rare combination, but possible when photographing a thunderstorm in the distance surrounded by a clear sky. — Kevin Ambrose
• While a long lens (300 mm or larger) is best when shooting long distances from a foreground object, a 70-200 mm lens is all that is needed for many classic DC moon shots. — Dave Lyons

I also asked smartphone photographers for their tips for photographing the moon with a camera phone:

• Point the telescope at the moon, then position the iPhone camera near the eyepiece of the telescope without touching it. Take several photos of the eyepiece and choose the photo that has the best focus. — David Roberts
• In low light conditions, you can use iPhone Night mode Time-lapse with a tripod to shoot videos at longer frame intervals. Open the camera app, then swipe to the far left until you see Time lapse. Tap the shutter button to record your video. — David Jenkins
• Photographing the moon with a smartphone can be more challenging than with a DSLR camera. Long exposure apps, available from the Apple App Store and Google Play store, can significantly improve the quality of nighttime photos. — Nicole France at Mark Lord Photography

Let us know if you have any tips or suggestions for photographing the moon.

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