When is the best time or moon phase to photograph the Moon for surface detail?

Question

I’ve read that you should “choose your time carefully” to get good shadows on the Moon. What should I consider when deciding when to shoot? Does the Moon’s phase affect how much surface texture and crater detail you see, and are there conditions that make Moon photos look worse?

user124 · Accepted Answer

If "to get good shadows" he means shadows cast by surface features on the moon, thats entirely a matter of opinion. The moon has dozens of faces, from thin crescents, normal crescents, half moons, gibbous moons, full moons for both waxing and waning, as well as eclipsed moons. I've shot the moon a lot myself, and I can't say there is any "right time". Its the moon, its ever present and always beautiful. Don't limit yourself.

I've never really considered what time I've photographed the moon...it never really seemed to be a factor. I've shot the moon at all times, all phases, day, sunset, night and early morning, in the clouds, above the trees, over cities, and solo. I've shot it in and out of focus, with and without feature shadows. It doesn't really matter what time you photograph the moon. It has a thousand faces, and each one is pretty amazing.

(Note: The only thing that really does matter is focal length. Most of my shots are taken at 400mm, more simply because that is the lens I have than anything else. Longer lenses can be useful in gathering more surface detail, however they can also limit your creativity. With a high resolution camera, you might be surprised how much detail you can get out of the center of the frame at 400mm, and the shorter focal length often lets you capture intriguing foreground detail as well as the moon itself.)

Here are some of my moon shots on 500px:

Here are a few more I have yet to publish anywhere:

enter image description here

When is the best time or moon phase to photograph the Moon for surface detail?

2 Answers

Your Answer

Related Questions