Night photography tip: photograph all the Moon phases

Sunday 25 July 2021, 14:07 by Nando Harmsen | 4,263 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Whenever there is a full Moon, telephoto lenses always come out of the camera bag. The impressive celestial body shining brightly in the sky gets photographed a lot. Even more so when there is a special Moon. But don't forget to photograph the Moon during its other phases too.

The full Moon has always played an important role. In folklore, legends and fairy tales. Even today, special powers are still attributed to the full Moon. This fully illuminated natural satellite of the Earth certainly has one power: it attracts photographers.

Once you have captured a full Moon like this, all your next full Moon photos will look exactly the same. Unless, of course, an aeroplane flies in front of it.

Armed with a telephoto lens, the full Moon is photographed. Preferably with 400mm or more, so that the Moon appears large in the frame. Sometimes it has extra appeal. That is when there is a special Moon.

Harvest Moon, blue Moon and supermoon make it seem much more interesting. Even people who normally never look up will then look at that disc in the sky. Did you know there are many more moons? Flower Moon, Wolf Moon, Worm Moon, Snow Moon... you name it.

A crescent Moon can always be seen low in the sky just before or just after sunset. This always provides beautiful photo opportunities, especially because the sky is not yet dark.

What is often forgotten, however, are the different Moon phases. Generally, we only go outside for the full Moon. But also take a look at the crescent Moon, half Moon and waxing Moon. They are also very interesting to photograph.

Did you know that the full Moon is lit as if a huge flash were shining on it? Flat, front-on light. For almost all photography, we want light coming from a different direction. Side lighting makes everything much more interesting. It creates shadows and depth. This applies to the Moon too.

Four Moon phases you can photograph. From left to right, a crescent Moon, half Moon, waxing Moon and full Moon. Which ones have you already photographed?

Try photographing the Moon when it is not full too. And you will find that it can sometimes be much more interesting than yet another full Moon. Whatever name it has been given this time.

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