'Super Blue Blood Moon': How to take the best photo with your phone

The "super-blue-blood moon" is appearing in Australian skies tonight, causing many to dust off their photography gear to capture an event last seen in 1982.

The ultra-rare combination of a lunar eclipse, a supermoon and a blue moon will be experienced at the same time at approximately 10:48pm AEDT.

Those in Brisbane, Hobart and Perth should have the best view, while those in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Darwin will need a break in cloud cover to see the moon in its entirety.

READ MORE: The best vantage points in your city to see the super-blue-blood moon

Shooting the moon on your smartphone

Mark Harper, expert at the Photography Studies College, says those shooting a picture of the moon on their smartphone have a number of obstacles in front of them.

"It depends if you want a close-up of the super moon or a bit of background in the shot too," Harper tells nine.com.au

"With a smartphone you'll really struggle to get a high-quality close-up – the lens' on modern phones are simply too wide angle."

Harper says phone photographers will need to be careful with their zoom, as the temptation to go "right in" to the moon may cause too much image quality to be lost.

"Smartphones also use a digital zoom, which will make the image noisier or more grainer the further you zoom," explains Harper.

"To put things into context, digital zoom on a smartphone is like taking an A3 picture and then cutting out a 6 x 6cm square."

He recommends stabilising the phone on a solid surface or a tripod, and playing with the settings available to allow more light to enter the camera's sensor.

"You can try and pinpoint your focus with your figures, and on most smartphones you can generally adjust your exposure too," suggests Harper.

"For those really keen to get a good shot on their cell phone, there's a number of apps that allow you to control the exposure, iso and shutter speed of your phone's camera."

Shooting the moon on a DSLR

Harper was quick to point out that in the photography community recommending settings is fraught with danger, so experienced users should experiment for best results.

For those shooting on a DSLR or mirrorless camera, he says a few general guidelines will help those serious snappers to take home an Instagram-worthy image.

"If you have a DSLR, generally a full moon will require exposure settings of 100 iso, with a shutter speed of 1/125th and aperture at F/11. But there's no one setting that's perfect," recommends Harper.

"Really serious photographers will probably want a DSLR with a 2 x converter 200mm telephoto lens, and have it sitting on a tripod too."

Timing your image of the super-blue-blood moon


"From 11:52pm, the moon will be fully within the shadow of the Earth, and then it will turn the blood-red colour," the Sydney Observatory's Brenan Dew told nine.com.au.



In Queensland, it starts at 9.48pm and ends at 1.11am.

In the Northern Territory, it begins at 9.18pm.

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