Astronomical photography with your cell phone

We all want to get the most out of our equipment when it comes to photography, but we don't always know how to do it. So here are some tips to help you learn how to take this type of wonderful photography, like astronomical photography. I don't think we can discover new planets, but we can get a very nice image of the dark sky.

I'd like to tell you in advance that for Xiaomi phones, it's best to download the Google Camera (G-Cam). I'm not saying your device has a poor camera, not at all. The point is that with this brand, the factory app software limits what the camera can offer, unlike the Google app, which lets you get the most out of it. It even includes a photography mode specifically for stars.

Now, with other brands, it's not as necessary to download other apps for this, so now we can generalize the recommendations.

Activate manual zoom mode

Our first tip for taking photos of the moon with your cell phone is to check if your phone has a manual or "Pro" mode in your smartphone's camera app, as it will help you take control of individual settings.

If your phone's camera app doesn't have a manual mode, you can simply download one from Google Play or the App Store.

This brings us to the second of our tips for photographing the moon with a phone.

Controls the shutter speed

The second tip for taking photos of the moon with a cell phone is to download an app that solves what many smartphones don't have: the option to manually control shutter speed.

There are several apps available on the App Store or Google Play that simulate this feature on iOS and Android.

On iOS, you can use apps like Slow Shutter Cam or Average Camera Pro

For Android, Camera FV-5 Lite or Night Camera They are excellent options that will help you not only take photos of the moon with your cell phone, but also for other types of photography.

These apps are tools that allow you to capture a variety of slow shutter speed effects, simulating what could be seen with a DSLR camera.

Use the built-in optical zoom and telephoto lens

The best cell phone cameras Today's devices have several features that you can take advantage of to take photos of the moon with your device.

The built-in optical zoom is a great option for astrophotography with a phone, as it reduces the risk of losing quality in your shots.

Just keep in mind that optical zoom on cell phones is not the same as optical zoom on DSLR cameras.

If you have a smartphone with multiple cameras, find out if one of them has a "telephoto" or "telephoto lens" feature.

With the "telephoto" function, you can take great shots of the moon, allowing you to photograph distant objects or enlarge the subject within its frame without the need for "digital tricks" to provide a zoom.

Get an additional telephoto lens

If your smartphone doesn't have a built-in optical zoom and telephoto lens, you can get a clip-on telephoto lens and attach it to the camera sensor.

Either way, avoid the temptation to use your smartphone's digital zoom to take photos of the moon.

Although it involves an investment, getting an additional telephoto lens for astrophotography with your cell phone is a good option.

Like the Black Eye Pro Cinema Wide G4, which can fit any type of phone, from iPhone to Samsung, and gives you a 120-degree perspective for panoramic photos.

In the case of iPhone, the Olloclip lens It has a 2X zoom, so if you place it on the iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus or iPhone X, which have two cameras, on the secondary 50mm portrait lens, you can achieve a reach of up to 100mm.

If you need camera lenses for a variety of situations, not just for taking pictures of the moon, Olloclip is a good choice.

While it's true that moon shots with your cell phone won't be the same as those taken by DSLR photographers with their large lenses, the additional telephoto lens will bring you a little closer to these possibilities.

Look for places outside the city

Ambient lighting in cities can impact your phone's ability to take photos of the moon and what you can actually see in the night sky.

Therefore, taking a good cell phone photo of the moon means moving away from the background of city lights and seeking out the countryside to truly see the full magnificence of the meteors, stars, and, in our case, the moon.

Get a cell phone tripod

It's always best to take photos of the moon with your phone as steady as possible, especially if you're using a telephoto lens as an additional accessory. While using a tripod may seem obvious, it's an essential part of low-light photography.

A tripod will help stabilize and reduce camera shake on your phone, preventing blurry images of the moon.

It's possible to take photos of the moon with a handheld cell phone, but even the slightest accidental movement will cause the images to appear blurry or streaky.

There are specific smartphone tripods available at Amazon and Mercado Libre , as well as adapters that can be attached to existing tripods.

Additionally, most smartphones allow you to use your headphones as a shutter release, which is a great advantage when learning. How to take photos of the moon with your cell phone in the best possible way.

The volume buttons on the headphones activate the camera, eliminating the need to touch the screen and avoiding moving the phone while taking your moon photos.

However, if you don't have a tripod, simply try resting your phone on a stable surface that allows you to comfortably photograph the moon with your phone.

Use any flat structure you can find—a railing, a pillar, etc. Resting or propping your phone against a firm surface makes a big difference. 👍

Once your phone is fixed, you'll be able to photograph the moon, celestial bodies, and everything else that passes through the night sky with very long exposures that even give you the ability to capture star trails.

Avoid flash and HDR

Learn How to take photos of the moon with your cell phone It's simple, but it helps you avoid some of the most common mistakes. For example, just because it's dark out doesn't mean you have to use your smartphone's flash.

This is because a single flare can greatly affect the faint starlight and beautiful moonlight in your photos. Otherwise, all you'll end up with is a black image, so be sure to turn it off.

As for HDR, the problem with this setting is that it tends to slow down your phone's camera speed, so you should keep this feature off to improve your camera's performance and take better photos of the moon with your phone.

Stay away from digital zoom

As tempting as it may be to zoom in on the stars and the moon using your phone's digital zoom, try to avoid it at all costs.

If so, you won't be very satisfied with the result when you view the image on a larger screen. The more you zoom in on your cell phone camera's digital zoom to photograph the moon, the lower the resolution will be.

You should keep in mind that the mechanism of a normal zoom changes the distances between the pieces of glass in a lens.

What smartphone cameras do is rely on a trick called "digital zoom" that crops the image within the camera.

When you digitally zoom in on an object, your phone only uses a fraction of the pixels on the phone's sensors to take the photo.

The result: a compressed, low-resolution image that emphasizes all the lens defects, thus discarding the rest of the image, context, and visual elements that you won't be able to recover after taking photos of the moon with your phone.

Adjust the cell phone camera

As we mentioned before, you must have manual settings enabled on your smartphone camera so you can control them when taking photos of the moon with your phone.

Among the settings you should keep in mind when taking photos of the moon with your smartphone are: controlling the focus, ISO, and shutter speed.

Some smartphones may give you the option to make other optional adjustments such as Aperture, RAW Capture, and Shutter Timer.

Find the moment

Once you've made sure you've completed the steps above to take a photo of the full moon with your smartphone, move on to the most important aspect of capturing your moon shot: finding the right moment.

There are two things you should consider. First, the lunar cycle. The moon has a lunar month of approximately 29 days, and the full moon is visible on the 14th.

To know whether there will be a full moon or not, there are countless lunar calendar websites and apps. that allow you to know long before it happens. Therefore, you should plan your activities in advance.

Second, you should anticipate the weather forecast. Even if you've taken the precaution of finding out when the next full moon will be, you won't be able to capture it if it's hidden behind clouds or if it's raining.

Use any weather app or website to see if there will be a clear night in the area where you want to photograph the moon with your phone. Either way, the weather can always be unpredictable, so be prepared.

Adjust the exposure for the moon

Another tip you should follow to know How to take photos of the moon with your cell phone is the way of presenting it.

Simply put, if you're going to photograph the moon with your phone, don't think about the night sky. Although sometimes you might want to switch between them, in this case, what you want to expose is the moon.

Exposure is about the appropriate amount of light to faithfully represent the photographed scene. But you're likely to encounter too much light in your moon photograph, resulting in the moon being "too bright."

By adjusting the exposure settings, you can achieve a sharp photo of the moon with your phone, depending on the desired effect: a brighter (or dimmer) moon.

Focus your goal

Another of our tips for learning how to take photos of space with your cell phone has to do with the focus of your phone's camera.

Almost all smartphone cameras come with default autofocus, which is very useful for taking ordinary photos—you know, the everyday selfie.

However, in this case, autofocus can ruin the shot of the moon. Therefore, you should switch from autofocus to manual focus. This will ensure the moon is in focus at all times.

Now that you've learned how to take astrophotography with your cell phone, share your material with us along with your username at this email candrade@gsmpro.cl and we'll repost it on Instagram.