astrophotographer<\/a> Alex Cherney knows how to make the most of a smartphone when photographing the sky. He\u2019s shared his top tips to make your personal lunar mission a success.<\/p>\nStep 1: Prep<\/p>\n
Make sure the view will be clear by checking the weather. Choose a location that avoids taking your photo over rooftops or roads that radiate heat and make the air wavy. Also pack a tripod or phone clamp to hold your phone steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just had a full Moon, but shooting during the quarter or crescent phases gives you a more defined terminator line, and those stronger shadows help the largest craters stand out for a more dynamic image,\u201d said Alex.<\/p>\n
Step 2: Adjust your settings<\/p>\n
Make sure your flash is turned off and set your display brightness as low as possible to preserve your night vision.<\/p>\n
Use manual focus and lock it on the Moon if your phone allows. Adjust the exposure to control the image brightness until you can see the craters and features on the bright parts of the Moon.<\/p>\n
Avoid using night mode if your phone has it. Sometimes it can brighten the sky and blur detail or overexpose the Moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your phone doesn\u2019t support manual focus and exposure controls within the native camera app, you will need a third-party app such as Halide, ProCamera or Camera M,\u201d said Alex.<\/p>\n
Step 3: Take the photo<\/p>\n
“Especially at large zoom settings, eliminating shake is key to keeping the Moon steady long enough to frame your image and capture detail. Otherwise, you’ll end up with blur, a blown-out white blob, or both.”
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\n A picture of the Moon rise taken in Sydney on an iPhone, after following the four steps recommended by Alex Cherney. Image: Gabby Russell
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Set your phone up to use a short self-timer to minimise camera shake from button pressing and make sure your camera lens is clean.<\/p>\n
If your smartphone has an optical zoom lens, it will help to make the Moon look bigger in your picture. But using digital zoom doesn\u2019t work very well in low light so avoid using it and instead crop your picture later.<\/p>\n
Step 4: Quick edit<\/p>\n
Crop in so the Moon is the feature of your image. You can also alter the highlights or brightness in most smartphones, adding a little contrast and making sure you see the Moon\u2019s texture.<\/p>\n
What about day?<\/p>\n
The Moon isn\u2019t only visible at night. This week the Moon sets below the horizon around mid-morning \u2013 plenty of time to snap a pic while the Sun and Moon are in the sky together.<\/p>\n
Alex says the Moon will be thinning out to a crescent this week, which means the best shooting window is in the early morning or even morning twilight.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding that sweet spot where you balance the Moon, the dawn sky, and an interesting foreground (like treetops) is a good way to get a really dynamic image.”<\/p>\n
Troubleshooting: from \u2018white dot\u2019 to wow<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s troubleshooting for problems with your lunar pictures.<\/p>\n
Problem
\n Solution<\/p>\n
Moon is a featureless white circle<\/p>\n
Reduce exposure
\n Try turning night mode off<\/p>\n
Moon is too small<\/p>\n
Crop your image later
\n Use optical zoom if your phone has the option (avoid digital zoom)<\/p>\n
Blurry edges<\/p>\n
Stabilise your phone (use a tripod if you were attempting without)
\n Use a timer
\n Manually refocus
\n Take a burst photo and choose the best or if your phone allows, take a short video and choose a frame<\/p>\n
Halo or weird colour in the sky\/Moon<\/p>\n
Clean camera lens
\n Avoid sharpening settings
\n Check for streetlights or thin cloud and try a different area<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t have a smartphone tripod ready to go, you can make do with some DIY options. Try perching your phone on the roof of your car or another stable surface, propped up by a wallet or book.
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\n The Moon through a telescope, photo taken through a telescope. Image: CSIRO\/Kirsten Fredericksen
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If you\u2019ve tried the above steps and the Moon looks soft or blurred, it may be the atmosphere so try again another time.<\/p>\n
Where’s Artemis II?<\/p>\n
Now you\u2019re ready to run your own mini lunar mission from home and capture the Moon\u2019s craters from your smartphone. But where in your photo is Orion, the Artemis II spacecraft?<\/p>\n
Even if you\u2019ve snapped your pic while Orion is on this side of the Moon, the spacecraft is far too small to be seen. But you\u2019ll know it\u2019s there in your photo, even if you can\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By\u00a0
Kirsten Fredericksen
6 April 2026
7 min read
…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[64,63,128],"class_list":{"0":"post-591388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775571977_968_KSC02012026Artemis-IIFull-Moon17orig.jpg\")
![\"Murriyang,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775571978_285_Moonset500-1.jpg\")